Cell Phones

Text Message Roaming Charges Warning

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May 10, 2005
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wal3145 wrote: Cellphone providers needs to take customer service another step. Everytime they sell a phone, they should teach the customer the ins and outs of using it. How to place a call. How to receive a call. How to send a text message. How to change wallpapers....etc. This way the customer is no longer ignorant and cannot blame the provider when something doesn't go their way.
It was not ignorance of the phone but ignorance of what is included and excluded in the out of country roaming packages (and not in the literature either). That lack of information was the reason I was refunded the charges.
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May 24, 2003
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Pete_Coach wrote: I am not sure what you are trying to get at or the point you are trying to make but, as I said in my post, I had a roaming package. Of course it was a foreign tower...I said I was in the US. The reason to buy a package is so you can make calls.
The point I was trying to convey, for those that do not know, 1-800 numbers are not toll free when using the packages they sell. 1-800 numbers are toll free everywhere including in the US, but not on roaming packages.
The point I was trying to make is that yes 1-800 numbers are toll free even if you're roaming, you're not paying the company for using the 1-800 number (like say a toll charged number such as a 1-900 number) but I assumed it would be common knowledge that you're still using minutes while calling a toll free number. Toll free doesn't mean minutes free.

So the toll free number was indeed toll free because the 1-800 number charge you. But you're still using minutes when calling this is where the roaming comes in, you're on a foreign network using roaming minutes because you're accessing that toll free number on your roaming device. Make sense? That's all I can understand why you or someone else could assume it shouldn't though.
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x-batman wrote: The point I was trying to make is that yes 1-800 numbers are toll free even if you're roaming, you're not paying the company for using the 1-800 number (like say a toll charged number such as a 1-900 number) but I assumed it would be common knowledge that you're still using minutes while calling a toll free number. Toll free doesn't mean minutes free.

So the toll free number was indeed toll free because the 1-800 number charge you. But you're still using minutes when calling this is where the roaming comes in, you're on a foreign network using roaming minutes because you're accessing that toll free number on your roaming device. Make sense? That's all I can understand why you or someone else could assume it shouldn't though.
I think that is the entire point of my post.
I was informing people that when roaming, 1-800 is not free. You pay, yes, using your minutes. In Canada, you do not pay for the 1-800 usage. I have a pay as you go plan and do not pay (using my minutes) when calling 1-800 but in the US, when roaming you do.
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Pete_Coach wrote: I think that is the entire point of my post.
I was informing people that when roaming, 1-800 is not free. You pay, yes, using your minutes. In Canada, you do not pay for the 1-800 usage. I have a pay as you go plan and do not pay (using my minutes) when calling 1-800 but in the US, when roaming you do.

Unfortunately Pete_Coach you're wrong there. If you're using your regular air time in Canada to call a 1-800 number you use your minutes as well. The only time you don't is if you're calling the customer service of your wireless provider. So its the same. So yes if you were to call the 1-800 number of your credit card from your pay as you go account in Canada you would be using your minutes.

So if that was the entire point of your post it was misinformation.
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x-batman wrote: Unfortunately Pete_Coach you're wrong there. If you're using your regular air time in Canada to call a 1-800 number you use your minutes as well. The only time you don't is if you're calling the customer service of your wireless provider. So its the same. So yes if you were to call the 1-800 number of your credit card from your pay as you go account in Canada you would be using your minutes.

So if that was the entire point of your post it was misinformation.
OK, you have your position on this but I can tell you this, I have a pay as you go plan. I have used the phone it call 1-800 numbers and they have never counted towards my pay as you go minutes.
Sorry if it does not fit with your theory but that is my experience. Done with this.
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Pete_Coach wrote: OK, you have your position on this but I can tell you this, I have a pay as you go plan. I have used the phone it call 1-800 numbers and they have never counted towards my pay as you go minutes.
Sorry if it does not fit with your theory but that is my experience. Done with this.
It's not a theory. It's reality. Don't believe me? Call the 1800 number for something and listen to your balance before you call and then again after. For full disclosure record it and upload that video on YouTube and post it here.

It's also not a position but the reality of how all wireless service works. Like I said anytime you called your wireless network for support using their 1800 number you did not use their minutes. Whenever you called a third party 1800 number you did. Call Fido and confirm if you want. Or really do what I asked you to do before and post the results. If you have one of those unlimited evenings and weekends unlimited pay as you go then it doesn't count. Try it during the day time when either your minutes or balance counts.

If what you *think* is true they would be losing money and there are 1800 access numbers for long distance and the carriers would essentially be giving away unlimited long distance without using any minutes on their network? Are you telling me the carriers are stupid and allow that?

For the record anyone else want to chime in on this because obviously in the past Pete_Coach has called the wireless carriers 1800 number and did not use his minutes.
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Apr 18, 2008
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What x-batman said makes sense to me. I'd like to know what pay-as-you-go Pete_Coach is using. If I could use LD phone cards' toll-free number to dial out and not get charged per minute from Telus prepaid, it would be much cheaper than dialing direct with Telus.
Amerifriend threads need to include instructions on how to acquire an amerifriend. :confused:

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