Long Distance Call US overcharges

[Selina4]

Posting this here because really disappointed with the service fido provided. I was charged $210 dollars extra for long-distance calls to the US which was not a misunderstanding but more a misinformation issue and I tried to contact fido about it to ask if it was possible to do something about this considering I am a student and under my understanding, if calls to India, an international call, were free, calls to the US which isn't even international since its the same country code, were free too. It was also quite shocking to know they don't let their customers know when long-distance charges are being applied since it's quite shocking to just expect a bill, especially since they have notifications for data over usage, why not for this since it is a recurring issue that customers are facing? I was on call for over an hour and got no help at all. Being an international student the systems are really different here and to not try and understand that despite the difficult times especially for internationals was quite saddening. If there is anything that Fido can do to help that would be great.

[vkprakaz]

Hi, 

I too in same boat as i was charged by whooping 250+$ for the US calls as i was not aware on charges .

Because of same country code.

But FIDO customer care is blaming me saying i should check usage , bills, 

it's funny to check usage ,charges for every call that we make ( we need to go online to check).

I thought it's affordable , but it's like unwated charges. 

Am filling complaint Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS)

[FidoAnthonyZ]

Hello @vkprakaz,

Welcome to the community!

What were the charges for exactly?

Were you calling back to Canada? Were you calling a Canadian number in the US?

Let us know! 

[vkprakaz]

hi @FidoAnthonyZ 
Am using postpaid plan  , I came to canada 40 days back only ,thought all numbers starts with +1 considers as local.
I called US Zoom meeting number ( starting with +1) without knowing that , calling to US considers as "long Distance Call Chargable ".  At first am having hard time knowing that whether it's US number or not ( Got in browse search , before every call , voice message "connecting Long distance call" ). Now am learning costly way!.  Would be good if Fido considers bit. 

[FidoAnthonyZ]

I udnerstand how having a larger bill can be unpleasant.

If your plan doesn't include US calling, you'll be charged for every minute called to US numbers. Most zoom calls are also long-distance. I would recommend connecting using the app and not calling the Zoom phone number.

[Cawtau]

Hello Selina4,

  Welcome to the community!

  Sorry to hear you've received that unexpectedly high bill amount. It's unfortunate you misunderstood details of your services.

  Firstly, you should note that calls to India are not necessarily free. Fido did have a 1000 International Minute promotion and also has a 1500 International Minute add-on. However, those minutes are only for the long-distance (LD) portion of calls. All calls are charged airtime and LD, if applicable. If your plan has a limited number of included airtime minutes (ie 500 Canada-wide minutes), any additional usage would be considered overage airtime and charged accordingly. For example, if your plan only includes 500 airtime minutes and you made 600 minutes of International calls (assuming to one of the included Countries), you would incur charges for an additional 100 airtime minutes.

  As far as I am aware, at least some of the student promotions only had a limited number of included minutes. Does your plan have a limited number of included minutes or does it include unlimited airtime minutes?

  In addition, you should also note that if you had the promotional 1000 International minutes, they are not a part of a plan's regular services. Since promotions are not regular services, they would usually have an expiry date associated with them. If the expiry date was not outlined initiallly, it would have been stated in your bill a couple months prior to its termination.

   Also, as alluded to above, those International minutes are only to certain countries (for 1000 International promotion; for 1500 International add-on). As you are now aware, the US is not included in either. I'm not sure why you thought calls to the US were not considered International. I understand both Canada and US use the same North American Numbering Plan. However, there are many Countries which use the same numbering system and have 1 as their Country code. If you regularly make calls to the US, Fido does offer an add-on (see above link).

  I understand that you might not have been aware of your excess usage. While Fido does not provide notifications for additional long-distance usage they do provide a means of monitoring call usage (ie My Account app). It has always been the customers' responsiblity to monitor their own voice and messaging usage:

   It is not necessary to cap voice or text messaging service charges since the use of these services is generally well understood and managed by consumers. ~ The Wireless Code; point 127

...it considers that a requirement to provide usage notifications or usage monitoring tools is not the best solution to prevent bill shock. ~ point 124

  I understand this is a difficult time and being a student makes 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.

Hope this helps 😀

Cheers