This is my terrible customer experience with Fido & Fido stores:
I'm visiting Canada and purchased a $45/mo plan with 4.5GB of data at the Fido store in Park Royal, West Vancouver. The representative explained that I could top up the data with another 4.5GB for $45 whenever I run out of data. At the time, she did not provide any information about other pre-paid plans being available such as the $55/mo plan which provides a lot more data. There was no published information or marketing materials about pre-paid plans shown or available at the Fido booth at this location, so I had to rely on the representative's explanation. After the transaction was complete, she wrote my new phone number and account # down on a piece of paper. This handwritten note and the receipt was all the documentation I received about the plan I purchased. Apparently, you have to go onto Fido website to read the full terms and conditions including basic information such as data overage charges - more on this later.
About a week later, I consumed all my data and had to drive back to the store to purchase more pre-paid vouchers. It's impossible to top up online with a non-Canadian credit card despite pre-paid plans being mainly used by tourists/visitors. I purchased another $45 in vouchers expecting another 4.5Gb of data. Less than a day later, my phone runs out of data. According to my iPhone's data counter, I had used less than a GB of data. I drive back to the store to see if I can get an explanation of this discrepancy and both the representative and the manager insist that I used the entire 4.5Gb of data in one day. Their system is unable to show any detail regarding data usage for prepaid plans when I dispute this assertion.
Finally, I go through the Fido website and I read in the fine print that additional data is charged at $0.05/mb - that means 900mb for $45. Why wouldn't I just buy a whole new 4.5Gb plan for $45? Why are the people who deal with Fido customers so poorly trained and informed that they are not aware of how their own plans work? Why are there no marketing materials that clearly explain the prepaid plans to customers at Fido stores? In short, I was given the wrong information by Fido, there was a lack of transparency about pricing in store and on the website. Dealing with Fido has been a major frustration.
