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LONG DISTANCE CHARGE SCAM!

LiMaZee
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

I am furious. I keep getting long distance charges on my bill that I know for a fact I did not make! No one else uses my phone either. I have literally made one long distance call (in years) that deserved charges, ONE,  and every bill since, I've had a long distance charge from cities where I don't know anyone!! When I talk long distance to people, I use what's app or other social media and so I KNOW FOR A FACT I didn't "forget" that I called someone outside of Canada. These charges are not from me!! And yet... Fido tells me they're from my phone and so I have to pay and THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT. Quite an obnoxious scam if you ask me. And each time the charges get higher. So now I know Fido is capable of scamming its customers. I am so furious to be taken advantage of in this way after being a loyal customer for many years!!! Changing providers seems like the only option to get these charges to stop. Thanks a lot Fido. 

10 REPLIES 10

VIBHUTIPALADIYA
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

I think Fido should show some trust that customers are not complaining out of the air, it feels cheated when service provider don't believe that you didn't call to long distance, many people facing the same issue so there might be something right???

no one like to spend time sitting with tec. Support and they says you made those calls mam!!! Am I having a bad memory that I don't recall that whom do I calling on daily basis. 

Felygene
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

Same thing happened to me. It actually the calls I made to the travel agency customer support. Unfortunately Fido cannot waived the amount though I am not aware that long distance charge can be charged by calling the travel agency.

Fido-exploits
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Except in my case I didn't make the calls at all. They were totally made up on my bill and I still had to pay for them. 

VIBHUTIPALADIYA
I'm a participant level 3
I'm a participant level 3

Did you get the solution??

i am charged too, I think this a new SCAM!!!

Hello,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 

  As mentioned in the solution below, it's not really possible to make calls on your account without your SIM. So for whatever reason, it's likely your phone made those calls. I understand that you might not have intended on making those calls. However, if the calls are on the system, they would have been made using your SIM card. 

 

  You might consider verifying your phone does not have any viruses or malware affecting it. If you have an iPhone, there have also been instances where they have made random calls without their owners knowing.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers

 

 


Fido-exploits
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Also I tried to add tags which Fido provides a space for but you're not allowed to used them hashtag symbol???

Fido-exploits
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Also, I had a username but Fido insisted I didn't and I had to pick a new one??

Hey @Felygene !

Welcome to the Community. Smiley

I'm sorry to learn that you had unexpected charges on your bill.

Depending on the phone number, it's definitely possible that calling a travel agency would've caused long distance fees.

 

If you'd like us to take a closer look at your account and your specific situation, don't hesitate to reach out to customer service



Cawtau
Senior MVP Senior MVP
Senior MVP

Hello LiMaZee,

 

  Happy New Year and Welcome to the Community!

 

    Sorry to hear you've received unexpected additional charges on your bill. It's not really possible to make calls on your account without your SIM. So for whatever reason, it's likely your phone made those calls. I understand that you might not have intended on making those calls. However, if the calls are on the system, they would have been made using your SIM card. 

 

  I understand you use WhatsApp and other social media, however, are you aware that many apps might use cellular services if Wifi or data is insufficient? With regards to WhatsApp, while it's not mentioned on their website, it appears as though the app will automatically switch to using mobile airtime minutes if it deems the internet connection is too slow for voice calls (see here and here).

 

  One suggestion would be to enable Airplane or Flight mode and manually enabling Wifi prior to making the call(s). Doing so should prevent the app from switching to mobile services if the Wifi internet connection is not sufficient. However, it also means that you wouldn't be able to make WhatsApp calls using a mobile data connection.

 

  Alternatively, it's possible your phone might be making the calls without your knowledge. What phone do you have?

Is it a smartphone? The calling behaviour you note would suggest a possible virus or malware had infected your phone. Charges for unknown calls is a rather common symptom of infected devices (see here). You might consider obtaining anti-virus and anti-malware software to scan your device and remove any culprits, if present.

 

  If this is a new occurence, have you verified that any newly installed apps are not the culprit? You might consider deleting any new apps and re-installing them one-by-one to identify a potential culprit.

 

  You should also note that iPhones are not immune from the issue making random calls (see here, here, here, here, here, here, etc). It appears as though the issue is rather long-standing. That would be an Apple issue rather than a mobile provider issue. 

 

  As FidoVan mentioned, if you would like to discuss those charges, you would need to contact customer service.

 

  I understand wanting to change providers out of spite, however, if the any of what was mentioned above is the culprit, it would also happen with other providers as well.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers


FidoVan
Moderator
Moderator

Hey there @LiMaZee and welcome to the Community!

 

We understand that receiving an unexpected higher bill is never pleasant. If you need assistance understanding the charges or believe you were charged wrongly, don't hesitate to reach us out through our available channels here so that we can access your account and review the whole situation with you.

 

We hope to chat with you soon!