Consequences to not paying a phone bill?

[Shift_Perform]

my stupid friend was out of the country for a week on a cruise, and while she was on the cruise she called back to calgary using a phone card, but knowing she would be charged roaming...

But unexpectedly...the roaming charge was FUCKEN 6$$ PER MINUTE!!!!

Now she owes 680 total

My question is, if she doesnt pay her bill, rogers will cut her phone line. But what other consequences are there? such as bad record (out side of rogers), law suits?, or collection agencies which then causes bad record?

Anyone have done this or know the answer to my question please post, 680 bucks to a student making 10 bucks an hour is rediculous...and charging 6 bucks for roaming is even worse... if its 6bucks a minute, rogers should call there customer telling htem they are goin to be charged by another cellphone provider charging roaming at a certain amount...

[Supa Dexta]

Shes responsible for it.. I just got dinged accepting some collect calls from van island.. They were normal price on telus pay phones, but one was some other company I never heard of and it was $1 something a min. :guns:

[LBG]

It will get passed along to a collection agency

[97'Scort]

I remember back when I worked for London Drugs we used to get people in who "just didn't pay". It's funny how that shows up on a credit check. This one girl owed $1200 to Bell, so she ditched the phone and tried to sign up for a Telus one. Telus wouldn't give her a phone without $1000 cash right then and there as collateral.

[shakalaka]

Just ask her to pay it, she owes it. It's not like the charges are unreasonable. Ignorance is not an excuse.

[Whiley]

most companies will try and keep a customer, she should call them and explain that the bill is extreme, maybe say she can only afford 1/2 of it, they might settle with her
she could say she would have to change companies if they cant do something to help her
it's worth a try

[black13]

Tell'm it was stolen and someone else made the calls.

[JordanAndrew]

She'll get a bad credit record if she doesn't pay for her bill.
+1 on negotiating with the company. They would rather get some payment instead of not getting any at all.

[Shift_Perform]

Originally posted by shakalaka
Just ask her to pay it, she owes it. It's not like the charges are unreasonable. Ignorance is not an excuse.

your a joke, so please stfu

but thanks for those who have constructive comments, i will tell my friend to call and negotiate with them until its settled

[revelations]

There was a case last winter where a guy racked up something like 5000$ in data fees as he was downloading music from the net to his phone.

After whining to the local papers, he got something like 1/2 cut off the bill.


If youre friend has been a good customer otherwise, then they will likely be able to help her out a bit.

[BlkMaxima]

Originally posted by LBG
It will get passed along to a collection agency

:werd:

Just pay the bill. Don't mess around.

[benyl]

Originally posted by Shift_Perform


your a joke, so please stfu

but thanks for those who have constructive comments, i will tell my friend to call and negotiate with them until its settled

Not really, he is totally right.

Ignorance is not an excuse. You should know that when you leave Canada that using your phone is going to be expensive. It is almost $2 / minute in the US ($1.70) to roam and make phone calls. $6 / minute is not unreasonable when you are in the middle of the ocean on a cruise. You need a Satellite linkup to make those calls.

If she doesn't pay, she will have bad credit. That is far worse that sucking it up and paying for it.

The phone company will probably negotiate, or at least make a payment plan. I would rather work 68 hours and pay the bill than have 7 years of bad credit.

[SilverGS]

She may be able to negotiate but it could be a tough road. If she doesn't pay it will be a hit to her credit.

Costly lesson to learn I guess but even at $6/hour she talked quite a bit back to Calgary. almost 2 hours?. Was she able to call while on the ship?

I never make calls while out of town unless I know exactly what it will cost or would only make as quick a call as required so it will only be a few bucks hit.

I knew a girl who HAD to talk to her boyfriend every night while he was in Mexico for a week. Then she was pissed off that she had a $200 phone bill. :nut:

[Antonito]

Originally posted by 97'Scort
I remember back when I worked for London Drugs we used to get people in who "just didn't pay". It's funny how that shows up on a credit check. This one girl owed $1200 to Bell, so she ditched the phone and tried to sign up for a Telus one. Telus wouldn't give her a phone without $1000 cash right then and there as collateral.

I knew a guy like this, basically ruined his credit because he got not one but two 3 year plans that he just stopped paying because he couldn't afford it and didn't like the service, then ignored it for years

What is it about cell phones that makes people think that normal credit/debt laws don't apply?

[rc2002]

I'm waiting for my phone bill from when I went on a cruise last month. If it's unreasonable, I'll call Rogers and see if they can accomodate me. If not, I'll just pay it and chalk it up as a life lesson.

Paying the bill and having the peace of mind is worth it in my books. The inconvenience of a bad credit rating or not being able to renew a phone plan just isn't worth it.

[oilerfan4lyfe]

Shift tell her to call and ask to customer relations right away instead of the regular billing people...she might have better luck with that.

[aaronck]

Same thing happened with using a Calling card in Maui. $7 per minute or something like that....I think a Prepaid calling card is best when travelling

[autumnrain]

my phone bill was $300 when I went to vegas ( I was with bell) and my contract was up. I asked what they could do for me, and they offered to make it $75 if i renewed a 3 yr term.
I didn't do it and moved to rogers but its still worth a try.

[modded46]

Credit go BYE BYE. :drama:

[em2ab]

Originally posted by Shift_Perform
Anyone have done this or know the answer to my question please post, 680 bucks to a student making 10 bucks an hour is rediculous

Tell her to sign up for a 0 down mortgage, then when she can't pay the bills, just tell her to whine about that too.

Tell your friend to get some common sense? :dunno: I used to work for Telus and had to deal with all these yokels not wanting to take responsibility for their laziness.

[A790]

Originally posted by Shift_Perform


your a joke, so please stfu
Just because he's telling you the truth doesn't mean he's a joke. :dunno:

[narou]

Originally posted by A790

Just because he's telling you the truth doesn't mean he's a joke. :dunno:

:werd:

[turbotrip]

Definitely call the company. I got a $1500 telus bill 2 months ago and after calling them they reduced it to 160 and are going to reduce it again.

[kenny]

I'm seeing this more and more and its just how society has shaped people these days. People just don't want to take responsibility and ownership.

Like its already been suggested, get your friend to call and explain the situation. They'll knock the bill down for sure. Hopefully they don't reduce it to much so your friend can still learn a lesson and own up.

[gkAeris]

pm'd

[403ep3]

Originally posted by shakalaka
Just ask her to pay it, she owes it. It's not like the charges are unreasonable. Ignorance is not an excuse.

:thumbsup:


I work for a phone company and I have only seen a few customers get out of these kinds of bills. The thing is, she wasn't using bell towers when she was roaming. It all depends if bell can negotiate with the company that she used when she was in the us. If not, I don't think bell really wants to use their own cash. They are cheap bastards.

[JRSC00LUDE]

I may be able to arrange trading some "services" with her for $680, pics?

[DannyO]

Originally posted by 403ep3


:thumbsup:


I work for a phone company and I have only seen a few customers get out of these kinds of bills. The thing is, she wasn't using bell towers when she was roaming. It all depends if bell can negotiate with the company that she used when she was in the us. If not, I don't think bell really wants to use their own cash. They are cheap bastards.

Bingo, its not Bell charging her, they just want her to pay for the bill Bell has got sent, this goes for all companies, just try to negociate and if not then pay it, just gonna be an expensive lesson.

Some people really shouldn't be allowed a phone, its amazing how stupid a lot of people are about cellphones and the real world cost of things.

[max_boost]

Well this has happened to me a couple times.

1999: Racked up a Mike phone off Clearnet up to $600. Went broke, said fuck it. They called a few times and then Telus bought them out. Nothing showed up on credit file.

March 2008, ported over from Telus to Shaw on business phone. Called Telus and Shaw probably 10 times over the first month. Telus still keeps sending me phone bills! Now it's over $800 on the main line and $500 on the second line!

I'm waiting for Telus to call me and threaten me in which I'm going to tell them to go fuck themselves!!

[lint]

Originally posted by Shift_Perform
my stupid friend was out of the country for a week on a cruise, and while she was on the cruise she called back to calgary using a phone card, but knowing she would be charged roaming...

But unexpectedly...the roaming charge was FUCKEN 6$$ PER MINUTE!!!!

Now she owes 680 total

My question is, if she doesnt pay her bill, rogers will cut her phone line. But what other consequences are there? such as bad record (out side of rogers), law suits?, or collection agencies which then causes bad record?

Anyone have done this or know the answer to my question please post, 680 bucks to a student making 10 bucks an hour is rediculous...and charging 6 bucks for roaming is even worse... if its 6bucks a minute, rogers should call there customer telling htem they are goin to be charged by another cellphone provider charging roaming at a certain amount...

If she's a student making only $10/hr you'd think she'd be a little smarter and check how much roaming charges would be before she went on the trip? You already said she knew she'd be charged roaming, so she can't plead ignorance even. And how is rogers supposed to know when she decides to take a week long international cruise? The network that she was roaming on charges rogers after the fact, it's not like rogers is notified that their customer is roaming on someone else's network.

[rmk]

Take it to Tony Tighe. She will most likely get out of it and we can oogle her.

[LadyLuck]

.

[Amysicle]

Originally posted by shakalaka
Just ask her to pay it, she owes it. It's not like the charges are unreasonable. Ignorance is not an excuse. :werd: I don't give a shit if she's a student making just barely more than minimum wage. I'm a student too and I had enough sense to call my cell phone company to see what the roaming charges were before I left for Mexico.

Like someone mentioned, your friend had to be talking for quite awhile even at $6/minute to get a bill of that size. What did she think was going to happen?

Also: If her parents co-signed or helped her sign up for that cell phone, Rogers will stop service to her parents if it comes down to it.

[LadyLuck]

Originally posted by Amysicle
your friend had to be talking for quite awhile even at $6/minute to get a bill of that size.

113.5 minutes :D

[beyondmike]

Originally posted by JRSC00LUDE
I may be able to arrange trading some "services" with her for $680, pics?



:rofl:

[riced]

That's crazy, my girlfriend owed about 480 when she went to California calling back to Calgary.
Where abouts did she go that it was $6/minute?

Before I went to Las Vegas, I called rogers and asked about all that and they said it was like $1.00/minute and $0.60/text.

[Amysicle]

Originally posted by riced
Where abouts did she go that it was $6/minute?
Originally posted by Shift_Perform
my stupid friend was out of the country for a week on a cruise, and while she was on the cruise she called back to calgary using a phone card, but knowing she would be charged roaming... Oh you know, in the middle of nowhere out in the ocean.

[Ajay]

Questions like this make me laugh.

As a consumer it's your responsibility to know what charges you'll see from your provider. Being "out of the country" isn't an excuse.

I used to work for Telus Mobility and so many times people would come into the store after they spent two months in Fort Mac with their phones not working. They figured that since they weren't using it they didn't have to pay their monthly bill. Sounds logical doesn't it? Guess what? When you sign into an agreement you're doing just that, agreeing to pay what's laid out in the agreement for the term of the agreement.

That being said she may be able to call and get something knocked off her bill. If she's nice about it and doesn't demand anything and if she get's a reasonable CSR they might do something for her.

[03ozwhip]

i work for a phone company too, and i see this ALL the time everyday actually. alot of the time, for the first time it happens, we will let it go depending on how nice you are and who you are talking to. either way though, WTF do you need to bring your cell phone with you for, when youre gonna be in the middle of the ocean? or anywhere on vacation for that matter...

[JfuckinC]

the consequence is fuck you

[stealth]

I had the same thing happen to me last month.

I was overseas and my bill came to $610.

I just paid it off, I didn't want to deal with the bad credit.

[revelations]

Many overseas phone companies offer pre-paid sim cards for sale....or disposable phones for that matter.

[g-m]

Originally posted by autumnrain
my phone bill was $300 when I went to vegas ( I was with bell) and my contract was up. I asked what they could do for me, and they offered to make it $75 if i renewed a 3 yr term.
I didn't do it and moved to rogers but its still worth a try. wtf I went to vegas and my phone bill was like 10-20$ more than usual. With fido and calling calgary and calling people in vegas and shit

[The Cosworth]

she talked for almost 2 hours on her cell phone when she was on the cruise? why.





and yes she would be sent to collections if she doesnt pay and is responsible for the charges unless she can prove she didnt make those calls (which doesnt sound like the case)

[SilverGS]

Really just sounds like she knew there would be charges but not $6/hour charges. So instead of a $100 bill she got a $680 bill.

For those who work for mobile companies how does that work? I am assuming it just depends on what carrier you have that you are roaming through. When I went to New York my roaming charges were $0.90/minute I think. Even Europe on land didn't seem that expensive. What at are the places that are $6/hour?

[szw]

Originally posted by g-m
wtf I went to vegas and my phone bill was like 10-20$ more than usual. With fido and calling calgary and calling people in vegas and shit

Yeah I used to bring my phone and use it in the US for only a few bucks more on calls, texts were free. i think now with so many phones accessing data thats where the huge roaming charges come from, but I dont' really know.

I had a few hundred dollar phone bill with fido years ago and just decided to say fuck off. There was a mark on my credit record but its gone now. Recently I signed up with fido again and they still remembered it, they asked me to put a $100 deposit down. I said fuck off again and then they waived the security deposit.

[gabbo]

Mexico is $5 a minute with rogers so I am not surprised it is $6 on a cruise ship.

[BlackArcher101]

She can't afford the cell phone but can afford a cruise? Did the parents pay for the cruise?

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by BlackArcher101
Did the parents pay for the cruise?

Probably her bf