Why is getting a cell phone plan so difficult.

[Pathfinder76]

Holy crap. I stopped at Best Buy between wedding events yesterday to inquire about new phones, adding a kid with an owned phone to the plan etc. the guy was good but I just didn’t have the time to put everything together. In fact he was good enough that I asked him if he was on commission and if he was I’d drive the hour next week when he was on shift to get my phone from him. He isn’t. But one thing he did say is I’m paying too much. OK. So when I got a few minutes I called Roger’s. What a freaking nightmare.

The guy on the phone was impossible to deal with. I told him the exact story as above and he immediately got on the defensive telling me the guy I spoke with at Best Buy was a moron. Then he tells me my last bill is not indicative of my normal bill because of roaming charges. I was well aware of this charge and told him that wasn’t why I was calling. I just wanted to rearrange my plan, get two new phones, need four lines total and I’m bringing two owned phones to the table.

So he puts me on hold for five minutes. He then comes back and starts telling me that he can’t deal with me because my assertion that I seem to be getting over charged is false and that they don’t do that. So I again tell him. I’m not saying you are over charging me for my plan, but my plan is not the best option and I need your best option for four phone lines and two new phones. To which he then responds, that there are several options and it’s too difficult to go through all the options and to quit being angry about my current plan.

At this point I have the guy on speaker so my wife can listen to this nonsense. She has more patience than any human being I know and by now she is telling me just to hang up. So I did.

Unbelievable. I call a business. Tell them I want to pay them money and they can’t sell me anything. How hard is this? Last time I did this 5 years ago I got charged more than I was told, called back got told I was wrong and they woul review my original recorded conversation. Well guess what. I was right and they adjusted my bill accordingly. I’m darn tempted to call back and have them review this conversation.

Is this how all phone providers operate?

[DiabeticKripple]

The wife just got a new IPhone 16 Pro Max with Freedom mobile through Best Buy for $85/month with 50gb data.

We tried Bell first but they were super uninterested in helping us and they couldn’t compete with the price.

[Pathfinder76]

My problem is that I’m rural enough that I’m limited by who has the best tower coverage and at this point that is Roger’s.

[urban rednek]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

My problem is that I’m rural enough that I’m limited by who has the best tower coverage and at this point that is Roger’s.

Unfortunately, they can see that when they pull up your account information, and they treat you accordingly.
Yours is not an uncommon story.

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

My problem is that I’m rural enough that I’m limited by who has the best tower coverage and at this point that is Roger’s.

Then call Fido, they use Rogers towers and are a lot cheaper.

[KGB]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

My problem is that I’m rural enough that I’m limited by who has the best tower coverage and at this point that is Roger’s.

Freedom uses Roger’s towers… I switched to freedom a year ago from Roger’s because they were charging way too much. I brought my own phone and paying only $30 month for 50GB data and text calls to US included…

[cowmanbob]

The answer is yes. Calling them is a perfect way to ruin a otherwise nice day.

[Krokitt]

No one mentioned Sasktel, now that is the place to go to get frustrated. I went to Bell after 11 month fight with them.

[eric2381]

We are rural also and tried Roger’s years ago and I found service to be worse than Telus. It was very painful dealing with Roger’s also. Constantly we had to deal with them because the bill wasn’t right. We went to Koodo and pick our plans online and it was quick and easy and cheaper.

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by eric2381

We are rural also and tried Roger’s years ago and I found service to be worse than Telus. It was very painful dealing with Roger’s also. Constantly we had to deal with them because the bill wasn’t right. We went to Koodo and pick our plans online and it was quick and easy and cheaper.

We use Koodo as well (Telus network), couldn't be happier, best part is they never phone, email etc. trying to up sell us.

[Talking moose]

Telus customer here. Tried getting a better deal on plans over the phone. No dice. I went to Walmart and got a new phone a few weeks later. He looked at my plan and made his calls and got me a much better deal.
Rather than fight with them myself I’ll be going in to the outlets and let them do my haggling for better deals in the future.
Much less frustrating.

[Talking moose]

The guy at Best Buy was probably right and I’d bet he can get a better deal.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by pikergolf

We use Koodo as well (Telus network), couldn't be happier, best part is they never phone, email etc. trying to up sell us.

Koodo for us as well, and decent coverage in town. Each of us are paying $30-35/month with plenty amounts of data for what we do.

Easy to manage online, and it pays to check on the account control panel, because they often re-jig their plans. The last adjustment that I did brought our costs down considerably and gave us more data.

Another thing is, we tend to buy our phones outright. Sometimes they have deals where it pays to get the phone through them, pay on "The Tab" plan for the minimum amount of months required (usually just a few months) and then buy out the phone and switch back to a regular non-tab plan.

We do get nags, but that's from the parent company (TELUS) trying to get us to switch to them. But every time I look into their plans, they would be charging me way more than what I pay now. Makes absolutely no sense.

[Brankon]

Originally Posted by pikergolf

We use Koodo as well (Telus network), couldn't be happier, best part is they never phone, email etc. trying to up sell us.

I switched to koodo from telus nearly 3 years ago and just recently stopped getting calls from telus! They obviously couldn't take the hint that over 30 ignored calls means I dont want what they're trying to sell. been a few months now since I've seen telus pop up on my call display

[badbrass]

Us as well!

Originally Posted by Stinky Buffalo

Koodo for us as well, and decent coverage in town. Each of us are paying $30-35/month with plenty amounts of data for what we do.

Easy to manage online, and it pays to check on the account control panel, because they often re-jig their plans. The last adjustment that I did brought our costs down considerably and gave us more data.

Another thing is, we tend to buy our phones outright. Sometimes they have deals where it pays to get the phone through them, pay on "The Tab" plan for the minimum amount of months required (usually just a few months) and then buy out the phone and switch back to a regular non-tab plan.

We do get nags, but that's from the parent company (TELUS) trying to get us to switch to them. But every time I look into their plans, they would be charging me way more than what I pay now. Makes absolutely no sense.

[britman101]

In my opinion, calling major providers now like Telus and Rogers is a waste of time. What you get is a call center rep., who knows very little other than the basics. If they cannot help you, you get put on hold and the wait time can be substantial. Better option is to to select some stores that are close to you, such as TELUS, Bell or Rogers and talk to the staff there about what you need for your phone requirements. You will get better information and can compare what other vendors have to offer. Also, you can negotiate with the person there to get a plan that meets your needs.

[Engels]

When you get useless call center reps demand to speak to their superiors/bosses. Usually takes a little effort, but it beats banging your head against the wall with those people for hours at a time. It has worked for me in the past to get better monthly rates.

[cranky]

Here we go again. Looking at this thread I’m paying to much again. Switched to Koodo 3 years ago was great savings.
But we just recently got a $5 each phone increase so we are now at $45 per month per phone with 1 gig each. Now we don’t use gigs hardly ever but still y’all getting lotsa gigs for less kinda gets me. Guess I gotta go visit Koodo store see what I can get.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Another place you might want to check is Costco... Was talking to a gentleman recently who said that, given his research, it's been the most cost-effective place to get set up for his family.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by cranky

Here we go again. Looking at this thread I’m paying to much again. Switched to Koodo 3 years ago was great savings.
But we just recently got a $5 each phone increase so we are now at $45 per month per phone with 1 gig each. Now we don’t use gigs hardly ever but still y’all getting lotsa gigs for less kinda gets me. Guess I gotta go visit Koodo store see what I can get.

Double-check your account settings - you may be able to downsize your plan.

When they did a rate jump on us a few years ago, I switched my phone (and IncrediGirl's phone) to be limited to 3G networks, and saved a fair amount of money until the plans got better again.

[DirtShooter]

I'm surprised rogers is the best in your rural location. Up here telus has been the best for rural in Northern ab.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by DirtShooter

I'm surprised rogers is the best in your rural location. Up here telus has been the best for rural in Northern ab.

It is, until it isn't.

From the looks of it, what ends up happening is that the Telus towers become oversubscribed at some point, and then that's where the advantage ends. At least that's what I've noticed for wireless data customers. Not 100% sure what effects it has on cellular customers.

One thing to pay attention to is what the fallback networks are for your device- for instance, IncrediGirl's phone is a 5G phone, and it will fall back to 3G.

Mine is a 3G phone and falls back to LTE. Many times I can get better reception than she can.

[Sundancefisher]

This plan is $25/month

Available to over 2.5 million eligible Canadians
The new $25 5G plan offers 3GB of 5G data with no overage charges and a no-cost Samsung Galaxy A14 or Motorola G 5G with financing when you keep your phone for a 24-month term. Eligible recipients include:

People who receive provincial income support or disability benefits
Seniors receiving the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement
Rent-geared-to-income tenants of a non-profit housing partner organization
Recipients of the federal Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP)
Families receiving the Maximum Canada Child Benefit through Connecting Families

https://about.rogers.com/news-ideas/...ity%20benefits

Liberals screwed me over by allowing the Shaw Roger’s merger. Only have a few more years of $25/month unlimited cell service. Then I’ll be looking.

Don’t know anything about Fizz. But they are cheap.

https://fizz.ca/en/coverage?gad_sour...gJE0_D_BwE#map

Public mobile is another. Cheap.

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/co...zM0Ny40Mi4wLjA.

I’ve talked with a few people that got a very cheap US plan when down visiting someone and used their buddies address.

It’s such a rip off up here.

[DirtShooter]

@Sundance

Chuck is waaaay too rich for that poor-mans rogers plan.

[edmsmith]

If you switch to another carrier rogers will call you with some unbelievable plans to switch back. Sucks that you sometimes have to do this but it works.

You could call rogers and ask for the cancelation department as one last effort. Rogers is normally the better of the providers for getting good plans.

For example. I had $40 for 50gb unlimited calling when I was with them. Decent enough plan.

With telus business plan now. $35 200gb per data per line. Us and Mexico calling included. Data is shared between all lines. Rogers calls to get me to go back but they don't bother when they hear what I've got.

[huntinstuff]

I am now with Koodo after being with Telus since before they were Telus.

I pay $34, unlimited data, free world phone calls and texting. I never connect to wifi on my phone unless I cast something to my tv.

Telus called me 30 min after I switched over. They said they would match the koodo deal.

" No kidding I said you're the same company. Why not offer me that before i switched?"

You HAVE TO leave to get any deal. Otherwise, they just continue to screw you.

[JD848]

Originally Posted by huntinstuff

I am now with Koodo after being with Telus since before they were Telus.

I pay $34, unlimited data, free world phone calls and texting. I never connect to wifi on my phone unless I cast something to my tv.

Telus called me 30 min after I switched over. They said they would match the koodo deal.

" No kidding I said you're the same company. Why not offer me that before i switched?"

You HAVE TO leave to get any deal. Otherwise, they just continue to screw you.

Bingo .100 percent correct .

[flydude]

Originally Posted by huntinstuff

I am now with Koodo after being with Telus since before they were Telus.

I pay $34, unlimited data, free world phone calls and texting. I never connect to wifi on my phone unless I cast something to my tv.

Telus called me 30 min after I switched over. They said they would match the koodo deal.

" No kidding I said you're the same company. Why not offer me that before i switched?"

You HAVE TO leave to get any deal. Otherwise, they just continue to screw you.

Originally Posted by JD848

Bingo .100 percent correct .

Do you mean this plan Koodo offers or true unlimited data at whatever speed you can get depending on where you are?


Unlimited Data: The Unlimited Data perk allows you to use as much data as you like while in Canada and never be charged data overages. After your plan’s high-speed data is used, your maximum speed will be reduced to a maximum of 512 Kbps for the rest of your billing cycle. This means you’ll still be able to browse the Internet and use email, but video quality will be reduced and other high-bandwidth applications will take longer to load. Available only to existing customers on 5G speed plans. For more info, check out Koodo’s Network Traffic Management Policy at koodo.com/NTMP.1

[huntinstuff]

Originally Posted by flydude

Do you mean this plan Koodo offers or true unlimited data at whatever speed you can get depending on where you are?


Unlimited Data: The Unlimited Data perk allows you to use as much data as you like while in Canada and never be charged data overages. After your plan’s high-speed data is used, your maximum speed will be reduced to a maximum of 512 Kbps for the rest of your billing cycle. This means you’ll still be able to browse the Internet and use email, but video quality will be reduced and other high-bandwidth applications will take longer to load. Available only to existing customers on 5G speed plans. For more info, check out Koodo’s Network Traffic Management Policy at koodo.com/NTMP.1

I get the fastest at all times unlimited.

My daughter does now too because I told Koodo Id leave and go back to Telus if they didnt do the same for her .

[flydude]

Originally Posted by huntinstuff

I get the fastest at all times unlimited.

My daughter does now too because I told Koodo Id leave and go back to Telus if they didnt do the same for her .

Have you ever exceeded your plan limit though?