Good news folks. It seems that blogging has its benefits after all.
Apparently the president's office stumbled across this post (they must have been Googling that day) and sent the Bloke a $50 credit towards his account.
Falling short of a full apology, they sent it in appreciation of the Bloke's "loyalty" to the company.
Although it doesn't even come close to compensating my time and aggravation... nor did they respond to the Bloke's queries for disciplinary action against those individuals responsible, I felt it was only fair to add this addendum.
Vicki
· 10 months ago
@Blog Bloke, I stumbled on your blog, when I was actually looking for Bell's presidential info (I have major problems with them, and I'm getting nowhere with their customer service, grrrr..)
As much as your complaints were valid, I vote your phrase : ''“Really? I’ve worked in law for 20 some years so please explain to me why I can’t sue”. As the douchebag phrase of the year.
This phrase makes me doubt everything you wrote here. I guess my experience in customer service, (in shoes, but still...), reminds me of every ''tool'' I ever had to deal with.
Good news Bloke. I stumbled across your blog in my search for contact info for the president's office after the most unbelievably atrocious customer service experience I've ever had today, and I've had a few.
I called to complain about a $4.99 charge on my bill for an application called Pocket Express *(which TELUS includes with every smartphone). I clicked on the link to try the service after checking the Handmark (makers of Pocket Express) site to insure I wouldn't be charged. The rep was a jerk from the get go, and told me that he would not reverse the charge. He said I should have looked at the Telus Website before opening the program, and equated it to ordering a TV channel or PPV movie from your cable provider. The only difference is that the cable company tells you they are going to charge you for the channel or movie, unlike TELUS who did not have anything anywhere to say I would be charged for opening the application they included on my phone.
Much like you, the call spiraled downward quickly and ended with me telling the rep he was an a**hole and hanging up on him. I was just seething after the discussion.
Apparently I'm not the only one that has had this problem, because after a quick Google search I found a few other unfortunate souls who had fallen into the same trap as I did. I will be contacting George and asking for a credit, and if I don't get it maybe we'll have to look at a class action lawsuit...this is worse than reverse option billing!
Thanks, Mark
Blog Bloke
· 1 year ago
Write a post like I did Maestro. It's cheaper than a lawsuit
Kyle Mears
· 10 months ago
Ive been having troubles with telus lately due to our economy. I have low income, by only being able to get part time work threw my union. Unfortunatly with out the government giving us canadian citizens much work for the constructions going on in our own country, we are finding that the economy is going into a recession and I felt it over a year ago. Anyways the point I am getting at is since then telus since it has now converted to americanized corperation they have become more money hungry then ever. The fact is, when you sign for such a contract on a telephone you are stating you will pay the bills for those three years. Well the thing is you have to pay anyways cause its in contract but now they are stating that every three months you have to have every last dime paid off of they will deactivate your phone. Now EI only pays up to a max of $700 ever two weeks and that barely covers your morgage and food.. Well I have been paying around $50 to $75 a month on my $110 dollar bill which they will not negotiate to change period and when they do say I can change it it still wont take affect for up to $30.. Now they cut me off when I only owe now a total of $190 which still isn't much at all.. The thing is they charge me reconnection charge which is retarded and I believe they came up with this three month rule out of there ass as a reason to force people into giving them an extra $30 for a click of the finger during this time of need. Anyways, they said I have to pay $500 to cancel my phone if I dont pay it all up in full by the 28th of this month.
I said to the lady a couple days before that I got $100 I can put down on it this week and that pays off half the bill, can I get my phone reconnected so I can get jobs since I rely on my phone for job calls. Anyways i get the money a couple days later and run off and pay the $100 like I said I would to the payment arrangement lady. I phone back and let them know the reference number to the transaction made and I get...
Okay: Now you've paid the half soon as you get us the last half we'll re-activate your phone. That saves you from getting your plan cancelled for now.
I flip out cause we had an agreement to reactivate my phone so I can obtain calls for job placing. And the guy laughs at me and said its not his fault I cant pay my bills.. Maybe I should be more responsible... Im like so you guys want me to Fucking pay you guys and not eat for a month and lose my house over.. He said well maybe you should go to the bank and get a loan.
Personally I THINK THAT IS THE RUDEST PIECE OF SHIT COMPANY I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE. I THINK THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD STEP IN SINCE THERE AMERICAN CO. NOW AND SAY GET THE FUCK OUT IF YOU DONT WANT TO HELP THE PEOPLE OUT THAT MAKE YOUR COMPANY A COMPANY.
- The thing is the company telus actually knows about the economy problems but in fact they still are profiting millions and in fact havent felt a bit of the recession at all.. because there customer support center is not even located in this country. They pay for another country to do it cause they get cheaper workers. How sick is that? I think people need to step up to the plate and start kicking company's out that are to self obsorbed and greedy. Government Standardization should be placed on business's with a CEO Salary cap so the super rich no longer can be super rich. Dispence to those that make the money for the assholes and I bet you there would be no economy problems.. Anyways Id like to hear some responses to this and what you believe is right.
Vicki
· 10 months ago
@Kyle Mears, I don't get it, how did you get 100$ bills? maybe it's time to reduce our plan and cut talking? When money was tight, I reduced my plan to the minimum, it costed me 35$/month, which wasn't as bad...
(There are valid complaints here, yours sounds like whining. Still, I hope you'll get your job back. Good luck)
Kyle Mears
· 10 months ago
Oh and when they de-activated my phone I still get charged full rate as if It was never de-activated which in state should not be allowed since they are still profiting off my contract will bullying the customer who has to fork the bill anyways. If your phone is cut off because your having money issues why should you have to pay the full bill even though you arnt getting service.. To me thats a load of shit, because im paying for something I cant even make use of. I think that there should be no right to de-activate a phone and be allowed to charge someone $30 to re-activate it and add to the bill even though you still pay the same bill.. Because they have millions they tend to push people around and grab people by the ankles and empty there pockets..
How many people do they have on a contract unactivated cell phone while still charging them full activated rate. How much money do they make off each person while de-activated during those months of not even giving service for such a thing they say is calculated so high becuase the cost to run your cellphone on the satalites. Well to me if your phone is not activated running on the satalite and your still paying the same bill well that means they are making almost pure profit off your not being hooked up... henze the reason they want to disconnect people so badly and come up with this three months full payment must. *To me sounds like a SCAM*
And I hear also that Rogers, Fido can only charge $200 per contract to cancel when telus states there allowed to charge $500 because they can. To me it just makes no sense on how the rich get richer, and the government dont care cause they get good taxes from them.. and us people get fuked cause they dont want to fight telus cause the hastles of going threw court only cost you more then what they are raping you for.
sammy
· 10 months ago
For Kyles,
i totally agree with you that telus shouldnt charge u while they are supensed your services. however , i dont see why they are evil of the course of asking you to pay your bill. As u mention above, you did use your phone, so it is normal for you to pay what you use. it is sad that due to the bad economy that you dont make much now. but dont you think it is really your responibility that you would save up some money for emergency?
BLOGBloke
· 10 months ago
I tried to pay my bill. They screwed up the automatic billing.
BLOGBloke
· 10 months ago
Just recently someone had hijacked my telephone number and I spent four hours on the phone to fix it and get back my credits (pay and talk). Then I spent another hour on the phone trying to persuade them they owed me for all the trouble I was put through. They finally agreed to give a $100 credit off a new phone upgrade. I called back yesterday to accept their offer and I was told they had no record of the offer and to forget it.
UNBELIEVABLE!
carrie
· 10 months ago
My boyfriend was on the phone with Telus for 4 hours today trying to get answers why there is a cell tower in our area, but the signal goes to a tower about an hour away from us! Hes been calling them for years trying to figure this thing out because every single call we make is long distance and that adds up over 4 years. So after they kept transfered to about 5 different people, so he got fed up and asked for a manager. The manager told him "We are not doing anything for you. If you want we will give you a $100 credit on your bill. As for the towers that is not our fault. Thats yours, the towers are a 'AS IS' we cant do anything about it if the tower an hour away is stronger than the one closer to you." Of course my boyfriend is getting frustrated with this because they were saying it our fault and to get a long distance plan (which we have) and each bill is still $300! So my boyfriend asked for the head office number and the manager said there wasn't one! Does that make any sense? Since we have 2 phones with them. They said they want $880 on top of our bill. If you have any answers please let me know! We don't know what to do about it.
BLOGBloke
· 10 months ago
WOW! Now that's what I call a Telus horror story. It makes you wonder which planet these people really come from. Here's hoping you can ditch them and move over to another carrier.
Vicki
· 10 months ago
@carrie, Maybe ask the head office to upgrade your plan for free? (Just a suggestion...) My cousin had similar problem, after a lot of complaining, she got ''free long distance'' something plan. So she doesn't get charged extra any more.
BLOGBloke
· 9 months ago
@carrie, I've been thinking about this and I would recommend that you consult with a lawyer or paralegal in your area.
If I was in your shoes I would take it as far as I could with Telus. Send them a fax and demand that they provide contact information for the CEO.
I would check the fine print of the contract to make sure there isn't something already in there covering a situation like this. Nevertheless, even if there is a contingency built into the contract I could argue that the information was not available to me before signing the contract and that they should have known this would happen and let me know beforehand so I could make an informative decision.
If I could not get satisfaction through Telus I could break the contract based on the doctrine of frustration. The doctrine is not easily won in court and the odds are against us. The judge could also ask why I continued to use the phone knowing full well that it would be charged long distance. Something to think about.
If I decided to break the contract I could tell them in writing (by fax or registered mail) and keep the proof of delivery receipt stating that the contract has been frustrated and is therefore invalid based on the fact that they should have been up-front before signing that the calls would be charged as long distance, and that I cannot afford to pay.
I could then stop making payments and let the account go into arrears. I could choose to either sue them in small claims court for all of the long distance charges paid to date, and/or sit back and let them sue me. Probably waiting for them to make a move is best given that the doctrine of frustration is so hard to win. The company might also not be willing to retain a lawyer at $500 an hour to sue and not bother.
If they just send a bill collector I would tell them to cease and desist from harassing me. If they persist I could complain to the local authorities and have their license revoked. I would also regularly check my credit report so that I can counter anything they may say that might be adverse to my credit rating.
Lastly, I could just stop using the cell phone, ride out the contract and never use Telus again. Telling our story like we have here will in the long run hurt them in the pocketbook far more than any charges they may have hosed us for. This is probably the easiest way to handle this.
Please note that above opinion is NOT legal advice and you should seek the advice of a legal practitioner in your area. This just to tell you what I might do if I were in your shoes.
I hope all works out well for you.
Vicki
· 10 months ago
Hi, if anyone has info on head office or president's contact for Bell (for satellite), please reply. I can't find it anywhere... Thanks
Karl
· 9 months ago
I chose Telus' $20 for 200 minute plan in a 3 year contract (and a Motorola Razr2 PCS phone). I also agreed to try out some additional options like web access and text messaging knowing that each time "I used those options" there would be a charge but I wanted these options in case I needed to download updates from the web or if I wanted to send a text message. Unknown to me, simply by agreeing to have web access, Telus took it upon themselves to send my phone web update requests so each time I used my cell phone, it would check the web for updates and simply by agreeing to text messaging, Telus decided to send me daily informational text messages each of which cost me an additional $1.00. I was not a heavy cell phone user but I typically used my phone 3 or 4 times a month and I never sent a text message or checked the web myself but my monthly bills were close to $70.00 for this $20/200 plan. That is gouging the customer.
Heather
· 9 months ago
Hi.....I've had a few nightmarish dealings with Telus myself. I have a teenage daughter that has a pay as you go plan. When we activated her phone it was with unlimited texting only. I decided to do the automatic top up once her phone went down to $5. For some reason it didn't work and her phone ran out of minutes on March 14th. On March 16th when we were able to get to a computer..her phone was topped up again by my brother in law using his credit card. Unknowingly.....because her phone ran out of minutes...apparently so did the "unlimited" texting. Low and behold when his credit card bill came in...there was $424 dollars worth of charges from telus. When I called to inquire I kept getting "the customer is responsible for topping up their account to keep it activated". at times Fernando would become argumentative...therefore, so did I. I tried to explain over and over...that how would the customer know that the unlimited part also expired since none of that comes through on the computer(when checking account info) or over the phone (all it said was your account reached 0 balance). I checked on their website and it doesn't say anywhere that this will happen. WHen topping up the account again...no where did it say do you want to reactivate the unlimited text. So after several people I spoke with...all I got was basically its my fault for not renewing the unlimited text (didn't know it was gone) but they'll be nice and give me a credit to her phone for $300. I told her I needed the credit card at least reimbursed for that much...which they are reluctantly doing. I'm still out $123 though. Has anyone else ever heard of this? I realize that it's a monthly pay as you go...but losing the unlimited text? When that was what the phone was activated with??? And no notification that it expired??? How is the customer to know this??? I had a pay as you go account before with another subscriber and never ran into this. Needless to say....our daughters phone account with Telus will be terminated.
katy
· 3 months ago
I was just fired by Telus. They are outsourcing my job to the Philippines. Our office was the best in customer service consistently, but theirs had a cheaper bottom line. Even though I worked there two years, I was still considered a temporary employee and not given severance.
BLOGBloke
· 3 months ago
@katy, sorry to hear that .. that totally SUCKS!
blizzam
· 2 months ago
Telus [censored] I've been with these [censored] for 10 years and they try and [censored] me at every turn. Just recently I lost my job and had moved 3 times in 3 months looking for work so I got settled and got a job. I have been putting 200 bucks a month on my bill for the last 3 months as I haven't seen a bill due to moving around so much and changing my phone number to try and match the area code as I go. So the other day I got my phone cut off, I call those [censored] and they tell me my bill is 900 bones and they want all the money today or there will be an adittional 600 dollar cancellation fee I told them [censored] that I cannot pay that all right now as I still have to eat and take care of my family and so on and told them I could pay 200 today and again in 2 weeks so this [censored] goes well give me a second goes off line for a bit and says we need $258 and some change today and every week for the next 5 weeks. I said I cannot do that she says well it will go to the next phase and get cancelled then go to collections. My beef is how the [censored] is that customer service when you want to set up a payment plan that will work for you as you cannot just pull money out of your [censored] but are unable to. On top of it all she was an [censored] the whole time like I shot her dog or some [censored] like I personally wronged that stupid [censored]. I am just glad that it is over with them [censored] and if it cost me an extra 600$ to do it good they were [censored] me with my plans every month and I was constantly changing them to try and get the best ones and still my phone cost me like 10$ a day. [censored] them.
BLOGBloke
· 2 months ago
I had a similar experience where I visited another town, got a local number and got charged over $200 in just 1 week. What the???
All Comments
Good news folks. It seems that blogging has its benefits after all.
Apparently the president's office stumbled across this post (they must have been Googling that day) and sent the Bloke a $50 credit towards his account.
Falling short of a full apology, they sent it in appreciation of the Bloke's "loyalty" to the company.
Although it doesn't even come close to compensating my time and aggravation... nor did they respond to the Bloke's queries for disciplinary action against those individuals responsible, I felt it was only fair to add this addendum.
As much as your complaints were valid, I vote your phrase : ''“Really? I’ve worked in law for 20 some years so please explain to me why I can’t sue”. As the douchebag phrase of the year.
This phrase makes me doubt everything you wrote here. I guess my experience in customer service, (in shoes, but still...), reminds me of every ''tool'' I ever had to deal with.
Check out : notalwaysright.com
Maybe you'll understand what I mean.
I called to complain about a $4.99 charge on my bill for an application called Pocket Express *(which TELUS includes with every smartphone). I clicked on the link to try the service after checking the Handmark (makers of Pocket Express) site to insure I wouldn't be charged. The rep was a jerk from the get go, and told me that he would not reverse the charge. He said I should have looked at the Telus Website before opening the program, and equated it to ordering a TV channel or PPV movie from your cable provider. The only difference is that the cable company tells you they are going to charge you for the channel or movie, unlike TELUS who did not have anything anywhere to say I would be charged for opening the application they included on my phone.
Much like you, the call spiraled downward quickly and ended with me telling the rep he was an a**hole and hanging up on him. I was just seething after the discussion.
Apparently I'm not the only one that has had this problem, because after a quick Google search I found a few other unfortunate souls who had fallen into the same trap as I did. I will be contacting George and asking for a credit, and if I don't get it maybe we'll have to look at a class action lawsuit...this is worse than reverse option billing!
Thanks,
Mark
I said to the lady a couple days before that I got $100 I can put down on it this week and that pays off half the bill, can I get my phone reconnected so I can get jobs since I rely on my phone for job calls. Anyways i get the money a couple days later and run off and pay the $100 like I said I would to the payment arrangement lady. I phone back and let them know the reference number to the transaction made and I get...
Okay: Now you've paid the half soon as you get us the last half we'll re-activate your phone. That saves you from getting your plan cancelled for now.
I flip out cause we had an agreement to reactivate my phone so I can obtain calls for job placing. And the guy laughs at me and said its not his fault I cant pay my bills.. Maybe I should be more responsible... Im like so you guys want me to Fucking pay you guys and not eat for a month and lose my house over.. He said well maybe you should go to the bank and get a loan.
Personally I THINK THAT IS THE RUDEST PIECE OF SHIT COMPANY I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE. I THINK THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD STEP IN SINCE THERE AMERICAN CO. NOW AND SAY GET THE FUCK OUT IF YOU DONT WANT TO HELP THE PEOPLE OUT THAT MAKE YOUR COMPANY A COMPANY.
- The thing is the company telus actually knows about the economy problems but in fact they still are profiting millions and in fact havent felt a bit of the recession at all.. because there customer support center is not even located in this country. They pay for another country to do it cause they get cheaper workers. How sick is that? I think people need to step up to the plate and start kicking company's out that are to self obsorbed and greedy. Government Standardization should be placed on business's with a CEO Salary cap so the super rich no longer can be super rich. Dispence to those that make the money for the assholes and I bet you there would be no economy problems.. Anyways Id like to hear some responses to this and what you believe is right.
When money was tight, I reduced my plan to the minimum, it costed me 35$/month, which wasn't as bad...
(There are valid complaints here, yours sounds like whining. Still, I hope you'll get your job back. Good luck)
How many people do they have on a contract unactivated cell phone while still charging them full activated rate. How much money do they make off each person while de-activated during those months of not even giving service for such a thing they say is calculated so high becuase the cost to run your cellphone on the satalites. Well to me if your phone is not activated running on the satalite and your still paying the same bill well that means they are making almost pure profit off your not being hooked up... henze the reason they want to disconnect people so badly and come up with this three months full payment must. *To me sounds like a SCAM*
And I hear also that Rogers, Fido can only charge $200 per contract to cancel when telus states there allowed to charge $500 because they can. To me it just makes no sense on how the rich get richer, and the government dont care cause they get good taxes from them.. and us people get fuked cause they dont want to fight telus cause the hastles of going threw court only cost you more then what they are raping you for.
i totally agree with you that telus shouldnt charge u while they are supensed your services. however , i dont see why they are evil of the course of asking you to pay your bill. As u mention above, you did use your phone, so it is normal for you to pay what you use. it is sad that due to the bad economy that you dont make much now. but dont you think it is really your responibility that you would save up some money for emergency?
UNBELIEVABLE!
If you have any answers please let me know! We don't know what to do about it.
If I was in your shoes I would take it as far as I could with Telus. Send them a fax and demand that they provide contact information for the CEO.
I would check the fine print of the contract to make sure there isn't something already in there covering a situation like this. Nevertheless, even if there is a contingency built into the contract I could argue that the information was not available to me before signing the contract and that they should have known this would happen and let me know beforehand so I could make an informative decision.
If I could not get satisfaction through Telus I could break the contract based on the doctrine of frustration. The doctrine is not easily won in court and the odds are against us. The judge could also ask why I continued to use the phone knowing full well that it would be charged long distance. Something to think about.
If I decided to break the contract I could tell them in writing (by fax or registered mail) and keep the proof of delivery receipt stating that the contract has been frustrated and is therefore invalid based on the fact that they should have been up-front before signing that the calls would be charged as long distance, and that I cannot afford to pay.
I could then stop making payments and let the account go into arrears. I could choose to either sue them in small claims court for all of the long distance charges paid to date, and/or sit back and let them sue me. Probably waiting for them to make a move is best given that the doctrine of frustration is so hard to win. The company might also not be willing to retain a lawyer at $500 an hour to sue and not bother.
If they just send a bill collector I would tell them to cease and desist from harassing me. If they persist I could complain to the local authorities and have their license revoked. I would also regularly check my credit report so that I can counter anything they may say that might be adverse to my credit rating.
Lastly, I could just stop using the cell phone, ride out the contract and never use Telus again. Telling our story like we have here will in the long run hurt them in the pocketbook far more than any charges they may have hosed us for. This is probably the easiest way to handle this.
Please note that above opinion is NOT legal advice and you should seek the advice of a legal practitioner in your area. This just to tell you what I might do if I were in your shoes.
I hope all works out well for you.
Thanks
I tried to explain over and over...that how would the customer know that the unlimited part also expired since none of that comes through on the computer(when checking account info) or over the phone (all it said was your account reached 0 balance). I checked on their website and it doesn't say anywhere that this will happen. WHen topping up the account again...no where did it say do you want to reactivate the unlimited text. So after several people I spoke with...all I got was basically its my fault for not renewing the unlimited text (didn't know it was gone) but they'll be nice and give me a credit to her phone for $300. I told her I needed the credit card at least reimbursed for that much...which they are reluctantly doing. I'm still out $123 though. Has anyone else ever heard of this? I realize that it's a monthly pay as you go...but losing the unlimited text? When that was what the phone was activated with??? And no notification that it expired??? How is the customer to know this???
I had a pay as you go account before with another subscriber and never ran into this.
Needless to say....our daughters phone account with Telus will be terminated.