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Fido charged facetime as international call

AndreCeralbo
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

This month I got an email from fido that my bill was around $327 and that was $200+ more than what im paying every month. Then, I looked at my bill and it said I got charged for international calls. But, I remember the only calls I made internationally are through facetime. I did not know that fido will charge me for facetime calls and I did not know that facetime cannot be used for free with just data or wifi.

11 REPLIES 11

Kourosh86
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

I was charged for international calling for 40 minutes while I was using Facetime on my iPhone. It is not right, I have data on my plan with Fido and I use Facetime to call my family all of the time. Last week as always I called my dad via Facetime on my iPhone and today I realized that am charged for 40 minute international call for almost $130. I am an international student and I just manage my expenses day by day. I can not afford to pay this much money for just a phone call. I want my bill to be re-adjusted. There must have been some glitch of some sort in between Apple and Fido but I will never know I shouldn't be paying for that. It makes it really hard for me with all the inflation and everything. 

Hey @Kourosh86

 

Welcome to the community! 

 

I'm sorry to hear you've had a larger bill than expected. No one likes this.

Using Facetime while you're in Canada shouldn't charge you anything if you're using your data plan or Wi-fi. Making international calls will trigger internations long distance charges though.

 

You're welcome to contact us if you need help or have any questions. 



Anonymous
Not applicable

I don't get it!! which wifi I suppose to use?! I pay for the data service that I suppose to receive from fido so why  should I be charged for just using facetime over the data ??? I never used international call but I was charged for long distance calls!! It is not fair at all.

Hello Anonymous,

 

  I replied to your other post here. I understand you did not intend on making the long-distance call. However, if the call is on the system, your phone did make the call. Mobile providers do not know what settings or apps a customer may be using. They only know usage over their networks. In addition, they cannot switch a FaceTime call to one over the networks. As mentioned below, Apple has changed the FaceTime interface which has inadvertently cause some calls to be made over the cellular networks rather than data or Wifi.

 

  As mentioned in my reply to your other post, in order to prevent unintended long-distance calls in the future, you might consider enabling Airplane or Flight mode on the device prior to making FaceTime calls. You could manually enable Wifi to connect the calls. Doing so should prevent the phone from connecting to the networks and therefore prevent unwanted long-distance calls.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers


Cawtau
Senior MVP Senior MVP
Senior MVP

Hello AndreCeralbo,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 

  Generally, FaceTime does use data and/or Wifi. Apparently, Apple might have changed the FaceTime interface which may inadvertently caused some calls to connect via the cellular networks rather than data or Wifi (see here and here). Is it possible that you might have connected those calls before the FaceTime feature fully loaded?

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers


FidoClaudia
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hey AndreCeralbo,

 

Welcome to our community!

 

That's quite strange as you shouldn't be charged when using FaceTime. The service is exclusive to Apple and should only use your WiFi connection, no charges apply from carriers. 

 

How exactly did you place the FaceTime call?

 

Did you place the video call through a third party app like WhatsApp for example?

 

Or is it possible that you placed a WiFi Call instead of a FaceTime call? If you used WiFi calling, it could explain the charge as international long distance charges can apply. You can learn more about this service here.

 

Keep us posted. 

 

 



AndreCeralbo
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

I placed the call on facetime. Also I'm connected to my internet. You know when it says facetime on contacts? I clicked that and it says facetime video and not any other calls. Also, I'm not using any third party app like whatsapp or whatsoever. It's just really weird why im getting charged for doing FaceTime calls internationally. My bill just sky rocketed and I wont be able to pay that bill if that's gonna keep going.

Hey @AndreCeralbo! Philippe here.

 

I'm sad to read about your situation. Nobody likes to receive an unexpectedly large bill!

 

That said, if the calls was routed through our network, then the charges would apply. I suggest you contact us here to confirm that or you can also request a PM for assistance.



AndreCeralbo
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

I called fido the other day and they said they cannot do anything about the bill. It's just frustrating for me because it's just gonna keep happening if I'm using FaceTime. The bills will just skyrocket and it really hard to pay those bills.

@FidoPhilippe @Cawtau  @FidoClaudia 

Hello again,

 

  I understand the frustration. However, as FidoAnthonyZ mentioned, the mobile providers would only charge for services if the calls were sent via the mobile networks. It would be your phone which determines whether the calls use FaceTime or cellular networks for voice calls. If it is a glitch or a limitation in FaceTime, you might consider reaching out to Apple.

 

  Also as FidoAnthonyZ mentioned, might consider ensuring your phone is not connected to the mobile networks prior to making FaceTime calls. You could enable Airplane or Flight mode and then manually enable Wifi. That should prevent the phone from connecting to the cellular networks. I understand this workaround may not be ideal. However, 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. Not connecting to the networks (ie Airplane or Flight mode) should prevent that from happening.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers

 


You would have to make sure that you're only connected to your Wi-Fi before making a call using Facetime in order to avoid any charges. Our network wouldn't detect the call if it was placed over Wi-Fi.