Urgent Complaint: Misleading Information and Unapproved Charges

[mgazar]

Dear Fido Customer Service,

I trust this message finds you well, although I must express my extreme dissatisfaction with the recent experience I've had as a customer of FIDO.

On November 25, I purchased a new line for my son through your call centre, explicitly requesting an eSIM for activation and the transfer of his number from another carrier to Fido. Subsequently, on the following day, I acquired an additional line for my daughter via the Fido application, enticed by the advertised Black Friday offer of $34 for 50 GB.

After waiting ten days for the eSIM as promised in your email, I contacted Fido to activate both lines. Upon receiving my first bill on December 16 (attached for your reference), I discovered that I was charged:

1. a) Partial charges from November 25 to December 12.
2. b) Monthly charges in advance for the two lines from December 13 to January 12.

My primary complaint is the clear absence of information regarding monthly charges in advance by both the sales agent and the Fido application. This constitutes a highly misleading practice, as neither party deemed it necessary to communicate this critical detail during the transaction.

Upon raising this concern with your call center on December 16, I was met with absolute refusal from the agent to refund the amount or provide any form of compensation. I was doubtfully informed that these charges are supposedly common knowledge and should be known to me, as if it is acceptable to withhold such crucial information from paying customers.

I am writing to formally register my complaint and urgently seek your intervention to rectify this matter. I insist on a refund of the charged amount or suitable compensation, as this incident represents a clear breach of communication standards, and I certainly did not provide informed consent for these unanticipated charges.

I anticipate your immediate attention to this matter and a swift resolution. Failure to address this issue promptly will compel me to escalate this complaint through official regulatory channels.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Sincerely,

Mohamed Elgazar

[Cawtau · Accepted solution]

Hello Mgazar,

  Welcome to the community!

  Sorry to hear you might not have understood how post-paid plans operate. 

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@mgazar wrote:

...My primary complaint is the clear absence of information regarding monthly charges in advance by both the sales agent and the Fido application. ..

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  I understand you may not have been told monthly charges are for the upcoming month. However, that is how post-paid services operate in Canada (see definitions here). I understand that might seem counter-intuitive since post usually refers to after. I think the term might refer to receiving a monthly bill stating any accumulated additional charges during the month (see here). While the plan fee is charged prior to each month, overages and additional charges show after each month.

  For each billing cycle, there would be additional charges from your previous month plus the monthly fee for your upcoming month (note that any financing would be additional). However, since it's their first bill, your additional charges would include prorated monthly fees for the days before the beginning of the billing cycle (see here).

  You should note this forum is community-driven and not intended as a venue for customer services. We would not have access to customer accounts so we would not be able to address your specific matter. If you would like to further discuss your matter, you would need to contact customer service. They can also be contacted via Facebook, or Twitter. Those methods can be accessed via the contact page posted above. However, I'm not sure what concessions are available to you since that critical detail you note is standard practice for post-paid plans.

Hope this helps 😀

Cheers