Living in Alberta yet paying QST

[Sanowarh]

I have a phone with area code 514. I have been using this number for a while and want to keep it. I just switched to Fido last month. As I have Quebec number, I asked if I would qualify for Quebec plan. But the salesman told me "NO". As I don't have a physical address in Quebec, I don't qualify. It made sense to me. And I went ahead taking the new plan with Fido. Now I got my first bill this week. I see it includes QST on the bill. I don't know, why should I pay QST living in Alberta. They would not give me a Quebec plan, but they want QST!!!

I was with Virgin mobile and I had a Quebec plan. And yet I didn't pay QST for the most part of my services.

How can I solve this?

[FidoCatherine]

Hi there @Sanowarh

Thanks for reaching out about this!

If you have a Quebec number, you're billed taxes associated with the province for that area code. 

The goods and services tax (GST) and the Québec sales tax (QST) are billed to all customers with Quebec numbers.

As for obtaining a plan reserved for Quebec customers, you must indeed have a number/billing address that match that same area. If you'd like a Plan for Quebec, you can simply change the billing address, for one in Quebec.

Let me know if that's something you'd like to do

[Sanowarh]

I don't live in Quebec. How can I change my address to Quebec? I live in Alberta and should pay the tax for the place I am living.

[FidoAmanda · Accepted solution]

Hey Sanowarh!

I hear you, but the taxes are directly related to the location associated with the phone number you're using.

You know what though, I double checked on the plan for you, because what you're saying makes sense, and I have great news for you!

As long as you have a Quebec phone number, you can take a Quebec plan. You no longer need to have both a Quebec number and address as was necessary in the past. 

You can change your plan at any time in My Account on Fido.ca under the Services tab. 

Hope this helps!

[Yjdo]

To clarify, does this mean you can have a billing address from one province, but keep both your plan and your phone number from a different province? For example, can I keep my plan and phone number from Quebec but change my billing address to Ontario?

[Cawtau]

Hello Yjdo,

  Welcome to the community!

  As mentioned above, the plan and taxes on services are associated with the phone number. You can keep your Québec plan and phone number while your address is in Ontario. However, your services would be subject to Québec taxes rather than Ontario taxes.

  You should also note that if you keep your Québec phone number, you would not be able to avail of any plans or promotions from Ontario. If you wanted to switch to a plan or promotion from Ontario, you would need to change your phone number to an Ontario phone number.

  You should further note that keeping your Québec phone number means that people from Ontario calling your number would likely be subject to long-distance charges. There may even be some instances where local entities may not able to make the required long-distance calls. For example, I only moved within the same Province, but my building's intercom buzz system is not capable of dialling my phone number because it's technically long-distance.

Hope this helps 😀

Cheers