I recently encountered a frustrating issue with Fido Telecom regarding their data roaming charges. I signed a contract with Fido in BC and had two trips to the US within one billing cycle.
Details of my trips:
• First trip: Vancouver to Washington on June 2nd. Turned on data roaming at 7:30 PM. Returned to Vancouver on June 3rd and turned off data roaming manually at 7 PM.
• Second trip: Vancouver to Washington on June 7th. Turned on data roaming at 8 PM. Returned to Vancouver on June 8th and turned off data roaming manually at 8:30 PM.
Despite my careful management of data roaming, I noticed a charge for June 9th. When I contacted Fido Customer Care for an explanation, the agent informed me that they follow the EST time zone, even though my primary residence and contract are in the PST time zone in Vancouver. According to them, the day starts at 9 PM PST, which is why I was charged for June 9th.
However, I had turned off data roaming at 8:30 PM PST, which is 30 minutes earlier than their cut-off time. The agent then stated that the American network is stronger than the Canadian network and can still charge us even if we have crossed the border and turned off data roaming. This seems to be a flaw in the system, and it’s unfair to charge customers due to the weakness of the Canadian telecom network.
I believe Fido Telecom should address this issue instead of unfairly charging customers. I hope they take this feedback seriously and make the necessary adjustments to prevent similar issues in the future.
