Fido Long Distance Turkish Airlines Bill

[anavee01]

Hi there, 

So I got charged $628 for long-distance calls. I am flustered and can’t figure out what to do. I am a university student and given the long distance call rates I always make sure to stay under the limit, however, in my case I was calling Turkish airlines to get a flight cancellation sorted.

It was essential for me to do it as the earliest as I wanted to make sure I got back attend illness back home on time. Now, my understanding was that Turkish Airlines would have a toll free number (as all airlines do) however the charge says otherwise. I possibly am not in the financial state to pay the charge as I’m on a full ride scholarship and given it is the end of the term. I don’t have the financial capacity to sustain this cost.

I contacted Fido customer support, but it seems they don't have the power to manoeuvre financial charges. I wish I could talk to the supervisor to explain my situation better. 

Just to clarify, I received no communication from Fido in any way, until the charges were placed on the bill. 

Can somebody please help me through this?

[Original_Lucy]

Hi @anavee01 , that would be quite a shock to receive an unexpected long distance charge especially of such a high amount. You would need to contact @FidoSolutions on Twitter  or a customer service representative through one of the methods mentioned here

The credit department is who you would need to discuss this. Sorry that happened to you 

[anavee01]

Hey @Original_Lucy ,

I did connect with them and in all fair honesty was one of the worst experiences. Given a post in the forum, where such unexpected charges were waived or reduced, I was expecting at least a bit of sympathy or justification however none was offered. 

Infact, I ended up leaving the call more distressed. Here's how they demonstrated it was just a money making move:

1. No next steps suggested, refused to contact turkish airlines etc

2. When I asked them about the post on the forum, they said the policy has changed (no mention of when it was changed or any byclause). Seemed like he just made it up on spot.

3. When I asked them to reduce my credit limit, they told me it was also not possible. I was like then how do I prevent this from happening? No response

As a loyal fido customer, who recommended fido to several other college students, I think it is time to change networks as much as I don't want to.

Please let me know if you know someone who can assist or resolve my issue!

[Cawtau]

Hello Anavee01,

  Welcome to the community!

  Sorry to hear you've incurred unexpected charges on your bill. I understand you called a so-called toll-free number. However, there are many considerations regarding those numbers.

  1-800 numbers are not free per se. Toll-free numbers simply means that there are no long distance charges associated with the calls. Airtime will always apply when calling any phone number from a mobile device, including toll-free numbers. It's the same with any of the mobile providers. That's why it's specified that toll-free numbers are free of charges from a landline (see here, here, here, and here etc). In fact, that first link even notes:

     You may be charged for a toll free call from your mobile phone unless you have unlimited minutes in your plan

  The only way to not incur airtime charges is to call them from landlines.

  What plan do you have? I understand you are a student. Do you have a student plan? As far as I am aware, some student plans only have a limited number of included minutes. If you exceeded your allotment of minutes, any excess minutes used would be charged extra.

  I do not know to which number you called, however, unless specifically specified as International toll-free , the number provided for calls from outside the country are generally regular domestic numbers. For example, Fido's contact from abroad number is a Montreal number. Dialling that number directly from any line outside of Canada would be considered International long-distance.

  While North American toll-free numbers can generally be called free of LD charges from Canada or the US, it depends on the designated area as determined by the business owning the phone number. In addition to restricting those numbers to either Canada or US, some businesses may also place additional limits on their free usage (ie only from certain states or provinces etc)(see here). It would be a similar situation with toll-free phone numbers from other Countries. It all depends from where they wish to accept the long-distance charges. Many toll-free phone numbers are not free from long-distance charges when called from a different Country. That said, Turkish Airlines does appear to offer a 1-800 number on their Canadian contact page.

   Since the designated call area is determined by the businesses, it's not possible to know the availability of a particular toll-free number in specific regions just by the phone number itself.

  I understand you are also upset that Fido did not contact the airline on your behalf. However, it is not a mobile provider's responsibility to do so. Assuming the charges were for long-distance, you would need to contact Turkish Airlines if you wished them to consider reimbursing you for those charges. A community member was able to get their UK bank to reimburse them for their LD charges. (see here). However, that would be at the discretion of the airline.

  I also understand this is a difficult time and receiving such a bill even more distressing. If you're unable to make full payment on the bill, you might consider trying to arrange a payment schedule. To make an arrangement, you'll need to contact the credit operations department. It should also be mentioned that an arrangement may not be possible in all circumstances.

Hope this helps 😀

Cheers