Vacation Service Suspension

[Durban]

I called Fido in early April to tell them that I was going overseas and would be shutting my phone off on April 07 and turning the phone back on when I returned to Canada on May 17.  They said that the billing period was passed and they could not do anything for April.  That is not logical - it would not be hard to make an adjustment (Shaw did that for my television and telephone coverage).

Fido said that they could suspend the phone for May but I would have to call them to turn it back on.  Again, no logic - how do I call them to turn my service back on if my phone is not working?

Has anyone had experience with vacation service suspension?

I may be best to cancel the service and find a provider when I return??

Have you had experience with other providers?

[ABDUSH62]

Hello, 

I have the same problem with 3 numbers (the family) of Fido, and whenever I call them from overseas most of the time Fido Solution is closed. I do not understand such a big telecom compamy has a limited working hours. I lived in and travelled to many countries in the world & 99% of their telecom companies (customer service) are working 24/7 except Fido with limited hours. Also, at Fido web page there is no clear section for temporary freez of account.

Finally, despite my efforts to freez my Fido numbers temporarily while I am currently at overseas, I found my self spending more money calling them with fruitless results.

[Cawtau]

Hello ABDUSH62,

  Welcome to the community!

  Sorry to hear you have not yet been able to reach customer service. However, it's actualy not that uncommon for customer service to only be available during certain hours. For example Verizon, O2 UK and Vodafone UK, etc all have available call hours.

  Fido does offer a temporary suspension for a reduced fee on eligible lines. Are your lines currently under contract? If so, do you have an older subsidised plans or one of the newer financed payment plans? Unfortunately, subsidised plans are not eligible for the temporary suspension as the cost of phones is incorporated into the plan cost. If you have a financed plan, you should note that the temporary suspension only applies to your services. You would still need to pay the monthly costs for financing the device.

  Unfortunately, there is no way to add the temporary suspension online. If you're eligible for the temporary suspension, you would need to contact customer service to have it set up. As noted in the solution, 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

Hope this helps 😀

Cheers

[jcuriale]

I found it interesting that though you can not turn off the service before a billing period, you had no trouble at all starting my service when I returned early. So i find your policy a cash grab. You can bill by the minute but but apparently not by the day? 

[FidoChristina]

Hey @KAPABLE-K, 

That part hasn't changed It's only possible to request one suspension within a 12-month period. The countdown starts on the first day of the suspension.

[appatil89]

$30 per month is ridiculous to pay for a non-contract service. I would rather close my service and buy something else. FIDO is just trying to leech money from customers and conveniently increased suspension rate from $7/mo to $30/mo.  

[FidoClaudia]

Hey @appatil89,

We definitely wouldn't want to see you go! We do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, however we need to review our services from time to time to reflect our ongoing investments in our network and services.

There are alternative options though if you find yourself in a situation where you wouldn't need the service for a few months, you can find out more about it on this thread in FidoRanya's post. 

Cheers! 

[FidoClaudia]

Hey @appatil89 

I just wanted to keep you updated and let you know that the Temporary Suspension in now $7/month and can be added as long as there is no agreement on the account.

Cheers!

[FidoRanya · Accepted solution]

Hey @Durban , 

Welcome to the Community! 

While we do offer a suspension program, it has to meet certain requirements. The suspension can only be added for a period of minimum 2 months up to 12 months. It has to be added at the beginning of the billing cycle, there's no way around that unfortunately.

Also, there are different ways to reach us while you're away that don't require a call! You can contact us through the Live Chat, through Facebook and even Twitter! And of course, we're always here to help on the community . 

We definitely appreciate your feedback and I'll make sure to forward it to the appropriate department. 

Don't hesitate if you have other questions or comments.

[Original_Lucy]

I didn't realize that there was a vacation suspension option. I guess I never really thought about it. So, I could call you in January to let you know I will be going away in February for two months and have my service suspended? That is good to know. Sorry to hear that the OP missed the window on that one. I will definitely keep that in mind.

[KAPABLE-K]

@Original_Lucy its called a temporary suspension and its not for everyone. 

As long as you are not in a contract you can have your account temporarily suspended, you will only be charged $7 for each month you want the account suspended for. The suspension is offered once every 12 months for 2-4 consecutive months.

[FidoAmanda]

Hey guys! 

I just wanted to add some updated information to what KAPABLE-K said.

KAPABLE-K is mostly correct, however, we recently made some changes. 

Provided you're eligible to suspend your line, we now offer the temporary suspension at $30 per month for 2-12 consecutive months without the need to change your plan. 

Hope this helps!

*Last updated June 28th' 2019. 

[KAPABLE-K]

@FidoAmanda thanks for the update.

Is it still once per 12 months period, if I suspend my account for two months then two months later I want to do it again can I?