The search for Canada's worst cell phone bill
If you've ever opened your 40-page cell-phone statement only to stare, stunned, at an outrageously high charge, you aren't alone. One Alberta man recently got hit for close to $8,000 in unexpected roaming charges following a trip to Europe.
Earlier this summer, CBC’s Marketplace talked to several weary Canadians who had really been put through the wringer by their mobile phone company. Their conclusion: It happens all the time.
And things aren’t much better across the border. Although the U.S. market offers many more mature vendors to choose from, the Federal Trade Commission estimates that one in six cell-phone users regularly experience "bill shock" after unwittingly exceeding the preset minutes in their mobile plan.
Consumer Reports blogger Jeff Blyskal wonders why more carriers can't help subscribers avoid such overage charges by at least sending them reminders when they are close to maxing out their monthly allotment of minutes.
Why would they? Minute surcharges are a major source of revenue for the established carriers. Despite this, U.S. Cellular sends customers a text message alert when they've used 75% of their plan’s allotted voice minutes or text messages. A second alert goes out when customers hit 100%.
Will this become the norm in Canada? Maybe.
In the meantime, however, help is at hand. The Pageonce app lets you check your account, letting you know when bills are due and helping to keep track of minutes and text messages.
It can also help you figure out whether you’ve been wasting money on a package that’s bigger than you need, or, more likely, if you need to increase your existing plan to match your actual usage.
There are also several online services that can suggest better options for you than the one you might currently have. Cellplanexpert and Compatrecellular let you input how you expect to use your phone and then spit out a list of comparative rates.
Save Cell will actually negotiate an improved deal for you, making the necessary changes to your account at the same time. They might even suggest a better plan at your same company so you don't have to worry about cancellation charges.
Save Cell only gets paid if they actually save you some money. The company takes any savings you earn over the first four months (there’s a 10 per cent discount if you pay upfront) with no further charges after that.
What’s your cell phone bill look like? Have you been hosed recently? What did you do about it?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: Gail Barwick | Aug 25, 2021 9:32:35 AM
I have made it a HABIT to monitor my Roaming Fees associated with my cell phone. They are high in comparison to any/all Landline plans and I usually use a local phone paying the long distance fees upfront rather than my cell phone which works out to be much less expensive in the long run. If you can contract a Server who provides Long distance fees, you are better off if that is the reason for using a Cell Phone. Most businesses cover the cost of long distance calls for their employees if it is business related.