How To Get out of your Cell Phone Contract

will this actually work. I am trying to get 3 cell phones cancelled all on contract with rogers and it is a business accout. I called rogers asking about cancelling and they said 350-400 dollars for EACH phone. i hate rogers with a passion..........
but these 2 suggestions will work??

if the cell phone service provider changes the rates of your plan like additional air time or long distance rate, etc...then you have 30 days to get out of it, you will need to speak to the office of the president, for telus you need to fill out an email from on their site (not sure what rogers has, but they got to have the same thing possibly with a different name). as it states in the contract they need to give you 30 notice, the part they leave out is you have 30 to cancel your contract, over 30 days and you accept the changes and miss the opportunity to get out. i got out of a 3 year contract with over 2 years left. thanks to reading about it on howardforums.com...

I recently signed on with Rogers for a 3 year contract. They are insufferable! Customer service lacks big time. I never know where I am at with my minutes (as per sales guy, he said I could check on line or call at any time) I CANNOT check online. and trying to get thru to CS is painstaking. When I finally get through and ask where I am at with minites - they give me an insane total that does not make sense, nor can they diffentiate between normal minutes and MY5 minutes. My bills are insane and I do not have the patience to talk to someone only to be transferred 15 times to another agent that cannot help me. Calls are often dropped and I cannot stand this company.
QUESTION: Would any other providers ie: Bell or Telus buy out this contract if I switched all services over to them? (Cable/wireless/home)
HELP!

Susan, there is a law in Canada that is called Buyer Remorse, it applies to all contracts with the exception of house sale contracts, and contracts that state otherwise. this law gives a person 14 days to get out of any contract they enter into. it was put in place to protect consumers from pushy sales people.

if you are past the 14 day period, you will be able to get out of your contract by brining up the fact your calls are being dropped. each call that is dropped is documented, if you have excessive dropped calls in your call history, it becomes a matter of residing in an area that does not have coverage. this has enough weight to validate a cancellation of your contract. educate yourself on this. you may need to involve the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services(CCTS) there web address is on this page, along with a more information on our rights as Canadian Cellphone Consumers:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/INFO_SHT/t1021.htm

also call your local Consumers Affairs Bureau, they are a government organization that helps consumers preserve their rights. look them up in your local phone book, probably in the very back under government listings. an interesting fact i found out from their office is if the cellphone provider lets you out of a contract, or they have no legal grounds to keep you in it, and they charge you the buy out fee, and you refuse to pay it, chances are high they will send it to a collection agency. in which case if it gets noted on your equifax file, you are entitled to $1500 in compensation by the provider that offended your rights, this is done through notifying the Consumers Affairs Bureau. But you need to check your credit file yourself if you suspect this, find out more about equifax, and check your credit on line here:
https://www.econsumer.equifax.ca/ca/main?link=OPIEM&lang=en

as a side note there are I think 3 credit reporting agencies in Canada, also know you can access your Credit Bureau unlimited amount of times without it effecting your Beacon Score. but when you give a sales person your personal info, name, date of birth, sin number, address, work, etc. they will use that to check you credit, this gets logged and will bring down your Beacon Score over time, like if you shop around too much, sometimes to a point where you went from perfect credit like getting an auto approval from a financing agency, down to no credit and needing a co-signer. so don't give out your info until you are ready to buy.

read the government literature on Credit Reporting at:
http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/publications/CreditReportScore/PDF/CreditReportScore_e.pdf
i believe if you check your credit by written mail, it is free once per year, read the report it there.

if you make progress on your situation Susan, be sure to write about it here, and let people like us keep our consumer rights, believe it or not we have lots of rights, and huge corporations do not want us to know about them. really i think it comes down to money making for their shareholders.....good luck hope this helps.

Ah...and one more thing, i found this article that states the maximum buy out for a cell phone contract is $400 in Canada. this was stated by a contract lawyer, read it here:
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/09/05/f-disconnected-contractlanguage.html

also someone may be interested in reading this report, i didn't read it yet :) but it looks interesting:
http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/oca-bc.nsf/en/ca02267e.html

remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, i know its cheesy but its true, also stay calm when talking to the cellphone company representatives on the phone, they are not educated on the rights you have, and it is for a reason, they are only pawns per say, plus being stressed out about something that you know is not fair only weakens your ability to communicate and think rationally.

when i get around to it i will fill my site with useful information for people to better their lives, i am kind of busy now, but fill in the contact form if you want to be notified when i get in gear with it...

-AZ

Hi, so i have a three year contract with Telus and i absolutely hate them. They rip me off with taxes alone and i can't seem to find a a way to get out of it and i'm only five months in. I read an article saying that if you tell them your moving to a place where they don't have coverage they have to terminate you contract except i called and i said i was moving to Greenland ~ cause they don't do ceverage there ~ and they said i can cancel it but i would still have to pay the penalty charge. So that didn't work. Now with this idea, when i get the bill every month, where would i look to find the terms and condition and how would i know if they changed them or not? Do they change them regularily? Also, will i still have to pay for the rest of the month if this should work?Thank you.

Try these websites - http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/438952
For about 14 bucks you can get someone to buy into your contract. I've never tried it but I am planning on getting out of my Bell contract.

I am not in the service industry, but always get a tiny chuckle when yet another blogger recommends to "Call your provider and politely but immediately ask to speak to a supervisor (this is a good practise whenever you have a concern and need to contact a company)."

The above is NOT a good practice. You alienate the representative, and you are not likely to get a resolution by immediately escalating without explaining that you have a legitimate reason first.

There simply isn't enough supervisors that have the magical super-awesome powers to go around.

Oddly enough, customer service reps can assist you faster if you tell them the nature of your issue - i.e. "I wish to terminate my contract". You will be passed on to retentions, or customer loyalty, or whatever the specific provider calls it. You may use the rest of the tips in the article from there on.

Very good post, otherwise.

Heres how to get out of all this trouble, switch to Koodo

Cheapest, best, friendliest, smartest, everything else.

Been with Rogers, Fido, Bell, Virgin(in that order) and they all suck big time, Koodo was my saviour, check them out

Just a note about Koodo. Koodo is a Telus company as Fido is to Rogers and Solo is to Bell. As they mature I expect problems with this service to get as bad as all the others.

Man, I used to be a manager in a call centre and hated this kind of calls where the customer asks to speak to a supervisor straight away. Tough game.

getting out of your cell phone contract is tough game. phone reps are trained with limited information. they can do little but transfer you to the termination department. no reps or supervisors are given knowledge of contract laws or industry regulations. they go by what they are given in training.

this makes it impossible for a client to get anything out of them. thats for the upper departments, seeking the supervisor is to get a hold of this upper department. supervisors also have more responsibility and accountability vs rep. you may want to ask for something that identifies them, aside from their first name, like a number or extension. they will not give out their last name usually. in the end its up to you to play whatever game you want, but if you fall into playing theirs you lost already.

these companies function on the client not knowing their rights, agreeing to do or pay things that they the client are not legally bound to by law. so when they are approached by one that does, the front line is oblivious to the facts. many times i was told by a rep or supervisor what the laws that exists does not. they don't know. they are not suppose to know. the defense team remember. perhaps it makes no difference who you talk to, supervisor or not. talk to someone and then file a complaint as mentioned above.

does anyone know what other industries have this much apathy??

Oh I agree Keith, I'm just saying that for a great company with no contracts, no bull fees, and only a selection of good phone(one for anyone's taste, except for Blackberries haha) Koodo is a great choice, as you say when they mature it's bound to go down the drain, but I've been with everyone on the market except Solo and I can't stand any of them but my Koodo

This how-to needs an update! The Material Adverse clause thing totally didn't work in my case. NOR did having no service in Montréal. Bell sticks to their guns in denying the existence of the MAC and merely suggested a new phone since my phone is over 2 years old.

The solution so far has to been strip my Bell account to the bare minimum ($20 plan + $9.70 we-hate-customers-fee) and just get a prepaid plan with Virgin ($10), which ends up being cheaper than just using a cell phone with Bell. My bills with Bell, with very minimal usage and call display was normally around $50 a month. For $10 less, I've got caller display, free voicemail, and service that I can opt out of anytime if need be.

So, if the MAC/no service schemes go belly up, there is always another way.

And make sure to tell as many of your friends as possible, give these old-fashioned monopolies a well-placed kick to the stock portfolios!

All cell phones companies give you the option of buying a phone without a term. So you people who feel you made a bad choice by signing a term to get a phone for cheap... suck it up. I have been with my carrier for 8 years and in a term for the last 24 months and have been able to change plans as i felt needed. There was a minimun spending amount required but never has to go that low because of my usage. There are all crooks but everyone is warned before signing a term. I was with my carrier for 5 years before signing a term.. It almost like marriage.

What is the maximum amount that a cell phone provider can charge for termination fees?

I heard that it is $400.00 in Canada

I just called bell trying to get out of my three year contract, I have one year left. I was told it is $20 a month to get out of the contract, a minimum of $200 and a max of $400. so If you only have a few months left just stick with it, but if you have 10 months, then you'll be paying the 200 bucks any how which is the 'best' deal.

I defaulted on a cell phone contract a few years ago. I received a treathening call from a collection agency a few days ago asking me to get a layer if no payment is made. Is that legally correct?

I tried this with Virgin. They said their contract allows them to change any condition at any time. I guess there is a catch.

I didn't like how they added a $50 fee if your account goes deliquent. I said I would like to invoke the material adverse clause on the change in terms and conditions.

They told me there was no change since they simply added and didn't change anything. They all said to me that any term can get changed at any time.

I even talked to a VP and they wouldn't budge.

thanks I hope this works

Having Roggers as my carrier has been like watching someone repeatedly rape my wallet, and ten tell me it was legal.

I have 3 cell phones with Rogers all under 3 yr contract and home phone.Things were great until I moved..... I was told I still had to pay an ETF even though it was proven I was in a no coverage area after the move reason given: my contract was specific to the area I signed it in. I also had non stop problems with the home phone number transfer to another provider casuing me to have only cell service for a month and their response was it was my fault because I notified them of the move 30 days in advance and although I informed of transfer request it wasn't in the notes and so I requested disconnect arrghhh. At this point I have 2 cell phones remaining with rogers and am looking for a way to get out of this contract apparently their lack of service and support does not qualify as a breech on their end. I unfortunaetly had just resigned the contract with a new phone after the last change in services do I just need to wait for the next change to cancel or are there other ways. I don't have dropped calls on these lines so that option will not work.
PS my mother going through a divorce was also told she could not cancel her 2nd line belonging to her ex without the ETF this does not seem right to me either. There must be situations other than dropped calls and change of terms to break their contracts it's easier to get divorced lol

Damn...I'm happy I live in Saskatchewan, Canada and have Sasktel!! My bill states all the administrative costs, and puts it out in detail for me. I have a 3 year contract and have never had a dropped call, got 200 mins (don't talk that much), mobile web browser, and unlimited texting all for $60 a month. The customer service is great, everyone does get the odd idiot, and any problems you come across they GUIDE YOU THROUGH IT over the phone or send someone ASAP (usually within 24-36 hours at the most) to fix the problem. As for you Bell users, I kinda know the pain of that. My parents had Bell ExpressVu, and getting to there customer service was insane! My parents cancelled it needless to say. They also were getting billed for a VuMagazine, THAT THEY NEVER GOT!
But yeah...damn glad I live in Saskatchewan.

If you're like me and have suffer through the 3yr sludge with one of Rogers contracts be forewarned - just b/c your 3 year contract is up does not mean that they will stop billing you. You need to call 30 days ahead of time to advise them of your desire to terminate relations at the conclusion of your contract.

My contract is up in 39 days so I called rogers - they told me that they can not cancel my contract 39 days ahead of time, only 30 days. Typical of their inflexibility and it exemplifies their customer service. I will now have to call them back in 9 days time on a Sunday. If I call them in 10days time they will charge me another month past my contract date.

I would strongly caution anyone considering a contract term with Rogers. The free phone upfront does not even come close to make-up for the headaches to come. Pay as you go plans are the only way to go. Trust me, I will be having a celebratory drink when I'm finally out of this contract.

I've found the best way is to NOT get into a contract. But you say, I don't want to pay $400 for a phone... DON'T. If you're with Telus, buy a prepaid phone (I know they aren't the latest and greatest), but for instance, I bought a LG Keybo recently for $79, then went home a transferred my old phone number to the new phone. Do it online and instead of $25 at the store it'll cost you $10.

So no contract and a new phone. If you call Telus and they then see you have no contract, if you complain about the cost of the contract and threaten leaving, they will probably throw in some freebies to retain you (just remember to speak respectfully to them - as my daddy use to say 'you win more flies with honey than vinegar' - although I never really understood the concept of winning flies :)

i bought a palm pre which is not a gsm just over a month ago with bell but i want to get rid of it and get the new omnia 2 which gsm phone and is also with bell. I went to the store they said if i cancel my 3 year contract im going to have to pay a fee. Is there a way to get cancel my contract with out paying a fee or a way to transfer my 3 year contract from the palm pre to omnia 2?

I have been with solomobile for a couple of months now. On this months bill, I recieved $110 of added fees which I am sure are are not my fault because I blocked the Internet on my phone. They will not remove the charges by any means. I have decided to stop paying my bills until the cancle my plan. I will not pay any extra charges and will not pay to cancle my phone. Any advice?please help asap...

Been with Rogers for too many years, as for customer service I rate Rogers = 0. They can't even take care of the simple things you are calling about. I hate Rogers and do not have a good thing to say about this company and will tell people don't do it. I changed to Sasktel now I pay way too high rates feeling screwed by this cell service. Was going to change to Koodo but now have decided to wait for the US cell phone company to come to Canada I expecting them to be better. Can't wait till Canadian cell networks wake up and bring on better customer service and better cell rates.

CALLED BELL ON THE PHONE NO MENTION OF A CONTRACT FOR A TURBO STICK 2 MONTHS LATER HAVE YET TO RECEIVE A BILL BEEN SUSPENDED TWICE TRYING TO CANCELL THEY WANT 400.00 DOLARS TO END 2 YEAR CONTRACT ( NOT SIGHNED OR VERBALLY AGREED TO) HAVE THEY GOT A CASE

Hazel and ALL of YOU GUYS:
This is THE END of "big" (f....) companies. They just overusing of they "monopol". I paid so much - almost 700 dollars per month for my cellphone - (they made "mistakes" in my bills - the mistakes were always... (!!!) beneficial for them - f rogers.- 90 - 160 dollars monthly (!!!) I wish them all the worse - and it's coming - there is new company on the canadian market - WIND - european company - AND you have:
1) NO CONTRACTS (just month to month)
2) 3 DIFFERENT PLANS $15/month, $35/month, or $45/month (with all features an even long distans)
3) YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUY ANY CELPHONE FROM THEM - just "unlog" yours (if is possible - if is - mostly it cost $25 - $40)
4) I DO NOT WORK FOR THEM...- GOOOOOOOOODDDDD LUUUUCCCKKKK TO ALL of YOU

- George

I have not gotten a bill from Rogers for the last 3 months and have been making payments on the estimated basis of my contract. Now they say that they will not send me an itemized bill. I have not moved or anything so I don't understand how they can do this. Besides that they say I still owe them $400 due to extra texting, but my plan is supposed to have unlimited text. Is there a way to cancel the rest of my contract in all this?

If a service provider can not issue you a contract with your signature on it you have no contract. Do your research into the laws that effect you. Consumers Beauro of Canada is a great resource and they can also represent your complaints in a fashion that will be heard. When it comes to complaints with cellphone companies there are other organizations out there. Read my prior posts. There are two types of people in the world among many other. Those that research and get what they want cause they have worked on attaining the knowledge needed to do so. Those that take what they are given and go no further. I got out of two three year telus contracts. My advise is be persistent, personable, and don't call 611 call the toll free number of Client retention. First and foremost know what is a fair resolution to your problem and be descriptive in presenting your case. I can only speak of my experience with Telus and Canadian law. I hear Rogers can be really vicious. Telus has made their mistakes and has had an approach to repair them. If you have a problem with your Telus account call 18772793100.

Questionable at best on both counts. After 20 years in wireless. !. Phone companies have No jurisdiction on taxes imposed by any municipality. 2. The first responce would be to replace or offer an "upgrade" on the eq. Your a boob.

I live in Ontario and I have just been advised by Rogers that the 911 charge will be increased from 50 cents a month to 75 cents. Would this be considered a change that would allow me to cite the Material Adverse Clause? I know someone who works for Virgin, and they apparently don't charge a 911 fee at all in Ontario.

My question is, if I were to take advantage of this, and get out of my contract with Bell, would I be able to port my number over to the carrier I want to move over to? Keeping the same phone number is really important to me and if they were to just upright cancel my service with no oppurtunity to keep my number I probably won't be able to do this.

This message is for AZ or for anyone who would have knowledge of this issue. Bell/Solo Mobile will be changing their roaming rates as of May 1st, 2010 (http://www.solomobile.ca/info). I've read in several places that I have 30 days to cancel my contract or otherwise I have accepted the changes.

In looking at the Service Agreement listed on Solo's webpage (http://www.solomobile.ca/Support/Terms_Conditions/), under #23: "Changes to this Agreement and the Service" it says, "We will notify you by providing at least 30 days advance notice of any change that affects you. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as obligating you to accept receipt of the Services after any change is made to this Agreement, the Services or otherwise; however, your sole remedy in the event of such a change shall be termination of the Services including the payment of any SAPA or DSAPA that may apply (unless otherwise prohibited by law), upon providing 30 days advance written notice. Should you continue to receive the Services after such change is effective, you expressly agree that no additional written agreement or express acknowledgement shall be required to accept such change and, unless otherwise prohibited by law, you specifically waive any and all statutory requirements for notice and express acceptance of such changes except for those provided in this paragraph."

In talking to a Bell employee, he said that the SAPA pretty much means Early Termination Fee. I don't understand this. I would have to pay an early termination fee regardless of if Bell/Solo changed their rates if I wanted to cancel my contract.

Some background. I live in Ontario. I signed a 3 year contract with Solo Mobile in August 2009. I have a Blackberry Pearl on a data plan and the phone is brutal... freezes... doesn't work half the time... etc. I would love to get out of this contract and if this Roaming Rate change is my window to do it, I would love to take advantage of it.

Thanks for any help. You can respond here or e-mail me at gcohen29 at gmail dot com

Gilad.
17 yrs in cellular here.
I read your statement and reviewed Solo's contract and website. Also Blackberry's website.
Solomobile has one heck of a contract. It is written very clearly. Short of termination from their end
you are on the hook.

That being said,
How much roaming do you normally do? Translated into $$.
The current software for the 8130 is V4.5, Have you checked to see what is in your unit?
https://www.blackberry.com/hhupgrade/

You say it "freezes". Have you notified customer service of your unit malfunctions?
Have you asked for it to be replaced?
Have you downloaded Apps that did not come with that unit.
What are you attempting to do when it malfunctions?
As you have probably read, Blackberrys network has been shut down three times in 1 year by hackers and poor network upgrades.
I personally would never buy a Blackberry. They as a company have never had a decent rep. in the industry.
This is what I came up with based on your info.
JohnE

Hey John,

Thanks for the reply. The cell phone has an hourglass that pops up quite often, sort of as if it's processing or loading something. When this happens, the phone is literally useless. I can't make calls, access the menu, get into the phone directory, etc. Sometimes the hourglass appears for 5 seconds, other times it can last up to 7 or 8 minutes. A lot of times, phone calls go directly to the answering machine as when people call, the phone decides to get into hourglass mode (where everything is frozen) and the call never comes through. The only solution to this is doing a battery pull and this will usually only fix the phone for a few hours. I go through two or three battery pulls per day. Very frustrating as this phone serves as both my personal and professional line.

I do not have any apps that did not come with the unit. I've talked to Solo about the issue and they have offered to send the phone in to repairs for a few weeks or give me a refurbished replacement., I have friends who are with Bell (i.e. Solo) who use the same phone and regardless of if they got the phone repaired or got a refurbished model, the hourglass/freezing issue would always pop up again.

If you google BlackBerry Pearl and hourglass, you'll see that this is an issue plaguing lots of people. And there really doesn't seem to be a definite fix for it. (http://www.google.ca/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=blackberry+pearl+hourglass&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&ei=xzq6S_SrEsP38AaAutiTCQ)

And yea, i've learned my lesson. I will never own another BlackBerry again. I know that this may be their 'cheapest' model but the fact that BlackBerry would put out such a horrible product in the first place is reason enough for me to never support them again.

I guess my biggest question regarding the Solo Contract is whether they can LEGALLY charge me, in Ontario, with a termination fee even though they modified the terms of the contract (i.e. raising the roaming rates).

- Gilad

Hello Gilad.
I reviewed my statements and your responce. Read the blackberry link. Read the whole discussion over. Here's where I am today.
This started with magician2009 in 2007. 1st responce in 2008 by Chris. Magician left the discussion until 2008 when he stated he's american. What an American opinion has to do with Canadian law means squat. But he appears in another posting with the same thought and again no follow up.

Az in 2008 has been the only one to give solid info. The CCTS handles these complaints against corps. Don't get lost in checking your credit report. Thats a separate issue. Grant in 2009 is right in that this needs an update, So magician2009 where the F did you go?.

Removing the battery is an old trick but works, Motorola had the same issue with some models here 2001/03 as the transition from analog to digital progressed. A pain but thats the best they could come up with.

Again being an American I can only comment on what I read here.
The 3 year contract is binding. The Blackberry tech says reloading the original software is a working solution. That may mean going backwards to an earlier release. So be it if that was a more stable version.
Notify Roger's of your wish to terminate the contract. This will be posted and serve as a record on your account of disgruntlement with their service. Doesn't mean you will not continue with your contract at this time but in future legal recourse will show you did contact them within the 30 days notice.

Before going to the CCTS, Start your own Blog for people to sign onto as disgruntled consumers.
This would be catamount to a class action lawsuit. I don't know how you would protect identities of those who would join as you would need names,numbers and general location of residence.

My last thought will take some time as it involves researching how to mount an antenna to the Blackberry for extending its range. This would be pushback for coverage issues not OS issues.

One thing I used to do for the "going straight to voicemail" was to call forward the phone back to itself. If the first attempt to reach you failed, the returning signal would come thru. This may be restricted by the network. Sometimes forwarding the number to an answering device with a notification to your unit will work as the notification is on a Data channel rather than a Voice channel.

Good luck everyone. And Thanks for letting me weigh in on this.

JohnE

Hi Again.
Looked into an external ant. No go without opening the body to access internals. So change it out for the LG Rumour or check out what is coming up your way.

http://www.mycellphonemyterms.com/General/2010/04/motorola-backflip-android/

Good Luck

JohnE

So I checked my March Rogers bill they have changed the cost of international text messages! does the Material Adverse Clause come in to affect here?

Scott did you read any of the above? Including the links?

I did some additional research and found that within the Rogers contract in Canada they are allowed to change certain thing such as texting costs and a few other things whenever they want without falling into the MAC.

It's only in the US where you can get out for texting charge changes.

Calling your service provider and explaining that a change in a policy such as, a late payment fee, or any other sort of change actually doesn't work. there's a clause in the contract that you signed where it states that they can change certain policies. sorry guys but i just tried this and this is what they said to me. Solo mobile.

an increase to late payment fees*

I had a 3 year contract with Rogers. They messed up my account and sent my bill to the wrong address. to make a long story short they disconnected my line, I called them and advised them they were terminated as my wireless provider. They tried to hit me with a fee, I advised them I would see them in court. The Collection Agency calls started! I went to Canadian Tire and purchased a "Canned Air Horn" called the Collection Agency, Selected the Managers Extension, using the name left on my answering machine from the numerous calls, and when he answered the phone I gave him a BLAST!! right in the ear!!! I did the same for the other manager that was stupid enough to leave his name on my machine!! Never Heard From Them Again!! No Bull!!
There has been no effect on my Credit Rating Either!! I checked!!

PayBack time!! Buy some Air!! Call their number, and give em a Blast!!
Everyday!! Twice a Day!! Let em have it!!

Its all a Scam!!

They are Dirt Balls!!

So I have just tried to get out of my contract using the Material Adverse Clause with Rogers. As per my invoice, they are changing my long distance rates from 30 cents a minute to 35. Long distance rates do indeed reply to me since my family has (on average) 35 long distance minutes a month. The person I talked to at Rogers, however, said that I could not get out of my contract (even using the Clause) since I do not have a long distance plan. She claimed that technically, Rogers has not changed my contract. Is this true?

The issue I am having is that I have just moved back from university and need to change my number. Rogers will not change my number because they claim that the plan I have is old (2 years to be exact) and no longer exists. Thus, they claim I must sign on to a NEW PLAN of theirs (and be locked in for two more years!) just to be able to change my number. What do I do?

To Rosie: I have over 17 years with the cell industry. I have answers above. Changing your long distance rates is a reflection on who they have as a carrier for long distance. That is passing on the expense to the customer and does not change your contract.. You did not have long distance free nor included to begin with.

Second question on your changing the number.
Phone numbers are NOT attached to price plans.Period. That is horsesh*t. Signing a new contract gives the employee their quota for the month and the company can show they increased the number of subscribers for the quarter without specifying that they lost one to gain one.
Two things come to mind.
1. you can claim that you are being stalked and harassed by an ex boyfriend/husband and are in danger.
2. They ran out of numbers for your area. Not likely.
Keep in mind that I am an American not Canadian. I have read the contract and it's very well written. I do not have detailed knowledge of Canadian law.
I hope that will help.

i just called rogers and told them that because they changed my data plan on me from 6gb to 1gb after i signed the contract, i cited the clause, but they told me that because i authorized the switch over the phone i agreed to the changes...is that correct?

If you changed the plan, that changed the price. If you authorized that, then you are the cause.

So when the HST tax comes out in Canada is that a change in taxes that would result in being able to cancel the contract?

no, the HST won't affect that because the carriers are not making the change. The government is. the carriers are required by law to follow it. that does not void your contract.

Here my advice to you next time you sign into a cell contract: don't sign with your own signature. Just sign as "john smith" for example. the sales rep are so preoccupied by the sale they don't bother double checking your signature and as a result you will not be bound to this contract ahah!! I've done it before and it worked haha!!

Hi. I have a contract with rogers 1.5 year left and I have been getting really high bills for the past two months first time it was because they stop my unlimited incoming telling me it was a promotion that stopped. Now I have a bill of 500 dollars for this month. The problem is that I phoned them on the 18 th of may and changed my plan to a bigger one with 800 mn and free evenings and still unlimited incoming. But they didn t told me that when I changed my plan my minutes where already used. So I had some phone calls to make thinking I had some mn left. I ended be over my weekdays mn. Is there a way I can get out of it.

Thanks for anything that could help.

So does this mean that when the HST comes in on July 1 that everyone who wants out has a legal out?

Paul, no you cannot. the HST is not a change that the wireless providers put into place. It is a required change mandated by the provincial governments of those provinces adopting HST. That will not affect your contract. the carriers are required by law to make that change.

I hate Rogers. Their site is always messed up. They extended my iphone plan without telling me and when I was a mere two weeks late with my payment, they started calling me 3 times a day. I regret leaving Telus. Sometimes I really hate cell phones. Convenience or not, they cost a ridiculous amount of money for what you get.

Hey! So I have been reading some articles on how to get out of contract and I noticed that Bell is now as of a few days ago, charging me the HST tax instead of the GST and PST. Does this apply to the whole, "Material Adverse Clause". Can I use this to get out of my contract???

Just wondering - Rogers changed my recently signed plan from 2 to 3 years. I am calling them every month and telling that I have 2 years. They have internal record for the interaction.
I have been overcharging every month. Fighting with that too. I would really like just to leave the contract, but I don't really want to pay for the service.
From my point of view - Rogers is stealing my money. Regardless it is 3 or 10 dollars - it's my money. Should I write a report to Police?

Rogers is the LIMIT! I have been fighting with them for 2 years on everything. The only way I was able to get some response was to get a hold of someone, obtain a fax number and outline my issues - I also threatnened them with contacting the CRTC. That aroused some excitement - give that a try and keep on them! Get names and agent numbers if possible.
Good Luck!

@ Stan.. The Police will not do anything about it. You should contact BBB and file a complaint.

I signed a 3 year contract with Rogers in November 2006, so that contract is completed. I should have terminated with them then, but I was too ill at the time to deal with that and too many other issues in my life. As a result, I just continued using the service and paying the monthly cost. I'd like to know, can I just terminate my account with them now, or does my continuation of using that account imply agreement on my part to a the terms of that initial contract? They never asked if I wanted to renew the first contract, and I have not signed any new agreement with Rogers. I can't afford to continue paying that old rate, and I have had service cut off several times for getting behind.

Additionally, I frequently cannot get cell service in my home; ie, signal strength is often zero, on a Blackberry, which usually works where others won't.

I'm aware of several strategies suggested on several sites, as well as the dubious results of people trying them I'd appreciate any input.

Don.
You are on a month to month with no contract. You then have choices. Have friends with other phones and carriers stop by the house and compare signal in your home. Take notes on brand/model versus signal bars showing. Think about why you have a Blackberry. To Talk. To get E-mail. To play games on it. To Text people. Because you have the phone already it can be reprogrammed to a different carrier and still be on a prepaid month to month plan with no contract if they are available in your area. That would depend on if it is GSM or CDMA. You are not required to turn in your phone to start up with a new company. So sell it to make back some cash.
You should pay attention to these 2-3 yr contracts. The main purpose is that the first 8 months of service is to pay off the phone you are using.
I've said this before above - If the cost of the phone is $550 without a contract is that cheaper than a $10 Blackberry with a 3 year contract over the long haul?
I spent 20 years as a cell tech. So at this point I don't need text,e-mail,internet,camera,music, etc.. on my phone. Some one wants me they call me.
Good Luck.
JohnE.

I signed on with Virgin Mobile in Oct. 2009 for a two year contract. Starting in November I have been having consistent problems with my phone - incoming and outgoing texts (sometimes only 50% actually go through but I pay for 100%) and now I believe I'm having trouble with incoming calls. I have been calling since November and getting the run around. I have spoken to Tech, Warranties, Complains and "Solutions" - everyone kept sayins "Just wait. We're doing ________ and that will fix it" or they would tell me that the problem was fixed. When, a week later, it was clear that the problem was ongoing, I would call again. It would take two weeks to hear from whichever department and then the whole process would start again "We did this. It's fixed." or "We're doing ______ this week so it will be fixed next week."

My phone still doesn't work. Three weeks ago a Tech person finally took me seriously. It took less than 48 hours for her to figure out the problem - it's been my actual phone the whole time. I have been paying for nine months for a phone that only works intermittently. When I called and politely asked what they could do to make up for this I was told "YOU chose that phone and YOU signed the contract. We can give you a $60 credit for a new phone but that's it." Seriously? Isn't it breach of contract on their part for me not to have service and then, despite knowing about the problem for nine months, not doing anything to fix the problem? It's not like they haven't known about it. And now I can't get a hold of anyone and nobody is calling back, despite my being promised calls from Tech, Warranties, Solutions AND Complaints. I have heard nothing.

What are my options?

Does the part of the contract that says some fees are subject to change at any time nullify the Material Adverse Clause? Because that doesn't make sense. What's the point of having one if it's unusable?

I am 13 mths in to a 3 year contract.. recently I added a phone for my daughter which would make it three lines, when I got home I went on to my account and noticed a phone number on my account that was not mine there were 4 numbers listed and I am being charged for two months on this phone I don't have, a bill that has been normally 86.00 a month for the last year is now 373.00 . called Virgin spoke to someone and they said they would look into it, they thought that this phone might have been put on to my account due to a recent migration from the old system to the new one but they weren't sure, they would also send it over to the fraud dept to be on the safe side I was told someone would call me soon, a week goes by and I hear nothing so I call back again as this number is still listed on my account, so again he doesn't know and is not sure but he see's it in the notes and someone will look into it, I spent 25 minutes on the phone mostly on hold then he goes to transfer me to talk to someone else I sit on hold for another 5 minutes and get disconnected, I can't get anywhere with them on the phone so I wrote a email three days ago and still nothing, I can't even tell you how maddening this all is, I don't even know if it was just a mistake on there part or someone has used my information to get a phone, I was told I had 14 days buyers remorse on my daughters phone due to this situation I am definitely taking hers back as its only been 11 days and if I had known all this was going on I never would have added another phone, I want out of the original contract I have lost all faith in Virgin Mobile do I have a leg to stand on or should I just pay out the fee and be done with them.

I've been with Rogers since 2003. I have had nothing but problems since 2007. Unluckily for me, in Sept 2008, I was convinced to give them one more try.

I have always signed two year contracts with them, never three, because their phones never last even two years.

I called today to confirm when exactly I was free of their hell and they're now claiming I have a three year contract and saying unless I produce the original contract I signed, I'm screwed. The dealer who sold me the phone no longer is in operations at the store location and Rogers claimed they don't have to keep the contracts for any mandatory time period. I beg to differ. I plan to point out that if they can't prove I signed for three years with a written contract, then we don't have one. No way are they getting away with me being the one who has to prove it.

I'm on an extreme retention pricing plan anyway from 2006 forward. Why they're fighting to hard to keep someone who pays a base rate of $20/month, I do not know. Bastards, Avoid them like the plague, people.

Thank you, John E. I appreciate the time you took and the info you gave.

That's why sites such as this are so important.

would getting a friend/family member to call and say that I died get me out of my rogers contract?

or if i lied and said i didnt sign the contract? like say someone i know did it?

ive been with rogers for a year and all they do is harass me, call me all day every day, over charge me and give me the run around! dealing with them has been a nightmare!

like i never and i mean NEVER go over my alloted time my texts are free and i got 6 gigs a month that i never go over and i never use long distance, yet i always find 20 and 30 $ charges here and there making my bills well over 100$ a month when im never over. sad part about it is i could be paying 40$ a month and be getting more than i am now on pay as you go! this is BS!

anyone got any advice?

Maximus:
They will want a Certified copy of the Death Certificate. You don't have the balls to handle this so you want someone else to take care of your problems? Get some backbone.

Break down your bill. Seperate the taxes from the usage. Confront them with the itemized bill or learn to read it right.

Go to a store and ask the manager to explain what the charges are for. Don't go to the mom and pop store that is a contracted vendor. If the manager can't explain it then stop your whining and start a friggin class action lawsuit.

JohnE

I have read all responses, and holy crap - Rogers seems to be truly FROM HELL.
I thought Telus was bad.
They've actually been pretty good - I have been with them for about 4 years.
Only now am I having my first major problem with them - and it's just the fact that I was robbedof my iphone 3gs a few weeks ago, and NO ONE is willing to do ANYTHING for me.
Three year contract, 5 months in and was robbed.
So, I have no phone, but am still expected to pay the almost $60 a month, of course.
To make my monthly bill go down to the least possible amount ($20) would cost me a fee of $200 (a data termination fee). Supposedly I agreed to keeping my data plan for at least the first year, so eliminating that costs $200.
To cancel my contract altogether would cost the $200, plus a $400 contract cancellation fee. SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS.
They have removed their "vacation" option, which puts your bill on hold.
Sooo, really, nothing can be done.
I'm trying to either find a decent used 3gs on craigslist, who's willing to meet at a telus to make sure the phone works properly before I buy it, or, am going to agree to some guy on craigslist who offers to buy your contract for $100, put it in his name.
Then I can just buy an iphone 4 for like $360 under a new 3 year contract.

WHAT a headache.
ugh.

I signed up with Bell a year ago and told our Bell rep that we would be moving out of the country in one year. He scammed me and told me that there is a law in BC that if you move 150km from your home base your contract could be canceled. Well, it worked with Fitness World but not with Bell. We are trying to cancel 4 lines. They want me to pay 400.00 per line. My other option is take the plan down to 20.00 a month plus tax for each line for the next 2.5 years.

Canadians are being screwed over by reps that are misinformed or are trying to make commision. We are also being screwed with the highest cell rates in the world. I have lived in many countries and have never had customer non existent service or bills like this.

Way to go Bell!!!

So... if HST being a new tax has changed/increased my current contract which was not present when I signed... does this mean I could get away with the Material Adverse Clause?

Kristine.
Nice! Quoting you a non-existent "law". Makes me laugh. Again I am an american so I have no understanding of Canadian "law". But, You are moving out of Canada? Take the 4 phones with you get a new phone number and pre-pay or contract with what ever carrier you like. You got 4 phones! Good job! Bell coming at you in a different country? How much will that cost them? Walk and get a new life have fun. If you go back to Canada then go with a different company. They don't cross check those kinds of records and the next sales rep wants that commission too.
This map of Bell in Canada is bigger then 150km. If you moved anywhere within it your still on Bell.
http://support.bell.ca/en-on/Mobility/Network_coverage/What_is_the_Bell_network_coverage_in_Canada

Stop wasting your time. Just leave.

I have a little over a year left on my contract with Bell and I would like to switch to Telus. Is it possible to have them buy out my contract with Bell if I sign another 3 yr contract with them???

Long story got a cell phone from tellus htc diamond touch was crap did not work properly called telus told them on several occasion cell was not working right they said oh bring it in could be the battery i did they replace battery this did not correct data error or the fact that the touch screen was not working right they put me off until the first yr was up and i found out i could have got a new phone within the first yr warrentee to get to the point phone would not dial out call told them i need to purchase A NEW PHONE TOLD THEM SPECIFICALLY THAT I DID NOT WANT A NEW CONTRACT UNER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. I called them to dicuss my account quite a bit later on found out my phone contract was lengthen and i paid 150.00 dollars for the new phone,they said getting a new phone at a lower price attomatically signs me to a new contract extending me to 2012 i said again i asked for no contract change they said i have no proof of that and when i ask to CANCEL THE CONTRACT THEY SAID IT WILL COST 400.00 WHAT CAN I DO. Ive talk to supervisor and tons of rep to no avail

You are allowed to switch your type of contract with any cell phone provider at any time. They all have differnt rate plans that you can choose from, some of them have plans for 10 dollars a month, they just dont tell you about those...

If you really cant get out of the contract, call them and tell them that you want to switch to pay as you go. They cant refuse to do it either, its one of their "plans" Just buy 5 dollars a month to keep the phone going, even if you dont use it... 60 dollars a year is still much cheaper then 400 dollars to cancel the phone.

Most cell companies are just brutal, they care nothing about your needs, and just want what you have in your wallet/purse. If i did not absolutly need a cell phone i would not have one.. they are extreamly convenient and we tend to use things in our day to day lives to make it easier, they know we almost need these devices and are going to capitalize on us.

F U ALL

bryan does not know what he is talking about

they wont let you switch to pay as you go.
HST does not count in the material adverse clause cause they made the HST equate to the same as GST was before. Sneaky bastards. I hope they trip on a moldy sausage and fall down a manhole into the sewers!

To AZ
Your Post on December 1st, 2008 at 2:42 am is so helpful, the links you gave are so valued, I've been long enough in this business to tell you that cellphone carriers would have paid you to keep you quite lol.
You seem to be a person who knows his rights and knows how to be firm, and this is what it takes to get out of a contract.
Many carriers now does not ask you to sign a contract any more ( Koodo, Virgin, Wind...etc.) I see the best one now could be Virgin Mobile (still owned partially or totaly by Bell) with their super tab is considered the best specially that they offer the BB at a very discounted price without asking you to sign a contract it would still be MTM.
My advise to you guys stucked with a contract and cannot get out of it... never never resign a new contract to get a newer phone, you'll be screwed big time by the carriers, its much cheaper to buy a cheap used phone on line and finish your contract and then have the power of negotiation to get yourself a better plan and a better phone.

When I saw Wind Mobile offering $150 as a sign up bonus, I went there and got a SIM card for testing purposes. Two days later I had: better reception in my basement, so I can TALK, and great reception in the city & my office in the North. So I agree with Rogers to cut 2 lines for $400 fee. Might be it's expensive, but:
1) I'll get $300 from Wind (even for services)
2) I've got pure unlimited local talks for $35 + Social Blackberry for $10 - instead of 150 minutes for $30.
3) I said F*CK OFF to ROGERS!!! Those robbers tried to cheat me every month, last month for $65.

So, even if I "lost" $100 for 2 lines, I actually get it back in the first month. And I don't need to spend hours talking with CS on a weekend, and discuss my bills!

Yeah but remember Stan, Wind coverage is so limited they have very small zones, big portion of Orleans is not covered by Wind, where as with Virgin you get bell coverage.
I would say check the Wind coverage before the end of your trial period, I've seen a lot of people who went back and canceled after few days.

Hey Bryan... are you from outer space hahahaha
Body you cannot switch a plan with term to prepaid, and there's no prepaid card for $5.00 the leaset is $10.00
and no company have a $10.00 plan, this plan is only offered if you finished your contract and called them to cancel, only then they will offer you $10 plan (better than loosing you)
The least plan you could be on is $15/month with Koodo or Virgin or Solo
Bryan, if you signed a contract... good luck

Not sure if this is a stretch or not but on my most recent bill Rogers included the following:

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: GOVERNMENT REGULATORY RECOVERY FEE DECREASE
Please note that effective November 2, 2010 the Government Regulatory Recovery Fee will decrease to $2.86 (previously $3.01). The Government Regulatory Recovery Fee is applied to help fund fees, costs and other amounts related to federal, provincial and/or municipal mandates, programs and requirements. It is not a tax or charge the government requires Rogers to collect. All other aspects of your service remain the same. For more information please visit www.rogers.com/regulatoryfee. If you have any questions please contact us in any of the ways listed under How To Contact Us on page 2 of this invoice. Thank you.

I know this is a cost savings for me, however, it is a change nonetheless. Is this cause for me to get out of my contract with Rogers?

Nice Job Stan! Your the first one in awhile that actually had some good advice here. Sweet!

To Mac: Rogers is the only company charging this fee (Government Regulatory Recovery Fee ) and this fee was to replace the system access fee ($6.95) and 911 fee ($0.75) which both was waved by all other companies for new customers.
This fee always been $2.86 and I don't think that AZ ment this kind of change in your billing that will allow you to cancel your agreement without penalty, its usually the kind of change that lead you to pay more, because simply Rogers will say okay you can keep paying the SAF and 911 Fee if you want ...right!!
If you want to follow AZ way by documenting legitimate dead spots when making calls to cancel your agreement there's a dead spot at Blackburn area in Orleans its parallel to Innes Rd, you can claim that this is your working area and where most of your calls are made.

I signed a 3 yr contract with Rogers just over a year ago. the agent I signed with, promised that Rogers would have 3g service in this area within months. It didn't happen, so I went in again and asked when the 3g service would be up and running and the agent said for sure in Jul of this year. That didn't happen and then the store in town closed down. The service coverage here is terrible, my husband is with telus and he will have full service where I have none, and this never happens visa versa. I have explained to the service reps AND to the office of the president of Rogers that I feel Rogers has not held up it's end of the agreement, and have been told 'whatever, we provide a service and nothing says we promise to give 3g" Their agent DID promise or I wouldn't have signed. Rogers LIES, CHEATS and STEALS to sign people and then screws them over. What really buns me up is how at the end of each call they say "And thank-you for choosing Rogers" AHHHGH! I'ts like being slapped in the face by your own stupidity. I want out of my contract so badly but I will NOT pay the over $500 in cancellation fees that they are asking for. ($400 for the basic and an extra $100 for the the data plan --which btw came included in my package and which is basically useless to me without 3g as it takes at least 5 minutes to load one web page)

Hating Rogers in BC
Laura

Please offer advice or information. Here's my horror story with Rogers. A month ago I verbally agreed to a 3 years contract (blackberry student plan) and did a phone upgrade as well ONLY AFTER the rogers rep (Rep #1) agreed to give me the plan at the price I wanted ($48). When i got my bill, I saw that the bill amount was incorrect, the amount was $68. When i called in to fix this error and gave Rogers my confirmation reference number that Rep#1 had given me, Rep#2 checked the reference number and saw the note that Rep#1 wrote, the incorrect price plan $68. Now I am stuck with the higher price plan because Rep#2 say that was what I agreed to BUT it is not. I told Rep#2 to listen to the conversation but Rep#2 said she can't. Now I am waiting for the manager to call me back, that is if the manager will call.

Now, because the plan was not what I agreed to, am I still legally on contract? If I cancel, do I have to pay the buyout fee ($500 with data)?

Please help!

I really don't know why people are still insisting to sign with Rogers, please people, the covering maps are available every where just check Telus and Bell HSPA (3G) wide coverage and compare it with Rogers HSPA spots coverage, Rogers has the 3G coverage in small spots, where Bell and Telus 3G coverage is huge.
Not to mention Rogers customer service, its crap, and they charge you left and right
I know a lot of you had bad experience with Bell or Telus but what I am saying here is that Rogers is the worst of the worse
I am really sorry for you Laura, but you're stucked for another two years

To LD
To my best knowledge, if you didn't pay any of your bills yet, then you can deny that you even called to activate a phone, you could claim that its was a fraud activation, however paying one bill proves that you did agree to the three years term and you agreed to the payment as stated in your bill.

nice post! one question tho, im from montreal, canada, and today i just got a msg from fido stating the tvq tax will be raised to 8.5% by january 1st, 2011 and it will applied to all my fido services. Does this constitute of a material adverse element that i could use to get out of my contract? please comment! thank you in advance

To Nokian8
Goverment taxes cannot be negotiated, and hence cannot be used as a reason to break your contract, its those fees decided by your service provider that counts, not goverment taxes.
Now Koodo and Vergin doesn't ask you to sign a contract and they still provide you with very discounted phones (sometimes its zero dollars), they even have the BBs.
Do your math, some time its worth to pay your penalty and move on with Koodo or Virgin, thier fees are much less than the rest and they have reliable service from coverage to customer service.

We just got switched to element mobile due to a buy out of alltell. Element told us that my son's smart phone had to be swapped out to be compatable with element. They said this was an up grade because his new smart phone would be 3G and his old phone was not. His new phone is faster, when he can conect to the internet, but has dead zones all over the place. His old phone may have been slower, but he could get internet service everywhere. He is getting ready to head off to college. We toured the college yesterday and found that from 50 miles north of Milwaukee all the way to his campus in Milwaukee was a dead zone for internet service with his new phone. Is that grounds for getting out of our contract?

You have reasons to break your contract,
1- Your contract was with alltell and not with element, unless you signed another contract with element
2- If you can prove to element that where your son spends more than 30% of his time they have no reciption, then you can ask to cancel your contract without penalty, it might take some time though until thier tech people verify.

I am another that was switched to Element Mobile and it's terrible. Our phones started roaming, not receiving messages and no internet on the 8th. Its the 20th and nothing has changed. Can I get out of my contract which is up in june 2011??

I know in Canada if you can prove that where you use your cellphone mainly has no coverage thern you can break your contract, you need to provide your postal code or zip code and give them some time for the tech support to investigate and confirm that you have no coverage.

I've just been relieved of my early contract termination fee of $320 (a remaining term of 16 months) with Telus. Here are the facts:

1) I had an LG Dare phone 3 year contract with Telus.

2) Approximately 7 months ago I began receiving duplicate text messages (initially thought of as an anomaly).

3) Duplicate (2) texts began increasing in frequency from various carriers and I began calling Telus technical support for assistance. Numerous assistance calls were made over the following 5 months.

4) In December, duplicate texts began increasing in numbers and frequency in excess of 10 duplicates being delivered over a period of hours. Another call to technical assistance resulted in a software upgrade (phone firmware was already up to date, but tried anyway), a phone reset, and the messages being "pushed" though. I was informed that there were network problems resulting in some duplicate text messages.

5) An other text came though from a different carrier resulting in 10 duplicates, again a call to technical support, during which I was informed "no ticket has ever been logged regarding your complaint, I'll do that now." I was thankful and displeased.

6) The following evening, a text message was delivered over 30 times over a period of 10 hours. An other call to Telus, during which I was informed that the ticket had been dismissed as a hardware problem, however, the Telus employee agreed that it was still a network problem. A new ticket was logged.

7) I hired (free of charge) an external professional (in the wireless network field) to provide a second opinion, which was that "I'm almost certain it's not your phone."

8) An other call to Telus, this time with full intention of canceling my plan, and being relieved of an early cancellation fee. This 95 minute call was a failure, during which I spoke with a) technical assistance b) loyalty c) technical assistance again d) loyalty again. The loyalty employee insisted the phone was causing the problems and offered me (in manitoba) an iPhone and iPhone plan, and agreed to let me keep my Manitoba phone number...then moments later, retracted the offer due to lack of coverage in my area. He also offered me a 3 year contract renewal with a fee. I told him that these offers were insulting and unreasonable, and we parted ways.

9) The following day I received a text message over 100 times, over a period of 30 hours. During the repeated texts (6 hours later), I contacted technical assistance and asked for the messages to be "pushed" through, with a verbal acknowledgment of receipt. This was either done and failed, or it wasn't done at all...as I said, the message repeated for the following 24 hours. I asked the agent if there were any problems with my phone, and he stated "there are no known text messaging issues with your phone."

10) The following day, I contacted CCTS (1-888-221-1687) (http://www.ccts-cprst.ca/) and spoke with a pleasant agent and described my problem. I also informed the agent that my profession requires an obligation to obtain a certain quality/amount of rest prior to arriving for work, and also requires an obligation to be contactable at certain times. I explained that I can not meet these two obligations with these circumstances and was considering changing carriers to end the drama. He told me, that the circumstances I described were within the means of CCTS to pursue Telus about and if I changed carries I should note it in my complaint file. The nature of my complaint was "SERVICE DELIVERY."

11) I received one last text message over 100 times, lasting 60 hours.

12) I walked into an apple store, signed up for a 3 year iPhone contract with a different company. During the sign up process, I had my number ported to my new phone (immediately severing my contract with Telus), and carried on.

13) CCTS initiated the complaint process for me, and Telus contacted me 2 weeks later to offer a) a new phone, b) a waiver on my early termination fee provided I return to Telus, and finally c) a full waiver on my early termination fee with no strings attached. I accepted the waiver with no strings attached, the gal completed the transaction immediately (there was a balance owing on the account for the portion of the month I still had service), accepted credit card payment for the ~$60 balance owing, and confirmed my current balance was $0.

Voila, out of contract. You may have to en dour a very troubling process, and want to pull your hair out at times, however, if you had a record of legitimate problems with the delivery of service, your cell company (although may be contractually bound by the fact that you signed a form saying THEY ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO ACTUALLY PROVIDE YOU SERVICE), by law, they are also not allowed to charge you for a service they did not provide.

Any questions, you may call CCTS

1-888-221-1687
response@ccts-cprst.ca
https://www.ccts-cprst.ca/en/

Thanks for reading.

--Gavin

So my contract with Bell will soon be over.

I'm trying to decide which is the lesser evil in companies. Really need the email for my phone and like the features of the Droid/iPhone types. I'm based out of 'not toronto'. Any suggestions for phone companies?

Hi:
I got this in my last invoice from Rogers and want to know if it is enough to get out of my 3 years contract, still have 2 more years and I'm really tired of their horrible service and the sky high bills. Please help me.

"...effective March 16, 2011, the pay-per-use rate for 411 Directory Assistance calls from wireless phones will increase to $2.50/call plus airtime and applicable taxes (currently $2)"

Hi folks. Pay per use? Why do you use that service to locate people places and things. Use Mapquest or Google map. I currently use an Android tablet-Coby Kyros 7015-. WiFi only no monthly service fee. I just have to be close enough to any coffee shop oor McDonalds to get a wifi signal and I'm on the internet for e-mail and phone calls. I also have a Motorola Droid X with wifi installed that lets me do the same. No minutes accrued via wifi.
To Gavin: Nice Job! You documented and pursued the issue. Well done.
I'm against contracts and advocate purchasing the phone outright. There are too many for sale on the internet to settle for a phone offered from your local carrier. It helps me if you listed what your make and model phone is so I can research how to mod it for reception issues.
Good Luck people.
JohnE Seattle,Wa.

I have a scenerio...I recently added a 3rd line to my Rogers family plan. In doing so I switched to a data plan with 3 smartphones. I previously had 6pm early evening calling and the rep i spoke to when renewing confirmed on the phone that 6pm early calling was included. I began to notice that i was being billed for daytime minutes. I sent an email to Rogers to inquire and received a response that i had a choice and rather than choosing 6pm early calling i chose unlimited messaging. I am 100% certain that the rep quoted to me that 6pm calling was included. Is this grounds for termination of the contract?

I found a pretty good website to show how you can cancel your cell phone contracts http://dumpthecell.com

I'm trying to get out of a Bell contract, haven't seen any changes in the charges recently, how long ago do changes have to be made for it to be accepted. Would the change to HST from PST count? If anyone knows of any changes they have made recently please reply, Thanks.

Looking into a breach of my contract with Bell an looking for advice

3 year contract

My original plan was:
Smart 50 Unl 5 -36M for $50
zText Messaging Unlimited $15

due to alot of things in my life I called retention explained my situation that I could no longer afford this plan an was offered my current plan of:

Basic $20 Plan 36M for $25
Text Messaging 2500 sent for $10

this month they now included :
Data Svc Agmt Price Adjustment $200

I want too know since I agreed too the change because I was told I would not be charged $200 if this is a breach of my terms and services
http://www.bell.ca/shopping/PrsShp_Bill_ServiceAgreement.page#Changes

Section 19 describes that a bell employee cannot change the fact orally that Id be charged the $200, however I agreed to a change in my contract without that fee but got charged for it anyways. I want too know if this is considered a change to my contract without my consent since I would not have done this change if I was going to be billed $200 or does it fall under the I should of known better category.

To:Jonas
Your conversation with any Bell customer service is always recorded. So ask them to check the tape and it will prove that the customer service offered you to cancel the data plan without penalty, you should always ask for the person name and his extension # or employee ID # and record the day and time that you talked to them.
That should stop the $200 penalty but won't release you from the voice plan contract, you still need to finish it or later on cancel it and pay the penalty of the voice plan...Good Luck

I really wish I knew this before I paid over $500. to get out of the Bell contract. This company were soooo unkind, rude, and just did not listen. When I asked them to listen, the woman told me...Pay up, that will make you a customer, and then I will listen. Now I will remember this. I went back to Virgin, but just found out Bell bought them out. So I am looking for a new company. Thank you for the insight, I am grateful for it!

Juna Check Koodo Mobile they're owned by Telus they have the best offers now, no contract just the tab thing like virgin mobile only much better customer service and they have a new amazing smart phone LG Optimus One and they don't force you to go on data plan, you can always use the data in a WIFI area for free :-)...good luck

I have left canada and now reside in the US how do I get out of my rogers contract? What happens if I simply stop paying it( my bill and let my phone get disconnected for non pay)? Will I still have to pay that stupid early termination fee? I know it goes on to my credit if I don't pay but what if I am not going back to canada for the next few years - won't that discrepancy on my credit report be written off after a certain amount of time?

With Rogers changing the cost of GRFF(even tho it is lower) will I be able to get out of my contract? It this considered a material term? If not couldn't they just up it to a larger amount if they felt like it and I would be stuck with it?

Don't think so, they will tell you you can keep the previous fees if you want to. You need to find something better or end up paying $500 like me. Good luck.

I was told by sales person at Telus I could cancel my contract within 14 days, without penalty. I like my phone and not concerned with plan but lack of service without going outside my home is unacceptable since I indicated to Telus that I was purchasing to replace current land line. Does any one have any comments? If a problem I plan to use buyers remorse strategy. thanks

So why not go in and disconnect the service to see if they will honor that statement. You can always go in a second time and start over. If you have cable TV then use the WiFi feature of the phone (if it has one) to make calls using the router that came with your cable connection. I use my cell over WiFi all the time to save on my phone bill.

Soo... does this work for promotions to? they just took $5 off my bill for a promotion, but I NEED a way to get out of this contract they keep charging me for "content download" and I don't download anything, and they won't see what it is because i have too much on my bill. My phone is broken and it will cost me almost as much to get a new one, I have a yr and a half left in my 3 year contract but I can't stand the company I am with, they were good for the first few months but then I started paying for things I wasn't using like internet, because it was always down

hey guys, i'm trying to get out of rogers, i cant stand them, and my bills just keep coming in in rediculous amounts. i cant even afford them for the most part, so everymonth i've been letting it go until i can pay, then i activate it again a week later when i can but the re-activation fees change between $25 and $29.78, is that a charge i can use against them to leave?

In May 2012 my contract will be up with Sasktel but I want to get out of it early so that I can get rid of this stupid Blackberry and get an iphone. I'm tired of paying for data when I am not able to use it to its full compacity. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get out of it early without having to pay?

I'm a year into a 3 year contract with Telus, and want out with them, they
are horrible, and are only concerned on covering there asses, than they are
fixing problems. I have 3 phones and 2 of them are LG's (horrible phones) The problem with these phones started within the first month of having them, and
they wouldn't do anything about exchanging them. All they keep telling me that the phones have to be sent in to the company (Which they have). When they come back they work for about a month then the same thing happens again. Anyone have any advise. Thanks

now let me see if i get this so if the Federal USF Charge and or the Restore from Suspension 25.00
Federal USF Charge 3.23
Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee 1.15
CA Advanced Services Fund 0.04
CA E-911 Fee 0.31
CA High Cost Fund-B 0.24
CA PUC Reimbursement Fee 0.14
CA Relay Service Surcharge 0.16
CA Teleconnect Fund (CTF) 0.06
CA Universal Lifeline Surcharge

change i can get out of it ?

I would like to know how you make a phone call using a WI-FI connection?

To ask your question, please, check out our Q&A section http://www.cellphones.ca/answers/

kwayne on my cell bill it say may change without notice so i cant see how this would work.however i would like to get out of my contract. but its more then what is said on this page mine is 300.00 dollars to get out of it

If your phone has WiFi, Then it can act like a laptop searching for a wifi connection. Within the settings there will be the settings area to turn it on. If not, I downloaded "WeFi" free program to scan with. There are other's. Once you find an open wifi signal you can then access it and make phone calls without using airtime depending on your price plan. Pay per use phones still use minutes clocked by the phone not by the carrier. I have a working cellphone number and a separate home phone number, a wireless router for the internet,phone and tv. When I turn on the wifi of the cellphone it then still uses it's number but via the connection of the hardwire. So no airtime is being used. Same works at coffee houses and McDonalds. I can then download programs and make phonecalls without being charged by wireless company. I do pay the monthly access charge to keep the number active but at the lowest package allowed. Add Skype for video or Yahoo messenger for audio/video and you can have a slow online video of friends or family. Currently I use a Motorola DroidX and the wife has an IPhone. Both work on wifi here at the house, Her's is on AT&T which doesn't work well out here in the country side. I'm on Verizon Wireless which works fine but would rather download updates without paying for the data transmitted. Hope that helps.

Hi there I have a contract with virginmobile though at the beginning I was happy with the terms and conditions of the contract up to a few months when suddenly things changed relating to the contract. I'm still puzzled about how the terms varying from what was stated on the contract itself has changed. I would still like to be one of your customers but is there a possibility that the airtime topup package be reduced to atleast R100.00 and not this R1000 which i dont even get to use during the month,i've also contacted virginmobile office with no better explanation. Thanking you in advance your virginmobile customer.

I see both of these are not really going to work as if you call them and say I wasn't notified of the change in charges they may say your right ill adjust these charges but know going forwards you will pay x amount and part of the contract you sign states you agree to the companies terms of service that states they withhold the right to change there price by providing you with notice and in the same terms of service they also state that they are not liable for loss in service and that they do not provide service everywhere and they give you 14 to try the service to ensure that it works but if you don't get service or move out of the service area they are not liable for that as they give you two weeks to try the service for that reason and they can't foresee you moving

Great post. I am stuck in my current contract for the next 3 years but I want a new phone so I have been saving up to buy the Galaxy SIII and I finally have the money!! Do you know if the Bell - Market Mall kiosk would have it? Or do you know of any places that would have it for a good price? Please let me know:)

You can also try CellClients.com to post your plan if all else fails then some other sucker can deal with the crappy phone companies.

Hey, so I was thinking about switching to bell, but the only thing keeping me back was the contract. I was looking at their long distance rates (here: http://www.bell.ca/Home_phone/Long_distance_plans), but I can't find where that is in the contract. Can someone show me where it is?

You won't find it in the contract per say because cellphone providers contracts can change there rates all they have to do is notify you of the change that they are making 30 days in advance the best place to find overage/pay per use long distance is by signing in to the online account or calling their customer service

What if the operator failed to give notice entirely? When I contracted with Virgin, they stated a phone upgrade would be available after 24 months. This week i found that had been changed to 30 months, then again recently to 34 months. Could this be used as the Material Adverse Clause to cancel the contract now?

No as in there term of service it's states that virgin mobility reserves the right to your hardware upgrade and that it may change without your notice