Please send notification for long distance calls

[Inklink]

I got charged over 151.8 dollars for making long distance calls to US for the first time over 5 years with fido. I was completely unaware of this and didn't get any notifications whatsoever until they appeared on the bill. Please at least send notification just like cellular data (see it's not a technical issue!) before charging.

[Cawtau]

Hello Inklink,

  Welcome to the community!

  Sorry to hear you've incurred unexpected long-distance (LD) charges. Unfortunately, I don't think what you suggest is possible. The reason is similar to why it's not possible to block calls to the US. Both Canada and the US use the same North American Numbering Plan (NANP). In fact, blocking International calls also won't block calls to the other 24 Countries either because they all use the same Country Calling code, 1. Blocking that Country code would also block calls within Canada.

  While it might seem reasonable to block area codes, it's not feasible. Within the NANP, there are at least 380 area codes -- 338 outside of Canada. Significant resources would be required to scan through the area codes prior to every call. In addition, as populations grow, area codes are continually being added. I understand you are suggesting sending notifications prior to connecting calls rather than blocking those calls. However, the call destination would still need to be determined prior to call connection. Even with the use of computers, having to scan through that many area codes prior to every call would result in significant connection delays. In addition, customers would need to wait for a notification before the call connecting. When considering International calls to destinations outside of the NANP, it still wouldn't be feasible to have people wait to receive a notification prior to calls connecting. Customers generally expect their calls to connect immediately without any delay.

  It would be the customer's responsibility to determine whether the calls they make are local or long-distance (domestic or International).

  Hope this helps 😀

Cheers

[Inklink]

My wife is using AT&T in the states and they have no technical difficulty in blocking calls to Canada and Mexico. Also, I am not looking for blocking calls. I made multiple calls without knowing the cost. Even a notification of the cost after the first long range call being made would still be extremely helpful to the customer. I read a lof of posts in this forum that people had to pay thousands of dollars for those long range calls. There is no rationale to assume those people will keep making calls after being notified with the cost of the first long range call.

[Cawtau · Accepted solution]

Hello again,

  Are you sure AT&T are actually blocking calls to Canada or Mexico? Most of their plans include Canada and Mexico calling so it wouldn't be necessary to block those calls to prevent long-distance charges. Is it possible your wife isn't incurring long-distance charges for calls to Canada because they're included in her plan?

  In addition, unless they have developed some new technology ...However, these blocks do not affect outgoing calls to Canada or U.S. Territories like Puerto Rico, the Northern Marianas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. ~ taken from here.

  It has always been the customers' responsibility to monitor their own 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

  While Fido does not provide notifications for long-distance usage they do provide a means of monitoring call usage (ie My Account app).

Hope this helps 😀

Cheers