Rogers scammed me - promised a plan and then would not honor it

**sjs1978** · 04-17-2012, 06:12 PM

I was on no contract, wanted to upgrade my phone and other carriers like Wind had what seemed like better price plans. I called Rogers and asked them what they could offer me. Not sure if its really necessary to go into details, but it was a data/voice plan with 1GB and they were going to give me the Nokia Lumia 900 for $49 amoung other things. When I saw my balance online it didn't match at all what I expected. Way too high. I called in and one rep said that none of the discounts I was promised were applied, the rep that sold me the plan and phone barely documented what he did and that he gave me too much discounts. I escalated to a manager, he said the discounts were too great and offered a compromise. He would not honor anything not the phone for $49, not the 1GB data (he gave 500MB instead) not the price I was quoted per month. I allowed him to modify the plan but was upset that I was lied to and that they could not honor the original agreement. I recorded the incident numbers and submitted my story to the office of the president (complaints).

My mistake was to allow the second modification. However this feels to me like some type of fraud like a bait and switch. I don't know what to do. I want to cancel everything and return the phone. I want to keep my number. It has been 6 days and I know I have maybe 10 to cancel a contract? Does anyone have any advice? I also lost my grandfather plan that was only $30 per month with tax. They said they no longer offer it and its impossible to go back. WHat a bunch of bull.

Thanks for any input

**Fritz Z24** · 04-17-2012, 07:14 PM

Really unfortunate, you can escalate your issue to Rogers Social Media or through www.rogers.com .

Don't forget then you have a satisfaction warranty, worst case scenario you can return everything & move on...

Good Luck!

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Fritz Z24...

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**sjs1978** · 04-17-2012, 08:11 PM

Thanks, I'm still within the return period and I used barely any minutes. So I think returning it is a good idea. I think its a good precaution in case the complaints department doesn't review the case before 15 day return period is up. If they get back I'll let you know what happens.

**KRZR101** · 04-17-2012, 09:38 PM

I'm not sure you have any ground to stand on right now because, from what you said, you accepted the second offer. You can't accept an offer and then complain after.

**sjs1978** · 04-17-2012, 10:00 PM

at the time when I was on the phone I was told it was not possible to undo everything and go back to my old plan because that plan did not exist anymore. In my mind I guess not having anything else to fall back on I opted to select some plan whatever it was as long as it was better than what my bill was showing.

It felt like a do or die kind of scenario and goes to show the kind of mindgames they can play with you. I unfortunately fell victim to this

**sjs1978** · 04-17-2012, 10:32 PM

I found something that describes exactly what heappened (psychologically)

Its called the 'Low Ball offer' and relies on something called Cognitive Dissonace to elicit compliance. It is a type of social influence.

From Wikipedia --
Low-ball technique
A successful low-ball relies on the balance of making the initial request attractive enough to gain agreement, whilst not making the second request so outrageous that the customer refuses.
-First propose an attractive price on an idea/item which you are confident that the other person/buyer will accept.
-Maximize their buy-in, in particular by getting both verbal and public commitment to this, e.g., a down payment or a handshake.
-Make it clear that the decision to purchase is of their own free will.
-Change the agreement to what you really want. The person/buyer may complain, but they should agree to the change if the low-ball is managed correctly.

Also from Psychology By Douglas Bernstein et al ....
"Many people believe that the direct approach is always best: If you want something, ask for it. But salepeople, political strategists, social psychologists, and other experts have learned that often the best way to get something is to ask for something else. Three examples of this strategy are the foot-in-the-door technique, the door-in-the-face technique and the low ball technique....."
".....The low ball technique also elicits compliance. A person first obtains an oral commitment to something and then claims that only a higher cost version of the original request will suffice" -

**RogersAndrewNP** · 04-18-2012, 05:27 PM

Hello sjs1978,

From your original post I can see that you have already reached out to Office of the President, which is the highest point of escalation within Rogers.

Once you are contacted by Office of the President they will discuss the options that Rogers can provide.

Thanks,

RogersAndrewNP

**WorldIRC** · 04-18-2012, 05:30 PM

Originally Posted by RogersAndrewNP

Hello sjs1978,

From your original post I can see that you have already reached out to Office of the President, which is the highest point of escalation within Rogers.

Once you are contacted by Office of the President they will discuss the options that Rogers can provide.

Thanks,

RogersAndrewNP

Maybe the highest "official" point of escalation...but there is higher. Ombudsman, Rob's desk, Nadir's desk...there are always options.

**Crazy Serb** · 04-22-2012, 03:18 AM

how do you get in touch / write to the office of the president?

**WorldIRC** · 04-22-2012, 07:34 AM

www.rogers.com/complaint

**phzi** · 04-22-2012, 11:26 AM

By accepting the plan modification instead of refusing to accept anything other then the original terms, you probably destroyed your chance of getting the plan you were offered. Never accept a compromise.

You could file a complaint with the ccts, they might go purely off the original call and agreement of the parties. Don't have anything to lose.

No fraud or scam, the person who offered you the plan probably did screw up. But Rogers was contractually obligated to give you the proposed deal up until you agreed to a modification of the terms. After that, well sadly, it was you that screwed up.

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**sjs1978** · 04-24-2012, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by phzi

By accepting the plan modification instead of refusing to accept anything other then the original terms, you probably destroyed your chance of getting the plan you were offered. Never accept a compromise.

You could file a complaint with the ccts, they might go purely off the original call and agreement of the parties. Don't have anything to lose.

No fraud or scam, the person who offered you the plan probably did screw up. But Rogers was contractually obligated to give you the proposed deal up until you agreed to a modification of the terms. After that, well sadly, it was you that screwed up.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using HowardForums

even when I asked them to reverse the false contract and revert back to my old plan and they refused, what was I to do? I accepted the compromise to minimize the damages (i.e. cost) I never screwed anything up, I was only acting in my own best interest. I never even cared about the stupid offer anyway, only that I was lied to and led to beleive something that was not true.

Luckily after returning the phone, a manager reverted me back to my old plan at the exact same price point. Which I was told before was impossible. Go figure. And the Office of the president called back to follow up and make sure it was all resolved.

Returning the phone was the best decision I made and I'm just glad its all over now.