Hello Anikur93,
Welcome to the community!
Sorry to hear you've incurred unexpected roaming charges.
@anikur93 wrote:
... I have taken meticulous care to ensure that roaming was disabled on my device on that date, making this charge both unexpected and unjustifiable....
You should note that, other than Airplane or Flight modes, most modern phones do not have a setting to disable roaming entirely. While most phones have settings to disable roaming data, that setting does not prevent roaming for voice and messaging. I understand you may have had roaming data disabled. And yes, it is generally recommended to disable data and roaming data in order to prevent unintended roaming charges. However, some manufacturers might allow some data usage to occur despite those settings (see here). One would believe that disabling data and roaming data should prevent the device from using any data. Yet, some manufacturers seemingly allow some data usage despite those settings disabled.
I am aware some people have referenced other providers not charging for such data usage. While they may have forgiven an initial instance of such roaming data, they appear to also be charging for data usage even with those settings disabled (see here, here, and here). The issue is not limited to Fido (or Rogers).
I'm sure there are others who will claim it's a Canadian mobile provider issue. However, the issue appears to also affect our neighbours South of the border (see here and here). Their plans and roaming features may be slightly different than on this side of the border, yet people also note data roaming charges despite data settings disabled.
The issue is some devices are letting the data usage despite data and roaming data settings disabled. As illustrated by this member on another forum, only some devices have this issue (see here). Unfortunately, no one is holding the manufacturers accountable.
In order to prevent unintended roaming charges, it is also generally recommended to enable Airplane or Flight mode on your phone. You can manually enable Wifi, if required.
@anikur93 wrote:
... I find it unreasonable to be charged $12 for such a negligible amount of data. ...
While I understand you may not have used any other services, that pricing isn't just for data. The Fido Roam service lets you use your data, talk and text from your existing Fido postpaid mobile plan. The charge will only incur if your phone uses services -- make or receive a call, send a text message or use data abroad. All eligible plans have Fido Roam enabled. If you do not wish to avail of the services, you would need to opt-out of the feature. In doing so, any usage abroad would be on a pay-per-use basis. You can view those rates here.
**edit**
@anikur93 wrote:
...The cost of 600KB of data should not be excessively priced to this extent....
It should also be noted that the charge for roaming data (pay-per-use) is not per KB. While the rate might vary depending on destination, the rate is generally per X MB. **
@anikur93 wrote:
... I would like to reiterate that my device's roaming function was turned off on May 24th. This should be verifiable through your network logs, and I request that you review them to confirm that no roaming activity was initiated from my device....
As mentioned, most modern phones do not have a setting to disable roaming entirely. In addition, the mobile providers only know usage. They do not know what settings may or may not have been enabled on a customer's device. You were charged for roaming because they would have been forwarded the network logs from the foreign newtork which would have shown that data usage. If there is usage occurring when customers do not believe their devices should be able to do so, that usage would still incur charges. Customers would need to know how their devices behave abroad.
You should note these forums are community-driven and not intended as a venue for customer services. If you wish to address your matter, 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
Hello again,
While I can understand your position on the matter, perhaps you misunderstood when I mentioned the forums are community-driven and not a venue for customer services. Many of us don't actually work for Fido. I am a fellow customer. I have just accumulated tid-bits of information here and there. We are not in any position to reconsider a decision Fido has made.
The only way you might be able to have your situation re-evaluated would be contact customer service again.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
