Hey @Quills, Alex here!
I'm really sorry to hear about your experience, that's definitely not how we want things to go.
The billing is indeed always in advance, that's why you get a bill right away after signing up for our services.
Please get back in touch with us and we'll be happy to help you with this. You can reach through any of the methods here.
Hello Quills,
Sorry to hear of your experience. However, your issue seems to stem from a misunderstanding.
Yes, you are correct in that with post-paid plans, services are paid for the upcoming month. However, the people you have spoken with are also technically correct in having approximately 21 days to pay.
The payment due date for bills is 21 days after the bill date (see here). However, that does not mean people are getting free services if they cancel service before that date. If people do cancel their services before payment is due, they will receive a final bill outlining the prorated charges for the days of actual service (see here).
From what I gather, your issue is related to your previous post:
@Quills wrote:
.... I explained to them that I paid for a month that I didn't use for my internet, landline and two cell phones,...
Even though you might not have used services during that time, the charges for that month would still be required for the days before services were cancelled. When you cancelled your services, you should have receive a final bill with any credits for the revised days after cancellation. I'm not sure whether it is those credits to which you refer. If it was, customer service would not have been able to make that adjustment for you. You would have needed to wait for your final bill.
Any credits on your final bill would be sent to the address they have on file. As far as I am aware, a credit balance will be mailed out to you 2 to 3 weeks after your last bill had been generated (see here). However, that does not mean you would receive it in that amount of time. It may take 4 to 6 weeks to receive the balance.
You should note that this is the community forum and not intended as a venue for customer services so we would not know the full details of your situation. I understand you have been already tried to contact them, however, if you wish to escalate the matter you would need to re-contact customer service. In addition, they can also be contacted via Live Chat, Facebook, or Twitter. Those methods can be accessed via the contact page posted above.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
Hello again,
@Quills wrote:
....There is no, here you go and we hope you pay. ....
There are many instances where services are rendered and then billed. A mechanic will fix a car before they bill the customer. My accountant did my taxes before billing me for their services. Any eat-in restaurant will provide food before providing their customers the bill after the meal had been consumed....
As mentioned, services are paid for the upcoming month. However, you don't pay for services when you first sign up. The first bill is generated shortly after the activation date.
~taken from here.
@Quills wrote:
...No service provider gives you something in hopes that you'll pay on the due date,..
That's exactly what happens with credit cards. The credit card companies allow people to use their cards instead of cash with the expectation people will pay their bills by the due date.
I understand you believe you paid for the first month of services when you signed up. As far as I am aware, Fido has always provided the first bill after activation.
**edit** For example, this community member obtained services Dec 10 and then received a bill for that first Dec 10 to Jan 10 (see here).
More recently, this community member from the French forum notes subscribing Feb 10 and the receiving the bill for Feb 11 to Mar 10:
I subscribed to a cellular subscription on February 10 and I have just received a bill to pay for the period from February 11 to March 10 even though I still have not received my SIM card and therefore I have not activated or taken advantage of it. of the subscribed service. ~translated from here. **
Hope this helps 😀
Hello again,
You're right, I don't think I understand your issue.
@Quills wrote:
... If I cancel services before the end of my paid period, you get reimbursed for the days in which you did not use....
However, in your earlier post you noted:
@Quills wrote:
....Then two months later I was given a credit for the days I didn't use....
You appear to have gotten reimbursed (credit) for the days which you did not use.
From what I gathered, your issue was:
@Quills wrote:
...but still didn't get my month of the full payment I made when I signed up for everything...
I can't speak as to the practices of other providers. However, as mentioned previously, I don't think Fido customers are charged a full month's payment at activation. That's why those community members (in my edit of previous post) noted the charges for that first month included on the bill they received.
Obviously, I don't know what happened when you first activated services 12 years ago. However, if you did pay for a full month's service at activation, your first bill would have included a credit for the amount already paid on the bill. They would not have charged you twice for the same month.
Cheers
Hello again,
I don't know what you discussed with Fido for the new plan. However, signing up for new services:
~taken from Fido.ca
Both FidoAlex and I agreed with you that the monthly charges are for the upcoming month. However, as noted by those fellow community members' posts and indicated by the screen capture, the upcoming month charges are not always charged at activation.
**edit** However, if you did pay at activation:
@Cawtau wrote:
... if you did pay for a full month's service at activation, your first bill would have included a credit for the amount already paid on the bill. They would not have charged you twice for the same month... **
No, I do not work for Fido or any telecommunications provider.
@Quills wrote:
... Call your hydro company and see if they'll connect you without a payment first..
Their charge is for actual usage. If they do require payment prior to activation, it would be a security deposit or connection fee (see here, here and here). Note that the connection fee is not considered a part of services. Depending on a potential customer's credit, Fido may also require security deposits as well as impose a credit limit on the account. While such requirements might not protect them completely from people absconding from their responsibilities, it does limit their loses.
Cheers
Hello again,
@Quills wrote:
.... Why would they want a credit card number if they don't actually want a payment 🤔 ....
When booking a hotel, they will also require a credit card number at the time of booking. However, they often won't charge for the room on the card until after the actual hotel stay or if room was not cancelled. It is not unusual to require a credit card but not actually place charges on it until a later date. It's also not uncommon to pre-authorise an amount on the card. Those pending charges are removed when the actual charge is made to the card.
@Quills wrote:
... If it was, like you say, a 20 day grace period,...
I never said there was a grace period 🙄. The payment due date is 21 days after the bill date. That is no different than a payment due date on a credit card. You receive a bill and they give you a set amount of time to pay that bill.
You keep saying that's how it works. However, those community members' posts I keep referring weren't complaing that they already paid for the first month.
@Quills wrote:
.... Your first bill will show that payment, and also any usages from your activation date to your billing date and then a charge for full for the COMING month,
The charges on the bill are for that month which happens to be upcoming because it is first bill.
@Bharath_Reddy wrote
I have taken new connection on Dec 10th 2021, received bill for the period between 10th Dec and 10th Jan....
Note that their first bill included Dec 10 to Jan 10. That is one month -- the first month. It did not include any additional month.
@67jh wrote:
...I subscribed to a cellular subscription on February 10 and I have just received a bill to pay for the period from February 11 to March 10... (translated from French)
Note again that their first bill only includes the first month of service and not an additional month of service.
If you did pay for your first month of services at activation, that payment would be reflected on your first bill. However, your first bill would not include charges for an additional coming month. That's how it works.
I understand people might have had different experiences, though...
Cheers
Hello again,
You are the one who keeps going around in circles 🙄
@Quills wrote:
.... I'm getting a service without paying for it first and then I'm given 21 days to pay it, if I don't pay then that is called FREE...
It is not free because the customer is charge prorated fees for the used day of service on their final bill. Sure, people might abscond from their responsibility for paying that bill. That's why they might also require a deposit in some instances
However, that is neither here nor there...
You seem agreeable to the notion that for any given billing cycle, you are charged the upcoming monthly fees as well as any overages you might have incurred during your previous month. So you are charged in advance for your monthly plan plus any usage above your allotments in the previous month. Fido cannot determine any overage or additional usage for your previous month until after your first billing cycle ends.
Is it possible the first bill you received was actually your second bill?
You have had this discussion with customer service and a manager (apparently). You have been provided with images and links showing how Fido charges on their first bill. You have also been provided with the experiences of fellow community members suggesting what Fido bills on their customers' first bill. All of that seems to suggest the same thing. Yet to you, everyone is evidently wrong. It is clear you are not open to reason.
Good luck with your complaint to CCTS
Cheers
