Cell phone roaming - Rogers

[Rathji]

Was going to post this in the cancelling the rogers contract thread but figured it needed its own.

3 weeks back, we were in southern Alberta dealing with my wife's mothers headstone, so we spent a day down there (Hill Spring AB,- about 42k as the crow flies from the US border). We get our Rogers bill and they are billing us roaming for the time when we were down there.

My wife is furious after dealing with 2 Rogers reps hanging up on her mid call, so I suspect I will be making the next call and figured I would get the opinion of the CP braintrust before I called them.

The rogers coverage map clearly shows the area as having coverage (Google map fo HIllspring for reference). It also mentions at the bottom that the tower sending and receiving the signal is what is used to determine charges. My phone had no roaming charges, and I was with her all day, but it seems they are saying hers was using the US tower. We have also never experienced charges of any type visiting the area.

I am not against paying out cancellation charges over this, since the cost would be outwieghed by being able to pick up a discounted phone on a new contract with a different carrier, but I would rather be able to go contract free after this phone if possible.

Any thoughts?

[Regulator75]

Keep complaining, eventually they will drop the extra charges.

[DownhillGoat]

Any time I've roamed in the US with rogers, I've always got a few texts saying welcome to the us, and detailing the roaming charge. If she didn't get any of these, I can't see how they're saying she was using the US tower.

[Ozy_Flame]

Well for one thing, your wife must have said some real choice words and raised her voice significantly to get two reps to hang up. They aren't allowed to do that, so first thing first is to get everyone to calm down.

Second, tell them that since you can't pick the tower your phone browses from, that this was out of your control and the charges should be dropped. You should definitely not be charged for 'roaming' in that area.

Ask to speak to the manager, and explain that there has to be a solution, but do it respectfully. Your chances of an amicable resolution go up if the other guy likes speaking to ya.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Well for one thing, your wife must have said some real choice words and raised her voice significantly to get two reps to hang up. They aren't allowed to do that, so first thing first is to get everyone to calm down.

Second, tell them that since you can't pick the tower your phone browses from, that this was out of your control and the charges should be dropped. You should definitely not be charged for 'roaming' in that area.

Ask to speak to the manager, and explain that there has to be a solution, but do it respectfully. Your chances of an amicable resolution go up if the other guy likes speaking to ya.

She told the rep to hold on because my kids were screaming and she couldn't hear, when she put the phone back to her ear they had conveniently 'dropped connection' (according to the notes the reps left in our file) both times. That is actually why she is so mad at them, because at first things were going quite well - as there was another problem with our bill that she has resolved with no issues.

[BlackEleven]

Didn't she get a text informing her she was roaming? I'm not sure about the US, but I've had my phone in Europe and everytime I'd connect to a foreign carrier I'd get a text informing me of the roaming rates. If she wasn't informed that she was roaming, especially while in Canada, I think she definitely has a case to have the charges dropped.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by BlackEleven

Didn't she get a text informing her she was roaming? I'm not sure about the US, but I've had my phone in Europe and everytime I'd connect to a foreign carrier I'd get a text informing me of the roaming rates. If she wasn't informed that she was roaming, especially while in Canada, I think she definitely has a case to have the charges dropped.

I assume she didn't get a text, because she would have noticed for sure, we will of course check her text history.

[PIMking]

I've been going rounds with a company here in the states for a few years. I got my mom a phone and while she was in Iraq it was suppose to be on hold. We gave them all the paperwork but still charged me and sent it to collections.

[Sliver]

Check for this text:

Welcome abroad! Save up to 90% with a roaming offer. If you don't have one, visit http://rogers.com/m/usa Reg roaming rates are $1.45/min, $0.03/kB & $0.75/txt.

I'm with Rogers as well and received that text when I was in the States a couple days ago. It came from 500-0. If she didn't receive it that's added leverage for her, but no matter what I wouldn't pay.

[Jimmy Stang]

At first I was going to post a devil's advocate message, questioning whether the effort was worth the principle of disputing the charges. But then I looked at the map and it was quite a bit further from the border than I had expected. I have used my phone down in Waterton without issue, so I am surprised that the nearest/strongest cell tower was across the border.

Does anyone know what the typical range for these towers are?

Don't get me started on the cost of roaming rates. In Europe, the carriers are starting to drop the rates a little, but we're still getting gouged here in Canada. Surely $1.45/min (plus long distance) and $30 per megabyte must be exponentially higher than the true cost and reasonable profit for providers. When I leave the country, I rely on phone cards, wifi, Skype, etc. But you didn't even leave the country!

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

At first I was going to post a devil's advocate message, questioning whether the effort was worth the principle of disputing the charges. But then I looked at the map and it was quite a bit further from the border than I had expected. I have used my phone down in Waterton without issue, so I am surprised that the nearest/strongest cell tower was across the border.

Does anyone know what the typical range for these towers are?

Don't get me started on the cost of roaming rates. In Europe, the carriers are starting to drop the rates a little, but we're still getting gouged here in Canada. Surely $1.45/min (plus long distance) and $30 per megabyte must be exponentially higher than the true cost and reasonable profit for providers. When I leave the country, I rely on phone cards, wifi, Skype, etc. But you didn't even leave the country!

It was something like 16MB that she apparently used as well - which is BS, since her monthly use for a normal month is about 100MB total

[MoneyGuy]

We were in the Maritimes recently and my Rogers bill has ~10 35-cent roaming charges. I've never seen that before. I used to be able to roam in Canada free of cost by calling the local phone number with area code but no 1 in front. Does it not work that way anymore? Is this just Rogers? I don't really care much about the $3.50 in costs but would like to understand how this works. Anyone?

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

We were in the Maritimes recently and my Rogers bill has ~10 35-cent roaming charges. I've never seen that before. I used to be able to roam in Canada free of cost by calling the local phone number with area code but no 1 in front. Does it not work that way anymore? Is this just Rogers? I don't really care much about the $3.50 in costs but would like to understand how this works. Anyone?

You're correct. Did you receive calls though? Because there would be charges associated with those.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by BlackEleven

You're correct. Did you receive calls though? Because there would be charges associated with those.

No, didn't receive calls. I only made some and must have been charged for roaming for each outgoing call. When did this change?

[darklord700]

Call or email the Rogers ombudsmen office. You'll get result quicker. The first