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Repeated Bait and Switch

dbaillie
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

I've been quite frustrated the last few times I've tried to make changes to my plan.  I'm not sure whether this forum is actually monitored by anyone at Fido, but hopefully someone will see this and address what appears at this point to be a systemic issue.

 

About a year ago, I got a text message offer from fido saying that I could upgrade my phone and they would waive my current device balance.  I went to do it online, and it would only waive up to $150 (my balance was $166.10), so I used the website chat to speak with a representative.  After explaining the situation, the rep told me that they would process the upgrade, that my entire balance would be waived, and that I could keep my existing phone plan.  After all the changes were processed, I was left with a more expensive phone plan.  So multiple hours on the phone with fido, escalating as far as I could, with promised callbacks that only sometimes happend, to try to resolve that, they eventually offered me a credit for part of the difference in cost for 24 months.

 

Then on my next bill, the device balance credit shows up, and it's only $150.  If this had been the only issue, I wouldn't have worried about $16.10, but I was already frustrated from dealing with the previous issue about the plan.  So, back to the online chat.  Fortunately, this one was pretty painless, and the rep gave me another credit to address this.

 

As of today, I have a 25 GB plan for $47.00/mo, with an additional 10 GB free, $7/mo in credits, and $19.67/mo as a device credit (a discount on the new device when I bought it).  So a total of 35 GB for $40/mo plus the device credit.  When I logged into my account, there was a special offer for 50GB for $50/mo.  On the face, this looks like a great deal, (25 GB for $47/mo to 50 GB for $50/mo, an additional 25 GB for an additional $3/mo).  I figured there's a reasonable chance that I would lose the $7/mo in credits and/or my additional 10 GB if I changed the plan, so I chatted with a representative.  Turns out, not only do I lose both the $7/mo AND the 10 GB, but also the $19.67/mo device credit.  So instead of being 25 GB for $3/mo as initially advertised or even 15 GB for $10/mo as I might've guessed, it's only 15 GB for $29.67/mo more.  Why changing my plan to a more expensive on should remove the discount I got on the device, I have no idea.

 

Further, there's absolutely no way for me to see any this without clicking through the "GET THIS OFFER" button (which, at this point, I will probably never do without speaking with an agent first).  I'm not even sure it will tell me if I do go through the process of getting the offer.  If experience is anything to go by, I'll only find out what's affected when I get my next bill.

 

My suggestion is: Directly on the offer selection page before I even click "GET THIS OFFER", I want to see exactly what features/promos will be added and removed from my bill and how it will affect my monthly total (both $/mo and GB).  Tell me "THESE ITEMS will be added to your bill for X months and THESE ITEMS will removed from your bill going forward.  Your monthly total will change from $X/mo last month to $Y/mo next month (+usage/overage costs) and your monthly data will change from X GB to Y GB.  You will ADD/LOSE THESE FEATURES".

 

This guessing game, having a text message that says one thing, the website tell me another, having to contact a representative to get a third interpretation, and then getting something completely different on my bill is a bit ridiculous.  It's wasting my time and yours to noones benefit and just leaving me frustrated.  I'm logged into my account, you know what's on my bill at the moment, you could easily figure out how it will change if I select one of the offers and tell me up front.

 

At this point I'm just riding out my current plan until my tab and current promos expire, and then I'll probably shop around because even though none of this has amounted to a ton of money, the past year has taught me that I can't trust anything from Fido except what actually shows up on my bill and that if I try to address it after the fact I'll just waste a ton of time to no good end.

 

One additional bit of ridiculousness:  When speaking with the rep today, I tried to make this suggestion only to be told that the rep had no mechanism to forward the suggestion along to the relevant departments.  Why is there no mechanism for chat representatives to forward feedback from users/customers to departments that could use it?

4 REPLIES 4

dbaillie
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Upon further research, it appears that "Bait and Switch" may not be the correct term, rather this would seem to fall under "False or Misleading Representations"...

Hello, thank you for sharing your feedback with us here.


For assistance with your account, please contat our customer service. You can find us easily here.



dbaillie
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Thanks for the reply.  I've unfortunately been in contact with support far too many times. Is there something in particular you think they will be able to help me with, beyond what the last representative I chatted with told me?

My point is that:

1. I shouldn't need to contact to support to figure out what the offers actually are.

2. If I do contact support, whatever they tell me should match what eventually shows up on my bill.

3. The offers I get in text message and the offers available on the website all be consistent.

4. Switching to a more expensive plan shouldn't affect the existing credits on my account (or at least should not affect the discount I got when I purchased my device).

5. Support staff should have the ability to forward feedback directly to the departments that can make use of it.

Hey @dbaillie , feel free to send us a PM via Facebook or X and we'll be glad to forward your feedback.