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Fido roam - charged on NETWORK CONNECTION

123anderson
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

I am new to using Fido Roam - always have used the travel packs when necessary.  I went into the store and was told that only upon USE of my home plan (be it sending text, phone conversation, data, etc.) would incur the $12/day for the destination.  So I was very careful and kept both roaming data and mobile data off the entire trip.  I turned on my phone regularily to access off-line maps, use wifi and check to see if I had any incoming texts.

 

To my shock, when I got my last bill, I had incurred my roaming fee for every day of my trip!!  In a long conversation with Fido yesterday, apparently the fee is NOT triggered by use of your home plan but by simply connecting to the foreign cell network. So if you arrive in the airport and want to update the time on the phone, $12 charge immediately.  If you turn on your phone the next day for a photo, another $12. So you have to either turn Roam off or keep your phone in airplane mode the entire time so it doesn't register with any cell network.  

 

Fido reversed all charges when they could see that nothing other than connection to network occured (i.e. no data, phone conversations, outgoing texts had occured).  They reversed the charges very quickly so am guessing I am not the only one who has complained about this. 

 

Just wondering if anyone else has had this experience and has the specifics of what triggers a Roam daily charge been well explained to anyone?  Is this how others understand Roam to work and does this policy make any sense??

 

 

 

 

12 REPLIES 12

Junzzzzz
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

I have the same issue, feels like we're getting scammed by Fido. For customers who can't be bothered with this 12 charge and the time it takes to reach out it's really frustrating. This is the third time it has happened to me in the last 6 months. 

i also make sure my data is switched off. I was in HK. And i get a text for Fido roam. I even called in last month and was told it's just a notification to let you know, and it isn't charging your account. And now I get this bill with the Fido roam on it.  Please fix this issue. I already removed three other lines because every month the bills are inconsistent. The other three lines are with public mobile, and its 12 flat every month. No surprises there! 

Junzzzzz
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

dec 22 I leave vancouver, data set to Hong Kong sim then go into airplane mode. Once I arrive in HK everything fine. I leave HK to goto China Jan 22, and on Jan 23 I get a message saying I'm roaming, so go ahead...$12 day. Mind you nothing has changed in my phone. I'm still using HK sim for data. And data auto switching is switched off. I called fido roam and they assured me it was just a reminder, not that I'm being charged roaming. And behold, today Feb 16, I get a bill with roaming for one day, that day Jan 23 when the text message was sent to me.

Hello Junzzzzz,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 


@Junzzzzz wrote:...The other three lines are with public mobile...

  Firstly, as far as I am aware, Public Mobile does not offer International roaming.

 

  I understand you might have been charged for roaming the same day you received the notification message. However, to reiterate, receiving that notification does not, in itself, trigger the Fido Roam charge. That said, it does mean that your Fido SIM connected to a foreign network. Was your phone still in Airplane or Flight mode? If it was, your phone shouldn't have been able to connect to the networks.

 

  Have you had a chance to view the details of your bill to see what triggered the Fido Roam charge? You should be able to view those details via My Account. 

 

  What phone are you using? From what you have noted, it appears that your phone is a dual-SIM model. I understand your phone is set to use a different SIM for data. However, depending on how the phone handles its dual-SIM functionality, it's possible that setting is only for user data. It may not apply for system or app data usage. It's possible that when your Fido SIM connected to the networks (ie received the notification), your phone also used data to synchronise its settings.

 

  It's important to note how your phone functions when outside of Canada. Does it connect to networks despite being in Airplane or Flight mode? Do system functions use data regardless of data or data roaming settings being disabled? If it is connecting to the networks or using data when it's not supposed to, then that's an issue with the phone. The networks will only charge for roaming when usage of services is detected. Have you considered contacting the phone manufacturer to see how they designed the phone to deal with those situations?

 

  If you do not intend on using your services while outside of Canada, you might consider contacting customer service to place a roaming block on your account.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers

 

 


Junzzzzz
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

That's right, public mobile means I can't have any roaming charges, but it does allow me to forward calls to other lines. Which is why I chose to use public mobile for the other lines.

I'm using the iPhone 10 with "cellular plan" turned on for both vancouver and overseas lines. However, the "cellular data" is set to overseas SIM card, and "auto data switching" set of off. 

What I think this setting does is allows phone calls to show up, and caller ID to show up. And it does, so long as I don't push the Reject or accept call button and just let it ring, I won't have any charges. 

I have crossed the boarder between HK and China a few times, but this Shouldn't cause any data usage..... but it does, somehow, without me knowing, even though my Phone settings remain unchanged. 

Hello again,

 

  Thank you for the additional information.

 


@Junzzzzz wrote..However, the "cellular data" is set to overseas SIM card, and "auto data switching" set of off...

 Have you considered contacting Apple to see whether that setting prevents system data usage from being used on the other SIM? There are many instances of 'data leakage' with Apple devices despite cellular data and roaming data settings disabled. One theory suggests that iPhones connect to Apple servers to get system related information which bypasses the phone's cellular data and roaming data settings. Apparently, Apple doesn't consider this transfer of information to be data. On the other hand, many providers do consider it to be data usage. Is your phone connecting to Apple servers using your Fido SIM even though your auto data switching setting is disabled?

 


@Junzzzzz wrote:..What I think this setting does is allows phone calls to show up, and caller ID to show up. And it does, so long as I don't push the Reject or accept call button and just let it ring, I won't have any charges...

  When your phone is connected to a foreign network, unanswered calls will not trigger the Fido Roam charge. More specifically, rejecting calls no longer triggers the roaming charges (see here).

 


@Junzzzzz wrote:..I have crossed the boarder between HK and China a few times, but this Shouldn't cause any data usage..... but it does, somehow, without me knowing, even though my Phone settings remain unchanged. 

  I understand it's frustrating having your phone behave unexpectedly, especially without our knowledge. Perhaps your phone shouldn't have had any data usage. However, if usage was dectected by the networks, your phone did use the data. Have you checked your data usage on your phone to see what services used the data? Can you disable data and/or roaming data for that SIM? Admittedly, that wouldn't necessarily prevent the data leakage mentioned above.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers
 

 

 


freesoul
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Probably this has already been answered elsewhere but still a bit confused about what what triggers Fido Roaming outside of Canada since there seems to be some conflicting information (inlcuding using Airplane mode).

 

As per my understanding, Fido Roam is activated for 24 hours in a supported foreign region if:

- an outgoing call is made 

- an incoming call is picked up or rejected

- an outgoing text message is sent

- data is used

 

I believe to avoid sending/receiving data, data roaming could be turned off or even the data itself. 

 

However, just connecting to the region's network or receiving text messages does not trigger Fido Roam (Trying to avoid using Airplane mode in case something urgent turns up).

Can someone from Fido please verify (I have an Android device)?

 

Also does Fido provide any way to check online or an indication like a text message that says the Fido Roam was activated for the day?

 

Thank you

Hey @freesoul

 

Welcome to the Community Smiley 

 

I have moved your post here since it's in regards to the same matter. 

 

You are indeed correct as to the type of usage that would trigger Fido Roam. That being said rejecting a call without replying (using an automated reply for example) would not trigger any charges. 

 

You would receive a message when you first activate Fido Roam. We also send you a message to let you know of the rates when you leave the country. 

 

Hope that helps! 



FidoPamela
Former Moderator
Former Moderator

Hey @123anderson

 

Welcome to the Community Smiley 

 

This is definitely not how Fido Roam is billed. What triggers the charge is really just usage. That means data usage, outgoing text messages, outgoing calls and answered incoming calls. 

 

Turning on your phone would not trigger a charge. If data was turned off and that no other usage was made, you should not have been billed at all. 

 

We'd need to check out your account to confirm the details. It may have been a glitch that has been corrected but we can assure you that usage such as taking pictures or playing around with your phone with the data off would definitely not trigger the Fido Roam charge for the day. 

 

Hope that clarifies! 



123anderson
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

That is not correct based on an exhaustive phone conversation with an agent a few days ago.  It was confirmed from her that everytime the phone registered on another network, the Fido Roam charge was incurred.  She confirmed and also talked to tech people in the background that just turning on the phone and having it register with the foreign network was the source of the charge.  My bill completely proves this out (as does a few other posts here).

 

If you think this is inaccurate, I would love to resolve...how do you suggest I proceed??

 

Thanks for the help.

I can assure you that connecting to a foreign network without using anything will not trigger any charges. 

 

I would be happy to take a look at your account and give you more info on what happened there. 

 

I'll send you a PM here for that in just a moment. 

 

Chat soon! 



123anderson
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

Update to my original post...

 

Big thanks to the Fido Moderators who helped with this.  My conversation with the Fido rep on the phone was incorrect and roaming charges are NOT triggered on registration with foreign network.  An activity that uses your plan (income or outgoing phone call, outgoing text, data usage) is what triggers the $12 charge which is what I had been expecting.  

 

 

Thanks again for everyone who helped resolve and took ownership of the problem...appreciate the support.

You're quite welcome @123anderson!

 

Let us know if you have any other questions and/or concerns.

 

We're always happy to lend support. Smiley