Confusing New Plans!

[Shs]

I've been with Fido for over 15 years and I'm considering leaving, the new plans are so confusing for customers!

I need a new phone and there is so many things attached to the deal, very deceptive!

[Shs]

The plans are not deceptive at all. You just have to look what you are looking for. 

• Talk / Text plans are only for - talk and text.
• Data / Talk / Text plans are same as talk and text + data (500 MB to 3 GB / month).
• Fido Pulse plans are same as talk, text, and data (2 Gb to 7 Gb / month).  You also get Fido Roam (roaming discounts) and Spotify(music subscription service)).  Note the numbers outlined here is applicable if you bring your unlocked phone to Fido to sign up for service.

What about the Plus 5, Plus 10, Plus 25, Plus 35 plans?

I like to call these "finance options" because they are essentially finance options for your phone. Here's the breakdown. 

• Plus 5 = 5 dollars a month on top of your plan if you want Fido to sponsor part of the cost of the phone for you. In return, you pay a total of 5 dollars a month for the duration of your contract (2 years). In other words, you will pay $120 for your phone in 2 years, and Fido might give you a small discount on your phone, and you pay for the balance of the phone up front when you sign up for a 2 year contract.
• The same applies to Plus 10, Plus 25, and Plus 35.
• Plus 35 = 35 dollars a month on top of the cost of your plan. In other words, you pay a total of $840 dollars in 2 years for your phone. Usually with this plan, you will not have to pay anything for your phone up front (hence "free phone"). This option is great for users who wants to purchase a phone but don't want to pay $700 - 800 dollars up front and instead willing to pay $35.00 every month for 2 years to "finance" the phone.

Let's say you want an LG G5:

• You can buy the phone outright ($800) and join a no term 2Gb Pulse plan, then your phone will cost $800 and your monthly bill will be $55.00 + GST.
• Alternatively, you can sign up for a 2 year agreement for the 2GB Pulse 10 plan, then your phone will cost $270.00 and your monthly bill will be $65.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $240 + $270 = $510 for your phone at the end of 2 years).
• You can also go with Promo Plus25 2GB plan. You will not have to pay anything for your phone at the time of signing for the contract, and your monthly bill will be $80.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $600.00 for your phone at the end of 2 years)
• You can also go with Plus 35 2 GB plan. You will not have to pay anything for your phone at the time of signing for the contract, and your monthly bill will be $90.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $840.00 for your phone at the end of 2 years and you pay $40.00 for financing the phone for 2 years.)

Of course if you select a different phone, your numbers will be differnet but the basic idea stays the same.

[loekey]

I don't get it. I have a Plus 10 Plan... but it doesn't describe how much I pay for data or what my limit per month is.

It says:

"This service includes:

• Unlimited Text, Picture and Video Messages from Canada to Canadian, U.S. and International Mobile Numbers
• 500 Canada-Wide Weekday Minutes (7am to 5pm)
• Unlimited Canada-Wide Evening and Weekend Minutes (Evenings from 5pm)
• Unlimited Circle Calling Minutes
• Call Display
• Voicemail
• Call Waiting
• Conference Call"
  
  help.

[KAPABLE-K]

Hello @loekey,

Welcome to the community!

Where did you pull the info you provided from? If you login to your account you should see all the features of the plan listed there.

[gkrantz]

I have been a Fido customer for many years. Numerous times I have taken advantage of the opportunity to get a brand new phone in exchange for signing up for a 2 year contract. If you're telling me that I now have to finance my phone for the luxury of signing a contract with Fido, then I'm out of here.

[zyx]

@gkrantz the funny thing is that every time you're getting a phone at a reduced price (or "free") through a carrier (any carrier), you are "financing" it. You might just not know how much of your monthly charge goes to financing your phone.

You can check how much by comparing the regular plans with the BYOD plans.

It's always been that way. You have financed every single phone you had.

[zyx]

Oh and "signing a contract" applies only to financing a phone. It's not even possible to sign a 2-year contract on a BYOD plan, because carriers can no longer charge over-the-top cancellation fees. What you pay if you cancel your contract is what's left of the financing of your phone.

[FidoMaria]

Hi @gkrantz & welcome to the Community! 

We definitely don't want to see you go. I am however unsure of what you mean by ''finance your phone''. Can you please clarify?

[gkrantz]

I'm talking about the + plans. Unless I'm misunderstanding something, it seems that if you want a new phone you now have to pay additional funds on top of your monthly plan price to pay for your phone. Is this correct?

Let's say you want an LG G5:

• You can buy the phone outright ($800) and join a no term 2Gb Pulse plan, then your phone will cost $800 and your monthly bill will be $55.00 + GST.
• Alternatively, you can sign up for a 2 year agreement for the 2GB Pulse 10 plan, then your phone will cost $270.00 and your monthly bill will be $65.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $240 + $270 = $510 for your phone at the end of 2 years).
• You can also go with Promo Plus25 2GB plan. You will not have to pay anything for your phone at the time of signing for the contract, and your monthly bill will be $80.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $600.00 for your phone at the end of 2 years)
• You can also go with Plus 35 2 GB plan. You will not have to pay anything for your phone at the time of signing for the contract, and your monthly bill will be $90.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $840.00 for your phone at the end of 2 years and you pay $40.00 for financing the phone for 2 years.)

[Cawtau]

---

@gkrantz wrote:

I'm talking about the + plans. Unless I'm misunderstanding something, it seems that if you want a new phone you now have to pay additional funds on top of your monthly plan price to pay for your phone. Is this correct?

...

---

Hello Gkrantz,

  Welcome to the community!

  As noted above, Fido has now separated the subsidy fee from the services fee. It used to be that the subsidy was included with the services fee as a monthly plan (ie Max, Smart, and Standard). The separation of the two fees provides more options. Previously, if you brought your own device, you would get a discount on the monthly plans because they all included subsidies (to a greater or lesser extent). Additionally, it helps people understand how much of your monthly fees goes towards paying for the phone/device.

  With the new plan structure, you have options regarding how much you would like to pay upfront.

  It should be mentioned that not all of the Plus options need be applicable for every device. It depends on the total cost of the phone. For instance, with the LG G5 example above (note current pricing/plans may have changed), there is no need for the Plus 35 option. The Promo Plus 25 would have sufficed.

  On the other hand, if one was interested in the LG V20 or iPhone 7 (currently no term $999 and $919, respectively), then the Plus 35 option might be applicable.

  If you had a previous plan that had a subsidy, they might equate with one of the Plus options. For example, some of the grandfathered plans might be considered as a Plus 10 plan with regards to updating your phone.

Hope this helps

Cheers

[zyx]

---

@gkrantz wrote:

I'm talking about the + plans. Unless I'm misunderstanding something, it seems that if you want a new phone you now have to pay additional funds on top of your monthly plan price to pay for your phone. Is this correct?

Let's say you want an LG G5:

• You can buy the phone outright ($800) and join a no term 2Gb Pulse plan, then your phone will cost $800 and your monthly bill will be $55.00 + GST.
• Alternatively, you can sign up for a 2 year agreement for the 2GB Pulse 10 plan, then your phone will cost $270.00 and your monthly bill will be $65.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $240 + $270 = $510 for your phone at the end of 2 years).
• You can also go with Promo Plus25 2GB plan. You will not have to pay anything for your phone at the time of signing for the contract, and your monthly bill will be $80.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $600.00 for your phone at the end of 2 years)
• You can also go with Plus 35 2 GB plan. You will not have to pay anything for your phone at the time of signing for the contract, and your monthly bill will be $90.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $840.00 for your phone at the end of 2 years and you pay $40.00 for financing the phone for 2 years.)

---

@gkrantz yes, and like I said, it has always been that way. The difference is that you were not told how much was going to paying your phone.

So before, the plan might have been advertised as a $80 plan. But if you looked more on the site, you would have found the same plan as a BYOD for $55. The phones' reduced price applied only to a certain category of plans, like the Max Plans in the days. You can still see the same thing by looking at Bell or Rogers: "2-year term with rate plan starting at $xx/month". That would be the equivalent of a +25 plan, for example. You won't get that price for the phone on a cheaper plan, because those are the equivalent of a +10, for example.

And when I made the math around 2 years ago, in every single instance, it was cheaper to purchase the phone outright (from Google or Apple) than through Fido. It looks like it's not always the case now, as you noted.

But like I said, it's always been that way...

[gkrantz]

This is actually not true. I was on a $39 plan for over 13 years. I signed up for 2 & 3 year contracts a number of times within that time frame, and each time I received a new phone in exchange for signing a contract. Within that entire time, the price of my plan never changed. And I didn't have to make extra payments for the phone. The phone was mine to keep at no extra cost, as long as I didn't break my contract. It seems that this has now changed with all the +plans.

[zyx]

@gkrantz and I don't know if you remember, but when the CRTC forced the telecoms to reduce the contract length from 3 to 2 years, all prices magically went up. It's not because the service suddenly costed more to provide, it's because the telecoms had 2 years instead of 3 to recapture the price of the phone.

Now, grandfathering allowed people with ongoing contracts to keep the same price, but if that plan no longer fits someone's needs, then they'll have to take those new, more expensive plans.

[KAPABLE-K]

---

@zyx wrote:

@gkrantz and I don't know if you remember, but when the CRTC forced the telecoms to reduce the contract length from 3 to 2 years, all prices magically went up. It's not because the service suddenly costed more to provide, it's because the telecoms had 2 years instead of 3 to recapture the price of the phone.

Now, grandfathering allowed people with ongoing contracts to keep the same price, but if that plan no longer fits someone's needs, then they'll have to take those new, more expensive plans.

---

That and the fact phone prices have doubled and tripple in price.

[zyx]

The price of the phone was included in that $39/month. The cost of the phone was hidden within that price. Now, it's spelled clearly.

The only thing that changed is that now you know how much is going towards paying the phone. You still paid for those phones back then.

[EFTC · Accepted solution]

The plans are not deceptive at all. You just have to look what you are looking for. 

• Talk / Text plans are only for - talk and text.
• Data / Talk / Text plans are same as talk and text + data (500 MB to 3 GB / month).
• Fido Pulse plans are same as talk, text, and data (2 Gb to 7 Gb / month).  You also get Fido Roam (roaming discounts) and Spotify(music subscription service)).  Note the numbers outlined here is applicable if you bring your unlocked phone to Fido to sign up for service.

What about the Plus 5, Plus 10, Plus 25, Plus 35 plans?

I like to call these "finance options" because they are essentially finance options for your phone. Here's the breakdown. 

• Plus 5 = 5 dollars a month on top of your plan if you want Fido to sponsor part of the cost of the phone for you. In return, you pay a total of 5 dollars a month for the duration of your contract (2 years). In other words, you will pay $120 for your phone in 2 years, and Fido might give you a small discount on your phone, and you pay for the balance of the phone up front when you sign up for a 2 year contract.
• The same applies to Plus 10, Plus 25, and Plus 35.
• Plus 35 = 35 dollars a month on top of the cost of your plan. In other words, you pay a total of $840 dollars in 2 years for your phone. Usually with this plan, you will not have to pay anything for your phone up front (hence "free phone"). This option is great for users who wants to purchase a phone but don't want to pay $700 - 800 dollars up front and instead willing to pay $35.00 every month for 2 years to "finance" the phone.

Let's say you want an LG G5:

• You can buy the phone outright ($800) and join a no term 2Gb Pulse plan, then your phone will cost $800 and your monthly bill will be $55.00 + GST.
• Alternatively, you can sign up for a 2 year agreement for the 2GB Pulse 10 plan, then your phone will cost $270.00 and your monthly bill will be $65.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $240 + $270 = $510 for your phone at the end of 2 years).
• You can also go with Promo Plus25 2GB plan. You will not have to pay anything for your phone at the time of signing for the contract, and your monthly bill will be $80.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $600.00 for your phone at the end of 2 years)
• You can also go with Plus 35 2 GB plan. You will not have to pay anything for your phone at the time of signing for the contract, and your monthly bill will be $90.00 + GST. (Note: You would have paid $840.00 for your phone at the end of 2 years and you pay $40.00 for financing the phone for 2 years.)

Of course if you select a different phone, your numbers will be differnet but the basic idea stays the same.

[FidoChristina]

Thanks so much for the explanation and example, @EFTC!

Does this help clear things up @Shs? if there's anything else that's unclear, don't be shy to let us know- we're all here to help each other

[Shs]

Perhaps you can explain, can you direct message me on twitter

[FidoChristina]

Good morning, @Shs!

I can send you a PM here if you prefer but we can also clear this up right here on this thread in case anyone else has similar questions.

Let me know what you'd like best!

[Shs]

Yes,please send me a PM

[FidoChristina]

Done

See you there!

[FidoChristina]

Hey @Shs!

Wow 15 years! Thanks so much for being with us for so long We definitely wouldn't want to see you go!

We're pretty upfront and open about what we offer. I'm happy to clarify if there are any confusions. Can you tell us what you think is confusing so that we can clear things up right here?