Hey @Anmolparmar,
We definitely do not want to see you go. We'll be happy to take another look at your account with you.
There are several ways to reach customer service:
- On the phone (by dialing 611 from your Fido device), you will have a call back option instead of waiting on the line
- Via live chat on Fido.ca
- By writing us a private message on our social networks (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram).
Hope to talk to you soon.
Hello Anmolparmar,
I can understand it's disappointing getting charged for long-distance calls when you used WhatsApp. However, WhatsApp seems to be the culprit. While it's not mentioned on their website, it appears as though the app will automatically switch to using mobile airtime minutes (within the app) if it deems the internet connection is too slow for voice calls (see here and here). It should also be mentioned that other messaging apps may also behave in a similar manner.
One suggestion would be to enable Airplane or Flight mode and manually enabling Wifi prior to making the call(s). Doing so should prevent the app from switching to mobile services if the Wifi internet connection is not sufficient. However, it also means that you wouldn't be able to make WhatsApp calls using a mobile data connection.
Phone companies cannot divert calls from within apps to cellular calls. The mobile providers do not decide which calls go over their networks. That determination is made by the phone. They merely connect calls which the phone request to be made. The mobile providers only transmit what a customer's phone sends. If WhatsApp makes a call using data, the providers will transmit data (or phone will transmit over Wifi); if WhatsApp makes the call using cellular networks, the providers will transmit it as a call over the cellular networks. In your case, it appears as though WhatsApp is making the calls over the cellular networks. Not connecting to the networks (ie Airplane or Flight mode) should prevent that from happening.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
Hello again,
I understand you did not intend on making long-distance calls. Unfortunately, they removed the long-distance call notification a while ago. While there are customers, like yourself, wanting the notification prior to long-distance calls connect, other customers found the notification a nuisance if they frequently made those calls.
I also understand you believe the issue still lies with Fido. As previously mentioned, the mobile providers do not decide which calls go over their networks. They do not have the ability to monitor apps and direct calls to be dialled over the networks. However, this same issue has been reported on various networks, including the US providers. All of the major US providers (ie Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, etc) have similar complaints in their respective forums. Some customers noted the issue might be related to the WhatsApp dialler API being the same as the phone's native dialler. Other customers have noted that the issue has gotten worse since Facebook purchased WhatsApp, and even moreso after Meta...
The same issue occurring over multiple different providers would suggest the issue is a single source (WhatsApp).
As also suggested previously, enabling Airplane or Flight mode might prevent the issue in the future.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
Hello again,
As mentioned, I understand you didn't intend on making the long-distance call, however, it was your phone which did.
I also understand wanting to switch providers due to your disappointment. However, as noted, it is not an issue with Fido. Since it happens with many other providers, if you don't take measures to prevent it (ie enabling Airplane or Flight mode before those calls), it could very well happen again on your new provider.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
