[Merged] Do not pay Rogers/Fido's 30 days of services when porting a number

[will888]

Based on personal experience, the CCTS works. The cancellation fee will be refunded. End of over discussion.

[zilber]

No. It's in the Policy. Read Note 9 or 10 on your bill in the Terms and Conditions.

I am sure it is their screwy policy, if you can get your money back by filing with CCTS why not?

[erichau]

You must go the CCTS way. Though its going to be a very tricky complaint since you never logged a call with Rogers prior to porting.

Just write the charge is unjustified. 30 days of dead air is unacceptable. That the client is unable to use the last 30 days at point of notice.

[EPcjay]

Based on personal experience, the CCTS works. The cancellation fee will be refunded. End of over discussion.

I am sure it is their screwy policy, if you can get your money back by filing with CCTS why not?

Just write the charge is unjustified. 30 days of dead air is unacceptable. That the client is unable to use the last 30 days at point of notice.

I just got my reply, and advised the charge is will written in their policy for cancellation. No refund. They even told me where to find the "cancellation policy"

What should I cite next? This is for Fido

So far, I replied indicating I will be calling the credit card company and initializing a charge back for services not provided. This is a charge for service, and not a cancellation fee, therefore it's a valid charge back.

[ceredon]

I just got my reply, and advised the charge is will written in their policy for cancellation. No refund. They even told me where to find the "cancellation policy"

What should I cite next? This is for Fido

So far, I replied indicating I will be calling the credit card company and initializing a charge back for services not provided. This is a charge for service, and not a cancellation fee, therefore it's a valid charge back.

I would write back and explain that you understand the requirement for 30 days notice is written in their terms of service, but since Fido will NOT accept 30 days notice this is an impossible requirement to fulfill.

In the end, it is in their terms, therefore it is a part of the contract. As dirty and shady as it is, they have had their lawyers write it up, so I am sure they feel it is acceptable, legally. CCTS is on record as saying they find the 30 day dead air charge unacceptable but they cannot force rules on the carriers. At the same time they are obligated to uphold the contracts for both side, you and the company. This is why I usually recommend calling to give notice but be adamant that they not take it as a cancelation requests since that would lock your number from porting. All you want them to do is put a note on your account. This satisfies your legal obligations under the contract and will guarantee CCTS will find in your favour. As much as people have had success simply filing a complaint, there is no guarantee that CCTS will find in you favour if you didn't make the call ahead of time.

Check your provincial consumer protection laws. If you are in Ontario, you can find them here:
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/sta...c30_e.htm#BK11
http://www.sse.gov.on.ca/mcs/en/Page...My_Rights.aspx


Some sections that you might want to mention to CCTS when you write to them

Ambiguities to benefit consumer
11. Any ambiguity that allows for more than one reasonable interpretation of a consumer agreement provided by the supplier to the consumer or of any information that must be disclosed under this Act shall be interpreted to the benefit of the consumer. 2002, c. 30, Sched. A, s. 11.

Clearly the 30 day notice requirement is ambiguous since they refuse to accept 30 days notice. If it is ambiguous, then it MUST be decided in the favour of the consumer.


I would also peruse the sections related to "Examples of false, misleading or deceptive representations" and "Unconscionable representation" as it seems some of those could apply.

[flaggerofred]

these companies are absolutely unbelievable

i receive a bill yesterday from Bell even though my 3 year term with
them was done on the last day of December.
I call to ask what for ...
"because you transferred the numbers on your
Bell account to your new service provider"

"but I informed you guys that I was doing so an entire week
before my contract would finish with you"

"we need a 30 day notice for porting numbers"

"but your contract says that is for active numbers AND i wanted the
numbers transferred on the last day of the contract when the lines would
become inactive"

"I have worked for this company for 15 years and we always charge the
same fee to all customers in that situation"

"ok so lets say I was on a contract with you for 3 years, and about a week
before the last day of the contract I call and let you know that I no longer
require the line to be active...i would still be charged for the entire next month,
even though the line is inactive for that period and not usable, and
even if i dont plan on porting the number?"

"Yes that is correct"

"ccts it is then. thank you for your time"

[boblepp]

these companies are absolutely unbelievable

...snip....

"ccts it is then. thank you for your time"

Exactly, bastards! And there is nothing except CCTS to help. But email your MP and MPP anyway. They need to be aware of the cheating. Governments spend lots of money with Bell and should know how teh average taxpayer is being screwed.

[anom]

I called Rogers about this after receiving my bill and they corrected it without a problem, maybe because I still have other services with them..

[theshowman]

I also just got a response back from CCTS about Fido and they also "refused" a refund. This is absurd.
They wouldn't let me cancel the service 30 days prior to contract end date - I had to wait for contract to end before cancelling - and essentially be forced to pay the extra month.

That's absurd.

[boblepp]

I also just got a response back from CCTS about Fido and they also "refused" a refund. This is absurd.
They wouldn't let me cancel the service 30 days prior to contract end date - I had to wait for contract to end before cancelling - and essentially be forced to pay the extra month.

That's absurd.

Are you saying the CCTS has refused your claim?
That sounds odd, since they get so many of them.
Don't pay the bill. If they send it to collection you can refuse based on the contract being over.

[theshowman]

No, sorry, Fido refused it - a letter from the "Office of President".
They already charged my CC since they had it on file for automatic payment!

I guess I could do a charge back, or maybe escalate through CCTS again?

Are you saying the CCTS has refused your claim?
That sounds odd, since they get so many of them.
Don't pay the bill. If they send it to collection you can refuse based on the contract being over.

[boblepp]

No, sorry, Fido refused it - a letter from the "Office of President".
They already charged my CC since they had it on file for automatic payment!

I guess I could do a charge back, or maybe escalate through CCTS again?

Yes, dispute with teh CC company, Idid, and got paid back twice when Bell folded. Tell the CC company you were 'charged for services not supplied'. That is, they cut off your phone service but charged you 30 days. They will not bother fighting it since they need the CC company and they cannot convince them of their policy.

Easy to do.

Be sure your made the correct claim to the CCTS. That you called or tried to give notice and were refused.

[zilber]

What if I am not on their automatic payment plan, should I charge the final bill on my CC and then ask for a charge back from my CC company after?

[boblepp]

What if I am not on their automatic payment plan, should I charge the final bill on my CC and then ask for a charge back from my CC company after?

May be worth the gamble since if they fail to respond to CC you win after 30 days. Or, just do not pay the bill. Dispute with CCTS. They can send you to collection I guess, so your call.

[karrie_bearrie]

I thought I would share my experience as well. In December I had filed a complaint through the CCTS as well, as the exact same thing happened with my mother. CCTS refused my claim. What they did was a joke. They basically took my file, went to Fido, and said "you have a complaint". Fido writes back, going "Welps, we charge a 30 day cancellation fee". CCTS calls my mom up "welps, nothing else we can do, so we are closing the file". Seriously.

I am beginning to think this is a high level government complaint office for cell phone companies, in which they are just here to hear us rant but have no powers to legally enforce anything. This is ridiculous. I have no other options as I know if I escalate it through Fido ombudsman they will just shrug me off.