OT - Absolutely FURIOUS with Bell Mobility! LONG!

[tinkerbell_xo]

Oh my God. I'm so angry I can't even explain the problem anymore hahah, but I'll try.

So I had been with Bell for 22 months when my phone broke.
I thought, I'll use Bell's little incentive and get a new phone for cheap and sign on for 3 more years. Money was extremely tight so I thought this would be the cheapest and quickest option.

I picked a phone and began the process of renewing the contract.
I told the girl, "I want the same plan, nationwide fab 5."
My parents are long distance and I call them daily so this was important to me. I had had that plan for almost 2 years, I wanted it to stay the same.

She said, "Oh yah, no problem!"

Then she asks for my 'Fab 5' numbers. I tell her I just want the same ones. She said she needs me to tell them to her again, she has no way of looking them up, which is a crock of poo but I humoured her.
I gave her the numbers, 3 of which were long distance.

She finishes everything up, I sign my life away and leave.

My first bill comes and I was charged long distance for calling my 'Fab 5' numbers.

I call Bell and explain they are my 'Fab 5' numbers and I should not have been charged long distance. Bell looks and says, "Oh you're right, you've had the same plan for almost 2 years, sorry that happened, must have been a glitch." And the charges were reversed.

Next bill comes. SAME THING! I was charged long distance for my 'Fab 5'. This time they say, "Oh when you got your new phone and signed a new contract they gave you LOCAL fab 5, not nationwide. You'll need to go back to the store and talk to the manager and figure it out with him".

I worked at the same mall where I bought the phone so I thought I would just stop by and fix it.

I stopped by and the manager wasn't there. They gave me his card and cell number and told me to call him.
I called him and he agreed to meet with me the next day.
I came back and met with him, brought in my bills and paperwork from the new contract, and explained the dilemma. He said he couldn't get a hold of anyone right then but he would email it all later, so I left him with all the paperwork and went to work. He said to come back after work and get the paperwork and it would all be done.

I decided to give him the whole day, so I came back the next day to get my paperwork. He wasn't in so an employee called him and he said he didn't get a chance to fix anything yet but he would do it and bring the paperwork to me at my store.

A week or so after I still hadn't seen or heard from him and I had to go out of town suddenly.
All this time I was continuing to call my 'Fab 5', long distance and local, that's what I asked for, so why should I stop?

My next bill comes, and more long distance charges. I call Bell. They say I have to deal with it with the manager, he still hadn't changed anything. By this time I am SO MAD I had to hold back tears while I was on the phone. I explained how I was tired of chasing people around when all this was BELL'S fault in the beginning. I asked for nationwide 'Fab 5' and I was told I had it. This was their mistake and they better fix it!
They agreed and changed my plan to nationwide 'Fab 5' and reversed hundreds of dollars in long distance charges.
They were saying I still owed them a few hundred dollars. I hadn't paid my bill in a couple months because it was so messed up with these charges. I didn't want to pay over a thousand dollars and then have it credited back to me. I don't need to loan Bell any money.
I continued to pay the same amount I had been paying every month.

While looking over my detailed billing I noticed in my outgoing calls that sometimes my 'Fab 5' numbers were being recognized as 'Fab 1', 'Fab 2', 'Fab 3', 'Fab 4' and 'Fab 5' and sometimes they weren't! It would show the phone number but it didn't say 'Fab _' beside it.

And this was going to be a problem because when it comes to INCOMING calls they don't show the phone number at all, it just shows my phone number. It does show 'Fab _' when it's one of my 'Fab 5' but since the system wasn't catching all the 'Fab 5' numbers with the outgoing calls it most likely wasn't catching them with all the incoming calls either.

So I call Bell back and explain this. They reverse all the charges for the outgoing calls that are in fact part of my 'Fab 5' and they say it must be a glitch.
They said when it comes to incoming calls they can't see the number either. The only way is if I get a court order.
I ask them if I get my 'Fab 5' numbers to get THEIR phone records and I match them up and prove it was them calling me and fax it over, could the charges be reversed? They say yes.

Obviously this is a timely process.

So while all this has been going on, my PHONE GETS CUT OFF! Cuz I haven't been paying the entirety of my bill, because they're charges that shouldn't be there.

What should I do about all this?! I'm extremely tired of chasing people around when this ALL could have been avoided if they gave me the plan I asked for when I signed up.
I want to speak to a lawyer but I'm not sure where to start.
I can barely speak to Bell on the phone because I just want to scream and cry. I, like everyone else on the planet, have a lot of other issues going on and I can't deal with this anymore. I'm sure it's damaging my credit and it's definitely causing me a ton of stress. I haven't had a cell phone for almost a month and Bell is doing NOTHING to help me when this is their mistake.
I'm waiting for the representitive to call me back about the faxes but I still feel like I should be compensated immensely for the crap they've put me through.
What should I do?

 

[dancin Disney style]

You are absolutely putting a black mark on your credit. As far as paying your bill you are legally obligated to pay that bill even if it's wrong. I'm sorry that this is all causing you so much stress. We have all been through something like it at one time or another. Pay the bill now and then move foward on sorting it out. I think you need to go to the Bell store manager and stand over him while he either calls it in or emails it. You also need documentation from him as to what he has done. Keep a detailed account of what is said/done with the date and time. I'm sure the manager has a manager....move up the chain if necessary.

BTW....the Bell stores are privately owned. Since they are not owned by Bell so often there is little that Bell will do for you. It generally has to be solved at the store level. The longer it goes on the harder it will be to solve.

 

[Sue M]

I can understand your frustration. As the other poster has recommended, I'd go to the store manager and explain it's not your job to chase down the sales people and you want this solved now, right away. It's been going on long enough.
I'm not with Bell, so don't know how they operate. I'm with Telus. When my contract is up, I negotiate my plan renewal options directly with Telus Customer Loyalty dept. Then I go to a Telus Store I have been a customer with for years, and get my new phone, when they activate it, my plan I negotiated with Telus pops up and is activated. Maybe you should contact Bell and tell them if they don't rectify this problem you will in the future take your business to another phone company.

I hope you get it sorted out soon.

 

[Littleprincess2010]

Bell and Telus both have a special place in hell

This totally sucks, but I have to agree that it would be best for your credit score if you paid the bill and then once all the garbage is sorted out just use the credits towards any future bills. Oh, and once your contract is up find a new carrier I hear nothing but bad things about Bell over here on the West Coast, and my Hubby has Telus and they are about as helpful as a politician

ETA: Im with Rogers and have had nothing but good service from them. I live near the border and during the first few months I kept getting charges for long distance because I was bouncing off the towers in the states. They changed something on my phone and now I dont get those charges at all anymore But when I did get them they were quick to reverse them and offer me stuff for free for the month for the inconvienence.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Bell and Telus both have a special place in hell

This totally sucks, but I have to agree that it would be best for your credit score if you paid the bill and then once all the garbage is sorted out just use the credits towards any future bills. Oh, and once your contract is up find a new carrier I hear nothing but bad things about Bell over here on the West Coast, and my Hubby has Telus and they are about as helpful as a politician

ETA: Im with Rogers and have had nothing but good service from them. I live near the border and during the first few months I kept getting charges for long distance because I was bouncing off the towers in the states. They changed something on my phone and now I dont get those charges at all anymore But when I did get them they were quick to reverse them and offer me stuff for free for the month for the inconvienence.

I have had Bell, Rogers and Telus. I've had a cell phone since they first came out, which was an in-car installation, and you could only get service with Cantel. I have never had any major issues with them. I did have a pretty serious problem with a collector calling me trying to tell me I skipped out on my Bell contract. It wasn't me they wanted but another person with almost the same name and she worked in the same industry. Since I had a few years before had a Bell phone I thought that Bell had made some error and sent my name to collection. I called them and sorted it out in one phone call that lasted about 10 minutes. Bell fowarded the info to the collector but it took a little longer for me to convince the guy that I was not who he was looking for. Which I can understand because I'm sure they hear that all day.

 

[mickilee]

I have just switched to Wind and love it. 45 a month gets, free in and out going in wind zone. voice mail, texting to Ca and Us , 3 way.

WIND isnt for everyone.. You have to live in the zone for the free stuff. But it sure is a company to watch for.

I have had the evil big 3.. all the issues where with billing.. with these companies.

 

[DisneyFairytale]

Oh my God. I'm so angry I can't even explain the problem anymore hahah, but I'll try.

So I had been with Bell for 22 months when my phone broke.
I thought, I'll use Bell's little incentive and get a new phone for cheap and sign on for 3 more years. Money was extremely tight so I thought this would be the cheapest and quickest option.

I picked a phone and began the process of renewing the contract.
I told the girl, "I want the same plan, nationwide fab 5."
My parents are long distance and I call them daily so this was important to me. I had had that plan for almost 2 years, I wanted it to stay the same.

She said, "Oh yah, no problem!"

Then she asks for my 'Fab 5' numbers. I tell her I just want the same ones. She said she needs me to tell them to her again, she has no way of looking them up, which is a crock of poo but I humoured her.
I gave her the numbers, 3 of which were long distance.

She finishes everything up, I sign my life away and leave.

My first bill comes and I was charged long distance for calling my 'Fab 5' numbers.

I call Bell and explain they are my 'Fab 5' numbers and I should not have been charged long distance. Bell looks and says, "Oh you're right, you've had the same plan for almost 2 years, sorry that happened, must have been a glitch." And the charges were reversed.

Next bill comes. SAME THING! I was charged long distance for my 'Fab 5'. This time they say, "Oh when you got your new phone and signed a new contract they gave you LOCAL fab 5, not nationwide. You'll need to go back to the store and talk to the manager and figure it out with him".

I worked at the same mall where I bought the phone so I thought I would just stop by and fix it.

I stopped by and the manager wasn't there. They gave me his card and cell number and told me to call him.
I called him and he agreed to meet with me the next day.
I came back and met with him, brought in my bills and paperwork from the new contract, and explained the dilemma. He said he couldn't get a hold of anyone right then but he would email it all later, so I left him with all the paperwork and went to work. He said to come back after work and get the paperwork and it would all be done.

I decided to give him the whole day, so I came back the next day to get my paperwork. He wasn't in so an employee called him and he said he didn't get a chance to fix anything yet but he would do it and bring the paperwork to me at my store.

A week or so after I still hadn't seen or heard from him and I had to go out of town suddenly.
All this time I was continuing to call my 'Fab 5', long distance and local, that's what I asked for, so why should I stop?

My next bill comes, and more long distance charges. I call Bell. They say I have to deal with it with the manager, he still hadn't changed anything. By this time I am SO MAD I had to hold back tears while I was on the phone. I explained how I was tired of chasing people around when all this was BELL'S fault in the beginning. I asked for nationwide 'Fab 5' and I was told I had it. This was their mistake and they better fix it!
They agreed and changed my plan to nationwide 'Fab 5' and reversed hundreds of dollars in long distance charges.
They were saying I still owed them a few hundred dollars. I hadn't paid my bill in a couple months because it was so messed up with these charges. I didn't want to pay over a thousand dollars and then have it credited back to me. I don't need to loan Bell any money.
I continued to pay the same amount I had been paying every month.

While looking over my detailed billing I noticed in my outgoing calls that sometimes my 'Fab 5' numbers were being recognized as 'Fab 1', 'Fab 2', 'Fab 3', 'Fab 4' and 'Fab 5' and sometimes they weren't! It would show the phone number but it didn't say 'Fab _' beside it.

And this was going to be a problem because when it comes to INCOMING calls they don't show the phone number at all, it just shows my phone number. It does show 'Fab _' when it's one of my 'Fab 5' but since the system wasn't catching all the 'Fab 5' numbers with the outgoing calls it most likely wasn't catching them with all the incoming calls either.

So I call Bell back and explain this. They reverse all the charges for the outgoing calls that are in fact part of my 'Fab 5' and they say it must be a glitch.
They said when it comes to incoming calls they can't see the number either. The only way is if I get a court order.
I ask them if I get my 'Fab 5' numbers to get THEIR phone records and I match them up and prove it was them calling me and fax it over, could the charges be reversed? They say yes.

Obviously this is a timely process.

So while all this has been going on, my PHONE GETS CUT OFF! Cuz I haven't been paying the entirety of my bill, because they're charges that shouldn't be there.

What should I do about all this?! I'm extremely tired of chasing people around when this ALL could have been avoided if they gave me the plan I asked for when I signed up.
I want to speak to a lawyer but I'm not sure where to start.
I can barely speak to Bell on the phone because I just want to scream and cry. I, like everyone else on the planet, have a lot of other issues going on and I can't deal with this anymore. I'm sure it's damaging my credit and it's definitely causing me a ton of stress. I haven't had a cell phone for almost a month and Bell is doing NOTHING to help me when this is their mistake.
I'm waiting for the representitive to call me back about the faxes but I still feel like I should be compensated immensely for the crap they've put me through.
What should I do?

It's really a shame.
Man oh man, do I feel your pain. I swear I went through the exact same thing with Rogers(At & T) and it was a nightmare. I never was able to prove to them the mistake was made by their clueless staff and somehow had to fork out $650.00 because of simple plan change-a mistake they made!!!

Needless to say I am not counting down the days until the contract is over and I can hop back to Telus where management is easy to get a hold of and they have actual knowledgeable staff.

 

[mom2faith]

You are absolutely putting a black mark on your credit. As far as paying your bill you are legally obligated to pay that bill even if it's wrong. I'm sorry that this is all causing you so much stress. We have all been through something like it at one time or another. Pay the bill now and then move foward on sorting it out. I think you need to go to the Bell store manager and stand over him while he either calls it in or emails it. You also need documentation from him as to what he has done. Keep a detailed account of what is said/done with the date and time. I'm sure the manager has a manager....move up the chain if necessary.

BTW....the Bell stores are privately owned. Since they are not owned by Bell so often there is little that Bell will do for you. It generally has to be solved at the store level. The longer it goes on the harder it will be to solve.

Actually, you do need to be careful paying your bill in full. If you pay it, you are agreeing to the charges. IMHO the OP was right in NOT paying the bills.

I would contact your MLA or MP in charge of Telecommunications. I had to do this once and the bill was fixed within days. That is what your MLA is for!!

 

[Sue M]

Maybe I've been just lucky, but I've been on Telus from the beginning, and have never had any problems.

 

[tinkerbell_xo]

THANK YOU to everyone that responded. I'm just happy more people have heard my story and care enough to give me advice.
I'm just sooooooo tired of all of this!

It's really a shame.
Man oh man, do I feel your pain. I swear I went through the exact same thing with Rogers(At & T) and it was a nightmare. I never was able to prove to them the mistake was made by their clueless staff and somehow had to fork out $650.00 because of simple plan change-a mistake they made!!!

Needless to say I am not counting down the days until the contract is over and I can hop back to Telus where management is easy to get a hold of and they have actual knowledgeable staff.

I can't believe you went through the same thing! I've been googling trying to find someone who went thru what I'm going thru, and I've been telling anyone I know my story, trying to get advice.

It is so incredibly frustrating. Looking thru my detailed billing plus 5 other people's detailed billing is NOT fun. My head hurts.

And I'm so confused as to what charges have been reversed and what charges are still out there that I need to straighten out.
They credited me over $500, or maybe it was over $600, in charges that I should have never been charged. I want to know if they can send me detailed information on EXACTLY which calls were cleared up, so I can figure out which ones I still need to prove.

I'm just incredibly peeved that I have to do ANY of this when this should have NEVER HAPPENED!
If the girl had just switched over the plan properly way back in NOVEMBER!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
I swear, I may explode. hahahah

Actually, you do need to be careful paying your bill in full. If you pay it, you are agreeing to the charges. IMHO the OP was right in NOT paying the bills.

I would contact your MLA or MP in charge of Telecommunications. I had to do this once and the bill was fixed within days. That is what your MLA is for!!

I have been going crazy trying to figure out who to talk to. I honestly want to talk to a lawyer and take them to small claims court or something. I'm so infuriated.

I would love to sue Bell Mobility =)
I have never sued, nor do I know anyone that has (and I doubt this is reasonable in this situation ahaahahha) but the thought makes me smile. =)

I just want all the charges to disappear, then I will GLADLY pay the $400, or whatever it is, to cancel my contract and start fresh somewhere else. I have been with Telus and they weren't nearly this bad, and my DBF is with Rogers and they seem to mess up and get confused a lot but might be worth a shot.

I have just switched to Wind and love it. 45 a month gets, free in and out going in wind zone. voice mail, texting to Ca and Us , 3 way.

WIND isnt for everyone.. You have to live in the zone for the free stuff. But it sure is a company to watch for.

I have had the evil big 3.. all the issues where with billing.. with these companies.

A Wind kiosk popped up at a mall I worked at in December, I think it was December anyways, it may have been November. I haven't looked into them much but their kiosk was always SURROUNDED by people so they're definitely a big hit!

But since late January I have moved back to my itty bitty home town and I'm not 100% sure where I'm headed next. Stay here? Go back to Toronto? Go somewhere new? So I don't know if Wind would be a good choice. I'm not sure where their zones are.

 

[erin2470]

Just as a side note, Bell is not able to report to the credit bureau. It is considered a necessary service, like heat, electricity. The landline part at least. But since all of their services are under the bell umberella it doesn't get reported to the credit bureau. Now if you're with Rogers they are allowed to report to the credit bureau.

 

[Cdn Gal]

I have said this before and I will say it again- Bell could screw up the Lord's prayer!!! Which to be honest, is pretty hard to do! Anyway, my MIL was a Bell operator for over 20 years- her advice- call and ask to speak to a manager- and ask to speak to somebody in Canada. Many times the calls are routed to India, Indonesia, or wherever- so just ask to talk to talk to a manager in Canada. Then go from there and explain the whole situation. Also make sure to get the manager's name and number and anyone else that you have spoken to. You can also ask for the employee number too- so good luck to you- and one last word of advice- Be Calm- don't freak out (even though you have a reason to) be straight forward and frank. And say those key words 'I am not a happy customer, and I will be switching if this is not resolved. What are you going to do to make me happy?' If all else fails- contact the better business bureau and see what they can do for you!

 

[tiggerrr]

Just as a side note, Bell is not able to report to the credit bureau. It is considered a necessary service, like heat, electricity. The landline part at least. But since all of their services are under the bell umberella it doesn't get reported to the credit bureau. Now if you're with Rogers they are allowed to report to the credit bureau.

We're with Bell Mobility and I can tell you with absolute certainty they DO report our payments to the credit bureau every month.

 

[grover]

I have heard horror stories about every single cell phone company..I don't think we are safe with any of them

I had major issues with Rogers..same thing..switched out a phone and told them to keep everything EXACTLY the same in terms of the plan..got my next bill..problems..called to fix it...they said they fixed..until I saw my next bill.
This went on and on..started in August and it was not resolved until a few months later..it was a royal pain in the BUTT

Document everyone you talk to..and what they say etc.

I finally got someone who knew what they were doing..fixed everything and gave me ooodles of credits for my troubles.

 

[Mickey1Fan]

Tinkerbell

I found this Complaint escalation process on the Bell.ca website...


http://www.bell.ca/support/PrsCSrvGnl_Escalate.page

 

[GrUvGrL]

I absolutely cannot STAND Bell (I distribute my distase for them equally through out all their sales divisions and services - no one gets left out)

I had a old friend that had gone into a Bell Mobility with her daughter (visiting from college) to buy a phone case and accessories cost them about 60 bucks. The Bell Mobility store sales receipt read correct, but when she put the charege through the debit machine she charged her only 1 cent.

The next morning the daughter went off to her college and never even noticed the error. The store manager called her GRANDMOTHERS home and threatened her with all kinds of jail time, fraud so on and so forth. The store manager then proceeded to tell the old woman she would have to pay the the money back since that was the only point of contact they had. The stor manager then had the 60 bucks charged to the old lady's home telephone bill.

Month after month she paid her bill excluding the Bell mobility charge and would call Bell explain the situation, someone would tell her they had issued a credit and the charge would end up on the bill again.

I had worked as a paralegal, so I called Bell, got a hold of their legal department and explained that my client didn't own a cell phone, was not in the store, did not owe any money resulting from any Bell mobility purchases and that the store manager should be "dealt with accordingly"

No more charges!

Try calling a supervisor and if that doesn't get ya anywhere, ask for the legal department, do NOT loose your cool for as difficult as it may be, as soon as you crack, you are done for. If you don't think you can do that, get someone to call on your behalf as your legal representative (don't waste your money on a lawyer). Someone who is level headed and won't loose their cool.

I've also had a collegue call the legal department on my behalf when I had problems and that also resulted in a zero bill in my favor. I still cannot stand them though!

Good luck!