Fido Headaches (major understatement)

If you're an ardent fan of Fido you may wish to skip this post because I've had some very bad dealings with the company over the past half year. I feel it's necessary to inform people of some of the potential problems you may encounter as a Fido member...no reason to believe that what happened (and is happening) to me couldn't happen to anyone else.

I would hope, furthermore, that this post is not removed as "trashing" the company because it would be a great disservice to the board's members to not at least get a peek into some of the poor service that Fido has to offer. Remember, this is just one guy's ongoing story so keep that in mind.

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I’ve been a Fido customer for close to a year now and after prolonged and aggravated dealings with them I feel I should post a warning to all of you considering signing up for their service.

The story begins in mid February when I noticed a strange transaction on my credit card (I pay Fido monthly by CC). This transaction was not my account number and didn’t look like the regular Fido transaction I usually see for my phone. So, I called Fido right away and after some difficulty in hunting down what this transaction was, I was told that it was a pre-authorized payment made on my credit card and presumably done by me.

Well, this was definitely not the case so I asked them to investigate further and get back to me (maybe fraud, I thought, so no finger pointing at this time). They called me back promptly within 10 minutes (to their credit) and told me that this clearly was an erroneous transaction somewhere and that the amount would be credited back to my Fido account within 2 weeks. I would’ve prefered putting the money back on my CC but this was satisfactory.

Two weeks came and went and I noticed no changes to my account. I specifically omitted the amount from this wierd transaction as I believed that it would be replaced (it was about $90, by the way). Then, a month had passed and Fido called me to ask what I was going to do about my remaining balance. I related the story to the rep once again and she assured me that, “no, it usually takes closer to two months for credit refunds” but since everything was in the works I should just pay my outstanding balance.

I should mention at this point that Fido calls *every single month* to harass me to pay. I pay promptly and have asked them to stop calling…”thanks, I don’t need the reminder”, but they keep on like a collection agency, requiring firm dates when I will pay, and not failing to warm me *each and every time* that should I fail to pay my service may be disconnected. Did I insult somebody there? What gives?

Anyhow, two months had now elapsed and I spoke to a third, then a fourth, and then a fifth rep, each of which told me my refund should have been “within 2 days of the error being reported”, “up to six months”, and “no, Fido doesn’t refund money, call your CC company”. On the odd chance that the reps had no idea what they were talking about (where did I get that idea?), I also spoke to their supervisors and got the same responses. If you’re looking for a fun rainy afternoon activity, try calling Fido service centers and ask them about their basic policies…speak to their supervisors; then hang up and call again to get a different person on the line. See how many different answers you can get!

In the meantime I’d been in touch with my CC company who, of course, insisted that Fido was responsible and needed to reverse the charges. I finally ended up calling the Dispute Resolution department one day after a particularly dense answer from a Fido supervisor and decided to end it right there and then. I was assured the supervisor would be there while I conferred with my CC company.The CC rep said, “let’s just do a three-way call and get this matter sorted”. Sounded good to me. But, when we called Fido, the supervisor had gone out to lunch. I have not been able to get a hold of her since and *unfortunately* no one else in the service department could help me because they were unaware of the particulars of my case (maybe looking at the extensive note list on my account would have helped?)

It’s now six months later and I’m still getting the runaround…people who bother giving me answers all still give me completely different stories and everyone else doesn’t even bother. As a sign of good faith, Fido has now instituted (I don’t know if it’s just against me or of this is new policy) a strict new payment schedule. Should you miss your payment by even a week, your service is disconnected, they charge you $25 (no-name, no-explanation fee) and then another $40 to reconnect you. How did I find this out? That $90 I was promised nearly 6 months ago (and didn’t pay for two months) is now being used against me as proof of my refusal to pay my bills on time!

How’s that for adding insult to injury? At this point, Fido has essentially ripped me off by refusing to help me and are now treating me like scum. I guess I should’ve guessed that they were some sort of massochistic society by their monthly phone calls but I wouldn’t have guessed they would be *SO* bad.

The topper today, which finally put me over the edge (takes a lot, don’t it?) was another harassing phone call for a $50 bill that I got last week and the French woman on the line (out of Quebec I guess) started yelling at me angrily because she couldn’t understand what I was saying through all the static. “Well”, I finally said, “it’s your effing phone and your effing cell network, lady!”

I'm also not pleased with the fact that my $45/month plan has ballooned to approximately $140/month .. no new features, LD savings plans added, but the fees just keep getting higher.

While I won't begrudge anyone for defending Fido if you've been given excellent service and feel that the price is fair, I for one would strongly dissuade those of you considering Fido service from joining. My story is somewhat extreme but certainly not unique. I feel I've been patient and have put up with a lot so consider how long and hard Fido had to push me to start posting about them publicly. It could happen to you too!

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› See More: Fido Headaches (major understatement)

It is unfortunate that Fido has so many billing errors and do seemingly nothing to fix a problem when it is brought to their attention. I would imagine that you pay them by CC because it was either that or pay a deposit ??

It's a funny thing at Fido because they do have some outstanding reps who are smart, kind and shrewd that really are near perfection in my opinion. The not so funny part is that too often they get lost in a sea in other "employees" (and I use that term loosely) who seem to be clueless, and 100% uninterested in working in customer service and could care less about cell phones.

I would never let Fido have the privilage of billing my CC or my bank account (I'd be out on the streets lol). I pay them way before time and I ask nothing of them and this way nothing gets screwed up.

Best plans, best phones and the best concept goes to Fido. Best customer service I'm affraid does not. For those who have never lived thru a "fido billing problem"... more power to you and go touch wood or something LOL. Last night I realized that once again I did not get the 20$ credit due to me from a referral and spent almost 3 1/2 hours on hold just to have an uninterested sounding person tell me that if I don't like waiting I should'nt call LOL. Will I see that 20$ credit ? Your guess is as good as mine !!

Hope things work out and I hope that you will be happy once again with Fido. Why has your monthly bill jumped so high ? What went up ?

its customer service is all CRAP. I agree...
it used to be AWSOME
Unless u got Country Fido, or City Fido... yeah no good anymore...
I spent 3+ months trying to sort out a credit too...

Probably ever since Fido joined up with Rogers. I'm asking Rogers a simple question for a week now twice a day. "I lost my phone, how much for a new one" and the answer: "Uhh well... hmmm I need more information, perhaps your name, account number, plan type, area you live in and age verification" wtf? I just want to know about my god damn phone that I got for free.

Rogers = Balls
and now that fidos with them, expect nothing better