Oh Rogers, what did you do this time...

**sushigirl** · 06-20-2012, 12:05 PM

Hello Hofos,

Sushigirl again with a nice problem with Rogers.

I'll try to be brief:

I was given unlimited entering calls for free in 2008. An option that what suppose to be with me until the end.
Turn out, they took it off my account in 2010 without telling me, and without me asking.

I've been paying for long distance calls I received but I thought it was normal.
My mom lives in the 819, me in the 514.

Today, I called Rogers to add a line to my account. My mother is looking for an iPhone and they explained plans to me.
They said that entering calls are free even if it's a different area code.
So I asked them why I was paying for them and they saw that the option that I had was taken off.

They don't know by whom, there's no notes and from what I understand, they changed system and can't see what happened years ago.

And now, if I want the option that was given to me free for ever and taken with no explanation back, I have to pay.

I don't get it.

And they also don't want to refund me for all that money I gave them. Money I payed because someone took away a code.

What should I do now??

**alexanderdragon** · 06-20-2012, 03:18 PM

What is entering call you are talking about?
Incoming or long distance, and i assume you are refers to incoming.
You never suppose to pay long distance for incoming , unless your number is not local as the place you answered them. So if your number is 514, while you don't live in montreal, then you will be charge long distance when you answer a call, no matter where the call from. Unless you have long distance plan, then it will eat your LD mins.
So i assume when you are in a place in 819, and receive a call, and answered it, it wil count as long distance .

But free incoming, is another thing, as if you are in montreal, and all receiving calls will not eat your normal mins, but counts seperately. Normally call 'unlimited incoming'. So i don't really know which of those is the case you are talking about.

**sushigirl** · 06-20-2012, 06:17 PM

Originally Posted by alexanderdragon

What is entering call you are talking about?
Incoming or long distance, and i assume you are refers to incoming.
You never suppose to pay long distance for incoming , unless your number is not local as the place you answered them. So if your number is 514, while you don't live in montreal, then you will be charge long distance when you answer a call, no matter where the call from. Unless you have long distance plan, then it will eat your LD mins.
So i assume when you are in a place in 819, and receive a call, and answered it, it wil count as long distance .

But free incoming, is another thing, as if you are in montreal, and all receiving calls will not eat your normal mins, but counts seperately. Normally call 'unlimited incoming'. So i don't really know which of those is the case you are talking about.

Incoming calls.
All calls I'm receiving.
I never leave the 514.

But the problem is not that,
It's that they told me I would get incoming calls for free for as long as my contract would last but removed the code without telling me and I accepted calls and payed for them.

For as long as I've been with Rogers, I knew I had free incoming. So I called people saying: "Hey, I gotta talk to you, call me back!"
And they did so it wouldn't count as my 200 minutes.
(I have EPP 17.50)

And after they removed the code, not knowing that the code wasn't there anymore, I kept using the same "Hey call me back!" technique..
Except, people not from 514 called for hours and I would pay 7-8$ per call.
For a year and half.. Which is when they removed it..

I payed my bills thinking it was normal, but it wasn't. They owe me all that cash considering they changed my contract without telling me, asking me, or me telling them to do so..

Another thing: today I talked to 3 reps.
First 2 could see the code and when it was removed but couldn't figure out why it wasn't there anymore.
They put me on hold and the line cut two times.
When I called back a 3rd time, the employe could no longer see the code as if I never had incoming calls when I know I had them for a long time.

**Joelle** · 06-20-2012, 06:24 PM

So have you been paying overages since 2010 when the feature was removed? If so, why didn't you check into it earlier?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using HowardForums

**sushigirl** · 06-20-2012, 07:04 PM

Originally Posted by Joelle

So have you been paying overages since 2010 when the feature was removed? If so, why didn't you check into it earlier?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using HowardForums

Because when I get my bill and it says "Pay 150$" I just pay it.
Another reason is because all this time I thought that it was included in my plan.
Meaning that I would receive calls from my friends and family living outside 514 and I thought they were free.
It's only today when I called that they told me and I've been paying for them.

**B407** · 06-20-2012, 08:30 PM

Incoming calls are NOT free. There is simply no long distance charges for receiving a call while in your incoming local calling area but minutes are deducted from your airtime bucket unless you are receiving them during the evenings and weekend period. You probably got charged because you were under the assumption you had unlimited incoming calls but you didn't so you likely got charged for going over your minutes.

**computergeek541** · 06-20-2012, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by sushigirl

Except, people not from 514 called for hours and I would pay 7-8$ per call.
For a year and half.. Which is when they removed it..

I know this was earlier said earlier but I feel that it needs to be said again:

Where the other person is calling you from is completly irrelevant and makes no difference. It never has. You are not paying extra just because people are calling from outside of Montreal. They could be calling you from across the ocean and it would still be the same when it comes to what you pay. Any charges are because are because you are using up more than your monthly alotment of minutes or you are answering when you are outside of the Montreal area (which you already said that you haven't). While you are in Montreal and answer your phone, the call could be coming from anywhere and it is not a long distance call for you. Make sure you grasp this concept before talking to the retention department or they will likely not understand what you are asking for.

This issue at hand is simply this: unlimited incoming option removed without account holder's consent resulting in overage charges (it has nothing to do with long distance)

**theplayground** · 06-20-2012, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by B407

Incoming calls are NOT free. There is simply no long distance charges for receiving a call while in your incoming local calling area but minutes are deducted from your airtime bucket unless you are receiving them during the evenings and weekend period. You probably got charged because you were under the assumption you had unlimited incoming calls but you didn't so you likely got charged for going over your minutes.

I don't know if I'm understanding what u're saying......But unlimited incoming calls feature isn't only for Evenings/weekends calling. If u have the feature, then u won't be paying for it during ur weekdays minutes with ur local calling area......

So she shudn't have been charged. Why the hell wud I get the unlimited incoming if I was paying for it. It is just that, not limited to only evenings/weekends..............Of course u need to be in ur LCA.

**theplayground** · 06-20-2012, 11:12 PM

The only time incoming calls are charged is when u're out of ur LCA......of course this applies only if u have the feature added to ur plan. Unlimited incoming feature that is.

**theplayground** · 06-20-2012, 11:17 PM

Originally Posted by sushigirl

Because when I get my bill and it says "Pay 150$" I just pay it.
Another reason is because all this time I thought that it was included in my plan.
Meaning that I would receive calls from my friends and family living outside 514 and I thought they were free.
It's only today when I called that they told me and I've been paying for them.

This certainly is not a good habit to get into. Personaly u shud have been on top of ur plan and inconsistent charges being put on ur bill. If u notice that u're all of sudden getting charged more than u usually get charged, its time to give ur bill some love. This happens so often that sometimes I wonder why do people even complain, I mean hey U just got charged $150 and u normally pay $50, isn't it time that u look at ur bill and see why u got charged that much.

I do see ur point, and yes if it was promised to u until the end of the contract....they shud reimburse u for all those charges at least if they can't put it back.

Did u change ur plan anytime in between..? just wondering.
Thanks

**simho** · 06-21-2012, 02:02 PM

^

I agree with everything that 'theplayground' said (in the last 3 posts), except being reimbursed for the overages.

To the OP:

In principle, I agree that if they promised unlimited incoming until a certain date (or duration of contract) and they are not, they should reimburse you overages to date.

HOWEVER, it started in 2010 and you're looking into it now. Not to be mean, but WTF.

Based solely on this, I have no sympathy for your situation. While Rogers should be accountable for their mistake, you should be accountable as well. Shame on you for not looking at your bill.

I have all my bills on pre-authorized payments because it's convenient and when I am charged something, I tend to pay it asap. However, I still take the time to look at each statement to ensure that I'm being charged correctly.

One cannot leave all accountability to a service provider. Customers must also take some responsibility.

**theplayground** · 06-21-2012, 04:40 PM

Originally Posted by simho

^

I agree with everything that 'theplayground' said (in the last 3 posts), except being reimbursed for the overages.

To the OP:

In principle, I agree that if they promised unlimited incoming until a certain date (or duration of contract) and they are not, they should reimburse you overages to date.

HOWEVER, it started in 2010 and you're looking into it now. Not to be mean, but WTF.

Based solely on this, I have no sympathy for your situation. While Rogers should be accountable for their mistake, you should be accountable as well. Shame on you for not looking at your bill.

I have all my bills on pre-authorized payments because it's convenient and when I am charged something, I tend to pay it asap. However, I still take the time to look at each statement to ensure that I'm being charged correctly.

One cannot leave all accountability to a service provider. Customers must also take some responsibility.

If course it is a 50-50 situation. I mean as much as it is the customers responsibility, this shud have been dealt with when they actually removed the feature...i know getting reimbursed for this is a long shot, but if she was promised this feature wud last the rest of the contract, she does have a case...

But seriously, 2010......., and the OP is just waking up kinda tells me she shud be looking into other bills as well.....

**simho** · 06-21-2012, 05:49 PM

^ Completely and wholeheartedly agree.

It's hard because technically Rogers is not fulfilling their end of the deal. So in principle, I believe the OP should be reimbursed...and I hope she can and does.

However, if they do not reimburse the charges, I think the OP needs to accept some of the fault for not raising it sooner.

OP: Per the recommendation above, you should look at your other bills as well. Hope all works out in your favor.

**gjeff12** · 06-21-2012, 08:09 PM

Originally Posted by sushigirl

I accepted calls and payed for them.

For as long as I've been with Rogers, I knew I had free incoming. So I called people saying: "Hey, I gotta talk to you, call me back!"
And they did so it wouldn't count as my 200 minutes.
(I have EPP 17.50)

Originally Posted by sushigirl

Because when I get my bill and it says "Pay 150$" I just pay it.

So, you were getting charged about 7 times what your plan was (with taxes) and that was ok? If my bill goes over by even 5% I'll go over the bill to see what was wrong. I guess you're not low on money so that's good but still, I agree with simho: WTF?

**B407** · 06-21-2012, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by theplayground

I don't know if I'm understanding what u're saying......But unlimited incoming calls feature isn't only for Evenings/weekends calling. If u have the feature, then u won't be paying for it during ur weekdays minutes with ur local calling area......

So she shudn't have been charged. Why the hell wud I get the unlimited incoming if I was paying for it. It is just that, not limited to only evenings/weekends..............Of course u need to be in ur LCA.

I think you need to read that sentence again. She was charged because the OP was under the impression that she had unlimited incoming so therefore she likely answered many incoming calls as she was under the impression she wouldn't have to worry about the minutes. Unfortunately, that feature expired on her account and she didn't notice so her incoming calls likely pushed her over her minute bucket.