Hello,
Welcome to the community!
Firstly, you should note that this forum is community-driven and not intended as a venue for customer services. We do not have access to customers' accounts nor would we be able to address your request. In addition, since the forums are public, it is generally not recommended to provider personal information like phone numbers or account numbers.
That said, sorry to hear you've incurred unexpected roaming charges. The Fido Roam charge incurs when your device uses Fido Services abroad. That is, the charge will incur when you make/receive calls, send text messages or use data outside of Canada.
@936827385 wrote:
... ensured my phone’s cellular was turned off upon landing. ..
I understand you may have disabled data and/or roaming data. However, you should note that disabling data and roaming data does not prevent roaming for voice and messaging. In addition, some manufacturers might allow some data usage to occur despite those settings (see here). It is generally recommended to enable Airplane and/or Flight modes to prevent unintended roaming usage. You could then manually enable Wifi when required.
Since your device received the Welcome Abroad text message, it does not appear that Airplane or Flight mode was enabled. That setting should have disabled all of the device's antennae which would have not allowed the device to connect to the local cellular towers and receive that message. That said, receiving that text message does not necessarily mean that your device had used services. I was able to confirm that merely receiving that message does not incur roaming fees (see here).
While receiving SMS would not incur the roaming charge, it's worth mentioning that the data contained within MMS (incoming or outgoing) would be considered roaming data and charged accordingly. You should note that MMS are not solely restricted to pictures or video messages. Messages with subject headers or group messages etc are also considered MMS. It should also be noted that iMessages and RCS messages are sent (and received) as data and not as text messages (SMS). In addition, it should be noted that the iPhone Voicemail notifications are sent as data.
Even if a received text message is SMS, if your device is configured to provide Delivery and/or Read receipts, those would be sent as SMS or data and considered roaming usage.
As already mentioned, making or receiving calls abroad will likely incur the Fido Roam charges. While letting calls go to voicemail does not incur any charges, you should note that checking your voicemail would incur charges as it involves calling the voicemail service.
I also understand you might not have asked to use roaming services. However, Fido Roam is enabled by default on most current post-paid plans. You would need to ensure your device does not use services. If you did not wish to avail of the feature, you would have had to opt-out of Fido Roam. In doing so, any usage would be on a pay-per-use basis. Those rates can be found here. Alternatively, if you did not wish to use any services, you would have needed to request to have roaming blocked on your account.
For completeness sake, it should be noted that while using Wifi for regular internet access will not incur Fido Roam charges, there seems to be some misunderstanding regarding Wifi-calling. I'm not sure how people have gotten the impression that Wifi-calling does not use the networks. However, that is not true. While the calls and messages do not transmit via cellular towers, they still use the networks via the internet gateway (see image here). The cellular towers and Wifi are merely alternate means of accessing the networks. Calls and messages would not be able to complete or get sent/received without the networks. As such, using Wifi-calling is technically using Fido services. However, they have allowed certain usage to be free from additional charges. All the messages and calls you receive (from anywhere in the world) will be taken from your plan's voice minutes and messaging limits. As well, all Wifi-calling messages and calls you make to a Canadian phone number while abroad won't incur long-distance or roaming charges (see link above).
@936827385 wrote:
..I did not use a single minute or second of data, calls, or any other service while abroad....
I further understand you may not have intended on using services. However, if you were charged a roaming fee, your device did use services abroad. The mobile providers only know usage. If a device is using services when its settings are set not to use them, that's an issue with the device. The mobile providers have no access to a device's settings to know what settings are enabled/disabled.
If you would like to discuss your situation, you would need to 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
