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Huge Phone bills due to long distance calls

KM16
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

I have been using Fido service for quite some time. I have an add-on pack for 1000 international minutes, which I never avail entirely every month. I usually use about 300 -400 minutes every month

 

I was really shocked to see long distance overcharges of $ 452.17 last month. Usually, warning messages are sent whenever we cross the data limit. So, I was under the impression that I would be notified if I cross international calling limit. I did not receive single warning message. Finally, I received a bill through a link stating 'overcharged payment' once after the billing cycle is completed.

 

The calls were made to the near and dear ones as there were some emergencies due to this pandemic. Its a mistake on my end as i have to call to my Fiancee as her father was affected by Covid. I had to make these calls to my family and the doctors and did not look about the usage due to the stress.

 

I hope whoever reading this can understand my situation. The bill amount is equal to my one year's phone bill and am not in a position to pay it now due to this pandemic. i am a loyal customer to Fido and have all my accounts (Phone , Internet etc) in Fido for many years

 

I called fido customer service to get some help but they said they can’t waive or reduce the amount. They said they can arrange some payment plans. So Is there any way I can request Fido to reduce the amount? Customer service told me to contact the billing section but even there no help. I’m so helpless now.

Please any help is valuable. I have 10 more days for the billing date. Please let me know what I should do now. I’m very depressed now, don’t know what to do.

 

I am a long time customer to FIDO and our association goes years back. so its these testing times that both the company and customer must support each other.

we have been loyal customers for so long and dont think its fair to charge so much for a single mistake.

Hope to get a positive response and continue our association.

Thanks
Your Loyal customer

9 REPLIES 9

PAWANPREET1
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

I also have same issue.

Hello Pawanpreet1,

 

Welcome to the community!

 

  Sorry to hear you've incurred unexpected long-distance charges. Firstly, you should note the 1000 International minutes is a promotional offer and not a part of any plan details. If the duration of the promotion was not outlined when it was received, it's end-date would have been provided in your bill a couple of months prior to its actual termination. Is it possible your promotion has ended?

 

  Alternatively, are you aware that those promotional minutes only apply to calls to certain Countries? You can view the included Countries here. Were your calls made to the included Countries?

 

  It should also be noted that all calls using mobile services incur Airtime charges plus long-distance charges, if applicable. Those 1000 International minutes are only for the long-distance portion of calls. That is, airtime charges would still apply. If you have a plan with a limited number of airtime calling minutes, excess airtime usage would incur additional costs -- even though there may be available International minutes remaining. For example, if you had a plan with 500 Canada-wide minutes (airtime minutes), making 600 minutes of calls to Countries included in those 1000 International minutes would require an excess usage of 100 airtime minutes. Does your plan include a limited or unlimited number of Canada-wide minutes?

 

  I 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 arranging a payment schedule. To make an arrangement, you'll need to contact the credit operations team. It should be mentioned that a payment arrangement might not be available in all situations.

 

  You should note this forum is community-driven and not intended as a venue for customer services. If you would like to further discuss your situation, you would need to contact customer service. In addition, they can also be contacted via Live Chat, Facebook, or Twitter. Those methods can be accessed via the contact page posted above.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers


Upendar
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Hello there 

I am also having the same problem i am new in canada and purchased sim card of fido from pearson airport.  My plan did not include the international plan but made international call to india, I got huge phone bill of 1400 cad that is totaly impossible for me to pay kindy help me out with any solution. Pls

Upendar
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Hello there i came to canada 1 month back and took fido sim from airport and didn't read my whole plan and make calls to India unknowingly of charges now i got 1400 bill that is very huge amount for me to pay as i work part time only 

if anyone can help me to waive off at least some portion of it it would be great help

Hello @Upendar,

 

Welcome to the community!

 

Since you made the calls you are responsible for the payments since it is too much for your to pay at once you can set up a payment arrangement, you can learn more about that and how to set it up here.



Hi there @Upendar and welcome to the Community!

 

To better assist you with your invoice, please reach us out at the link that was provided by FidoLony here. We'll be happy to take a look at what happened with you. Talk to you soon!



FidoLony
Moderator
Moderator

Hey @KM16,

 

Welcome to the community! 

 

We understand your concerns, having a higher than usual invoice is never a pleasant surprise, especially during this pandemic. 

 

It's important to note that text message alerts are only sent for airtime minutes (on non-unlimited plans) and data and don't apply to any other service. However, you do have the possibility to stay on top of your 1000 international minutes usage through My Account directly! You can track the usage through there at any time to make sure that you don't go over and avoid overages. 

 

This being said, when it comes to legitimate charges, we are not able to reverse or credit them. We will be happy to take a second look into your account. To do so, you can reach out to us at these channels.



Trushil
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

Hi, I got shocking bill of $575 i got charged for long distance call to Australia with my friend as he just move there so we use to talk with each other for little long than usual but I didn't exide the limit of 1000 min international call and i also have unlimited canada talk time. I really need help but in this situation as i can't afford this bill. Please help me out.

thank you 

Hello Trushil,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 

  Sorry to hear you've incurred unexpected long-distance charges. Are you new to Fido? Had you changed your plan recently?

 

  Firstly, are you aware those 1000 International minutes are only to certain Countries? I understand Australia was once one of those include Countries. However, Australia is no longer included in the new 1000 International minute offer (see here). If you are new to Fido or you had recently changed your plan, your promotion would likely include the updated Country list.

 

  If you regularly need to make calls to Australia, you might consider their Preferred International Rate Add-on (see here). Unfortunately, it is not possble to retroactively include the add-on for calls already on the system.

 

  You should note these forums are community-driven and not intended as a venue for customer services. If you would like to discuss those charges, you would need to contact customer service. In addition, they can also be contacted via Live Chat, Facebook, or Twitter. Those methods can be accessed via the contact page posted above.

 

    In the mean time, I 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 any arrangement would be at the discretion of the credit operations team.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers