The Bell Canada " dance " has some new steps this year

I know many of you do the same as me and phone Ma Bell to get those sneaky little increases they try to slip into our bills each year removed and good for us, BUT this year the rules have changed. ( I think? )

I noticed the increase right away on my total bill ( paperless I was viewing it ) I checked each line of charges and the only thing different was they had removed each discount from both the tv and the phone??
The first CS guy tried to tell me that the discount they had given me the last time had actually EXPIRED! Wha?? :eek:
It had an expiration date that I did not see printed right at the end of the discount description for both the tv and phone.
yup! it was there alright Expires March 28th.

I never remembered an actual date being there before, I just called each year when I saw my charges went up, so this is something sort of new I think ( correct me anyone if I am wrong )

So I asked to speak to the Loyalty department.
I tried my best to stay calm as I asked the rep I was transferred to why Bell didn't inform me of this new practice of a " best before date " by entering that info into the Important Information box on page 1 of my bill? I always look there for anything new I should be aware of. I just felt that they were hiding it thus putting the onus on me to call before that date.

It took longer than I wanted but the CS rep relented and did in fact give me a brand new discount equal to the one I had before which is good for 8 months, so I said to her " I guess I'll watch for that expiration date from now on then " and she goes
" no, there won't be any, Bell is trying to streamline things and find the best way to serve customers ...bla bla bla " omg! first she lambasted me at the beginning of my call saying this was on ME that I had not seen the expiration date in the first place NOW she is saying that they may be doing away with it again?? make up yer darn minds Ma Bell!!

my old thread is here....in that one I had previously praised the CS I received from Bell, I am still grateful they will honour my request this year to save money on my bill but my blood pressure went up a bit this time..

http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/271577-...ervice-canada/

Bell & Rogers are such a bunch of crooks.

My parents home landline has gone to $ 35 + Tax now. Every year or so they seem to be increasing it a few bucks !

This is just a basic line , with NO additional features like Call Display , Call waiting , Long Distance etc etc.

They are NOT heavy cell phone users..they do have a pre paid cell phone for emergencies and stuff like that..so pretty much use their landline.

Thank God their internet is with DISTRIBUTEL , and not with these crooks :)..they pay $ 40/month for high speed internet , with unlimited download & upload ..no bandwith cap , no overage charges etc :) . Their speed is also very fast ..fast downloading , uploading , WiFi etc :)

Wish they could get rid of the BELL line , but they don't really want a VOIP phone right now ..they prefer regular phone line for power outages , 911 etc.

I think if you look at your BELL bills online ..all the bills for the various months in a table . You will see a tick mark under the heading messages.

That means there is an insert attached with that months bill . In that insert or message , somewhere in a fine print , they sneakily put in the increases etc..not in a prominent place..so they can say ..O we informed you , but its your fault that you didn't see it .

yes tjthemanto, if I was not diligent each year mine too would have escalated up. I am trying to stop Ma Bell in their tracks, we too have a land line ( with nothing extra ) and my phone bill would have gone as high as your parents did if I had not called each time they attempt to increase the rates without giving me any improvement or any upgrade in my service.

So glad we dropped their internet service quite a while ago, switched to Teksavvy.

I called last month as my 1 year offers on satellite and phone were expiring and I was told they only offer discounts for 6 months at a time so I marked my calendar 4 days to call and beg again (lol)

well the CS person yesterday said this newest adjustment was for 8 months, not sure why?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by walkonby

yes tjthemanto, if I was not diligent each year mine too would have escalated up. I am trying to stop Ma Bell in their tracks, we too have a land line ( with nothing extra ) and my phone bill would have gone as high as your parents did if I had not called each time they attempt to increase the rates without giving me any improvement or any upgrade in my service.

So glad we dropped their internet service quite a while ago, switched to Teksavvy.

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We've tried to be diligent and call each time, but I always get the "sorry, it is what it is" speech. No offer of discounts or credits. Or maybe on an $8 increase, you get a $2 decrease, but it's still a $6 increase overall.

I'm so very tired of Bell's games. Last year, they decided to upgrade our modem (and charge us $50 or some ridiculous amount). Then, I had a knock on my door. LO was napping so I didn't want to answer and wake her. Then the phone rang and LO started crying. It turned out to be the Bell guy saying he was on our doorstep and can he install it right now. No notice, appointment or anything! How do they expect people to be home at 10 AM on a Wednesday so they can just drop by?!

So above the cost of the new modem, we have to pay the new rental fee, which I called to tell them I thought they could improve on, and they said nope.

Finally, yesterday, we made the switch to a different internet. Oh Bell, how I really, really, really am truly unimpressed with you!!

sweetsparrow!! I know!! My blood pressure would go up just dreading that call each year, and just like you they would try and throw you off with " sorry nothing we can do ", but I dig my teeth in them because I actually am a very loyal Bell customer, I have never left them ( no cell phone , so always a Bell land line ) Hopefully now by leaving their internet service you will reduce your monthly bills at least.

walkonby, the CS rep's comment about streamlining things, wondering if this is related to the new pick and pay television comin
wondering if Bell is fighting this and will have increased fees if you pick the package they don't want you to pick
:shrug:

we may look at suspending our internet since the weather is nice, and use free internet at the library
the fee to suspend use to be $20 and is now $40

see Shwa?! Bell will never stop trying to whack us even when we are trying to take a short break from using their service. ( wow! a $20.00 increase to suspend it ) oh and I totally forgot about that whole pick and pay thing coming up....yikes! can hardly wait to see what they offer then.

@Shwa Girl 's got a point-the pick and pay cable option comes in December 2015.
I really hope some SCers have preferred shares in Bell and are vocal with the board of directors about the lousy CSR stuff but the board likely set targets that led to staff being told not to give discounts unless a customer raises social media ruckus or is very connected to one of the big Bell customers.

Do your parents have cellphones? They can use that if there is a power outage and emergency. The 911 does work. There address should already be in the provider's system. It just needs to be updated if they move. The e911 was a big deal years ago but today not as much. Today VOIP is so similar to a regular phone and so much less expensive. I use VOIP and am really happy with it :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tjthemanto

Bell & Rogers are such a bunch of crooks.

My parents home landline has gone to $ 35 + Tax now. Every year or so they seem to be increasing it a few bucks !

This is just a basic line , with NO additional features like Call Display , Call waiting , Long Distance etc etc.

They are NOT heavy cell phone users..they do have a pre paid cell phone for emergencies and stuff like that..so pretty much use their landline.

Thank God their internet is with DISTRIBUTEL , and not with these crooks :)..they pay $ 40/month for high speed internet , with unlimited download & upload ..no bandwith cap , no overage charges etc :) . Their speed is also very fast ..fast downloading , uploading , WiFi etc :)

Wish they could get rid of the BELL line , but they don't really want a VOIP phone right now ..they prefer regular phone line for power outages , 911 etc.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by KDivers

Do your parents have cellphones? They can use that if there is a power outage and emergency. The 911 does work. There address should already be in the provider's system. It just needs to be updated if they move. The e911 was a big deal years ago but today not as much. Today VOIP is so similar to a regular phone and so much less expensive. I use VOIP and am really happy with it :)

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@KDivers I am guessing that your post was meant for @tjthemanto ?