Can Bell’s customer service be fixed?

August 25 2007 by Ellen Roseman

Category: Finance | 106 comments

106 comments

1. Arnold Adams

   Aug 25 2007

   Bell(Sympatico) promised me high speed internet and charged me for it for 2 years, all the while I was complaing about slow speed on the internet. After going through Bell billing compaining about paying for something I did not get. I was told that because of my phone line I could not get high speed however they would refund me $5.00 per month for a year which they did. I wanted out of the contract early and was denied, they said I would pay a penalty. I am now with Cogeco and very happy. I was so upset over the treatment that I changed my phone as well to Cogeco and that is after being a bell customer for over 40 years…

2. Joren

   Aug 25 2007

   Here are a few:
   Start listening to the calls that are recorded and start firing some of your “Customer Service” staff that are pissing off customers.

   Give the CSR’s more flexibility in dealing with customers and allow them to resolve the problem.

   Since one of them told me… don’t penalize CSR’s for spending too much time with one customer. If it takes 15 minutes or even half an hour to help the customer and perhaps keep them as customers - isn’t that better than having them tell the customer that “sorry, I can’t spend any more time on this, you’ll have to call back.”?

   Again, get rid of some of the deadwood, of which there appears to be plenty in every department of Bell.

   Tell your CSRs to stop slurring their names when they answer a call. And have those who cannot speak English correctly stick to working the French calls.

   Get rid of Emily.

3. Ben Dover

   Aug 26 2007

   Just leave them.

4. Danielle

   Aug 26 2007

   I’ve been with them for years and haven’t had any problems. Oops is this the Rogers blog?

5. Wade McLean

   Aug 26 2007

   I for one hope to see the day when so many customers have left Bell that they ask themselves “what happened?” and are forced to either close shop or drastically make changes to the way they do business. I know it’s a long shot but hey, a guy can dream.

   I would gladly toast their demise.

   THATS how much they’ve angered me with shoddy business practices and horrible staff.

   In the meantime, can Emily and those damn pithy questions about “if they’ve provided exceptional service today”? They only make frustrated customers even more rankled. Any manager should realize that.

6. Rashers Tierney

   Aug 26 2007

   Oh Wade you’re so right about the “exceptional service” garbage. It’s an insult. As for my tale of woe, I’m still trying to get them to stop sending me bills for an account cancelled in February. On my last call to them in this epic adventure the computer was down so they couldn’t give me a confirmation number. Great. As far as I’m concerned they’re the worst company in North America. Every dealing with them drives my blood pressure through the roof. And yes, Emily should be among the first to get the bullet.

7. Michael Eliopoulos

   Aug 27 2007

   I have been trying since April to resolve a problem with Bell, but so far have been unsuccessful. Bell disconnected my line since around October or early November of 2006, while continuing to charge me for the bundle ($51.17 per month plus long distance). When we realized what was going on, I phoned Bell and asked them why they charged us after disconnecting our line; they claimed the line was working. I suggested that the customer service representative put me on hold while he tried the line; Afterward, he agreed with me that the line was in fact disconnected.

   I called Repairs and they told me to call Credit, I called Credit and they told me to call Customer Service, Customer Service told me to phone Repairs again. So on and so forth in a game of phone tag.

   I was given a file #3161151 in May; I asked to talk to a manager and was told that no manager was available. Eventually someone came to the phone who claimed to be the floor supervisor who promised me that I would be credited for what I was charged. I waited and saw nothing. Last week, I followed up and I was given another file #3519915 and thus the process started all over again.

   I asked repeatedly to talk to a manager, asking for a phone number to reach him/her directly. Alternately, I requested the address of an office location where I could go personally. I was never given one. I believe that the people who work there follow the instructions and the scripts that are given to them, but are not trained in proper customer relations. This seems typical of a bureaucratic organization. I am sorry to say that Mr. Kevin Crull is not doing what he claims and I have proof to back this up.

   Customers who pay for a service and who work for a living do not have 20-60 minutes a day to spend on the phone, especially when their time is wasted talking to a computer (Emily) or the Bell representative who gives out a name that cannot be tracked.

   This is a brief retelling (15%) of the events that have happened from a concerned and frustrated customer.

8. Last Minute Guy

   Aug 28 2007

   One thing I would do, aside from bringing tech support back into Canada, would be to ask them to shut up and listen for a minute.

   It seems no matter why you call, they want to go through the same silly steps. If I’m on my third tech support call in a week about the same problem you can bet powering down my router won’t solve it.

   Maybe if they let you explain the problem and what you’ve already done on previous support calls they would save a lot of time. I could write a book about poor Sympatico customer service.

   On a more positive note, I actually ended up getting 6 months free high speed service once because I had almost a year of problems that they couldn’t fix.

9. Karen Newton

   Aug 28 2007

   They were supposed to cancel my service in May. They didn’t and said I didn’t call to cancel! Then they said they would cancel in June. Of course they didn’t, they had “no records of my request.” Then they said they would cancel in July. If they didn’t, I was going to cancel my Mastercard. It seemed easier than dealing with them.

   When they finally did cancel, it was the happiest day of the year for me. NEVER EVER GET MIXED UP WITH BELL. They stole $100 from me since I did not need the service after May. They wear you down so much you don’t have the energy to fight back.

10. George Vance

    Aug 29 2007

    With the takeover of Bell by the Teachers Pension Plan, it will give new meaning to the pre-emptive apology, “Some of my best friends are teachers.”

    I am on a Sympatico dialup in Hamilton because my DSL modem went south and the India-based techies treated me like a mushroom. Here’s the catch-22: I canceled my 2nd residential line in June (in favour of Primus VOIP) and continued to have mostly uptime with the DSL. I tried to change my profile to make my primary residential Bell line my line of record in the profile, but was unsuccessful both online and by phone.

    I waited in a queue several times. On Sunday the techie, even after consulting his Level II (what pretense!), says the reason my DSL’s DSL light won’t come on is that my profile has the long-canceled phone number!

    So my first suggestion is to train Tech Support to run with the experience and the knowledge of the customer, who in most cases is not a complete idiot. This suggestion would also apply to the techie who, a few months ago, insisted Bell’s DSL modem could do everything I needed without the SMC router, ignoring the fact that my network/internet connection had worked well for years. He reconfigured the modem remotely to force me to follow his default remedial method #1: disconnect everything! That was the beginning of the demise of the Bell modem. Tomorrow, I’m installing Cogeco’s modem!

    I do anticipate a further squabble with Sympatico over the return of my Bell DSL modem. Apparently, I need a return authorization from Tech Support (more queuing to reach “Shawn” in India), who will I expect not be able to deal with me because the number in my profile was canceled in June!

    Then there was the time I upgraded my Bell Mobility service to a Palm Treo Smart Phone. Sold to me as “new,” this Treo had been on the Bell World store shelf for return to the manufacturer after the previous purchaser had returned it a month before. Worse, it contained all of the previous owner’s data, which was not password protected. This was a huge breach of privacy, which could not be grasped by the store staff; nor evidently could it be grasped by Bell’s privacy@bell.ca staff, who did not respond to my complaint.

    Suggestion: train the store staff in the entire product range they sell and emphasize the “How to do a Hard Reset” section.

    Enough, already. Show me your stuff, Cogeco!

    A final thought. Now that the iPhone has been unlocked from AT&T, perhaps some worthy geek will make it work on Bell Mobility!

11. Tony

    Aug 30 2007

    WOW !!! You accomplished more in 2 hours than I did in over 2 months. We had been waiting to have a downed line restored. Here’s our story.

    June 21 - A truck caught the line feeding my phone, tore it off two telephone poles and left it lying across the intersection. Neighbours called Bell, who told them to just pull it to the side of the road. They refused, so Bell sent someone who piled it all in the ditch at the side of the road (approx 300 feet of wire). The repairman said he would send a ‘cherry picker’ truck to restring it the next day.

    June 22 - No one came. Called again, polite gentleman, said no repair order was outstanding, had trouble understanding my problem, said a repairman would be there tomorrow.

    June 23 - Repairman came, very polite, made a temporary fix by looping the Bell cable over the hydro line to get it across the intersection. Said a ‘cherry picker’ truck was needed, would be there ‘next’ week, probably Monday. Left a work order saying final repairs would be completed in 30 days.

    July 5 - Called again. Truck would be there Tuesday.

    July 11 - Repairman left a message saying special wire was required, would take a couple of days.

    July 13 - Called Bell, got India again, tried to sell me insurance in case problem was inside my house. Requested to speak to his Supervisor. Talked to a sympathetic lady at the London control centre. Said the problem should be fixed next week. Gave me her name and number.

    Jul 25 - Called her back, got a guy who wanted to know why I was calling her, gave him the whole story, he then connected me to the original lady. She said she would check with the dispatcher and call back. I’m still waiting for her call.

    Aug 3 - Called London, got another nice lady. She said she would contact the repairman who left the message on July 11 and would get back to me within the hour. The repairman will call and follow up.

    The repairman came to the house, explained that the order for special wire was in limbo due to vacations, but he would follow up and get back with a date. Very helpful and polite. Left his phone number.

    Aug 8 - Called repairman, said he would follow up and get back.

    Aug 9 - Repairman called, would be out by Friday.

    Aug 10 - Guess what? No show, again.

    Aug 14 - Called London, got yet another nice lady. She talked to the previous two ladies, said she would contact the repairman and call me back. Told her there were safety considerations involved, tractor cutting grass in ditch could get enmeshed, pull down the yydro line, get electrocuted etc.

    Repairman called back. Explained that it really wasn’t his type of repair, that he’d left a message for the repairman responsible and that he (original repairman) would call back.

    Lady from London called back. Talked to technicians, should be done this week, and if not, next week for sure.

    Aug 23 - Called last lady in London, she said she would call back.

    On Aug. 28, I was still waiting when I wrote to you.

    By 3.30 p.m. that day, two Bell trucks with buckets were in front of my house. One technician, very apologetically, said they couldn’t fix the problem as they didn’t have the correct wire, but it would be here first thing Wednesday. He also said that someone pretty high up had pulled his boss out of a meeting and told him to get the job done. A second Bell employee “dropped by” at 4:30 p.m. to check to see how things were going.

    Wednesday morning, while I was out, someone from Bell’s Executive Office left a message. I returned the call at 2 and left a message. At 3:45, I left another message saying that if he was checking on the progress of the repair, nobody had shown up.

    At 5:30, a Bell truck and a contractor bucket truck showed up and completed the repair by 7. I got the impression that this was a rush request and that they were to report in as soon as the job was completed.

    Ellen, thank you very much for your help. It’s unfortunate that your clout was needed, but good service seems to be a thing of the past. Big Business is not concerned with their customers, just the bottom line - I’m rferring to management, not the front line employees. Just like the Government, they’re too busy making rules and regulations than providing the staffing to solve the actual problems. Periodically, they need a good smack on their head with a baseball bat, and fortunately for people like me, you swing a mean bat !

12. Jeff Herman

    Aug 31 2007

    Now I’ve heard it all from Bell. After being unable to address my Sympatico problem for over a week in a slapstick comedy of errors, I find out that for 2 years I have been paying for a higher speed link than I have been receiving. The voice said he would be happy to credit me $10. I reiterated that I had been overpaying for 2 years. He said he’d make it $20. When I exploded, he proceeded to try and sell me a PC at a great price to save me more money. I believe his headset needed tightening.

    My company was once in a monopoly position and was forced to adjust to competitive pressures or cease to exist. We did it through hard work and a good plan. Is it just me or is Bell getting worse at customer satisfaction while their rivals increasingly improve?

    You have had more than enough time. I will use your services only when there is no choice. I can’t imagine that Bell will survive as you have become a joke!

13. vijay

    Aug 31 2007

    I’m in contact with some of the CSR people in India. Do you believe Kevin when he says “rigid training” is the norm there, or do you want to hear it from the horse’s mouth?

    Everyone’s upset with my people for providing crappy service, including myself. Let’s try and see what “training” they’ve actually received as opposed to what Kevin tells us. After all, he is management and part of the problem. So let’s see what they have to work with, the responses they’re told to give and better yet, let’s go behind the scenes and see what really goes on in India.

14. Nahid

    Sep 1 2007

    My suggestion is to cater tech support for different levels of users. As an advanced user, I get so frustrated at Tech Support reading from their script and telling me to make sure I have entered my b1 number correctly, and that my modem is connected to my computer properly. I don’t want to go through half an hour of checking my configuration before doing a line test even though I am 100% sure that my configuration is not the problem.

15. George Vance

    Sep 3 2007

    Here’s a follow up on my switch from Sympatico to Cogeco. Cogeco’s Tech (a former Bell Tech) installed their DSL modem last Thursday, as scheduled. He was done in minutes; it took me about 15 minutes to connect the other 5 PCs and Macs on the network. The speed and capacity of the internet connection is simply awesome. On Saturday, in about 10 minutes, I tied the Primus VOIP D-Link Gateway into the DSL modem and SMC router to restore my SOHO phone line.

    I suspect that the law of large numbers applies at Cogeco as well. Whether it will sabotage my first Tech Support call remains to be seen. For the moment, my only question is why did I wait so long to switch?

    George Vance, Ph.D.

16. Ray Ho

    Sep 3 2007

    Bell’s sales staff called me to offer high speed internet with 1st month free and $25 for 2nd to 12th months and a wireless router-modem and I accepted. I asked him for a written offer and he said it’s verbal only.

    They first sent me a modem only and I called tech support and was told I had to pay $80 for the wireless router-modem. I called customer support and they agreed to send me one with no charge. Then Bell billed me for the wireless router-modem and I had to call them again to cancel the charge.

    After a couple of months, Bell emailed me that I had to pay $45 from 7th to 12th month. I called them and they offered me $45 credit. I’m really fed up with Bell. As for tech support, I was once told to uninstall my latest Browser to solve a connection problem and it turned out to be a Bell’s probelm.

    I will leave Bell once the term is over.

17. DM

    Sep 6 2007

    High speed Internet in the country. Is it a myth?

    This is a letter I sent to my phone company this afternoon. Do you have other such stories of corporate incompetence?

    “I need to tell you a story, if you don’t mind. I am terribly confused by the mixed messages you are putting out in this town.

    “I have always considered myself to be a strong Bell supporter. I have used your products since my first phone line some 40 years ago. When I was younger, it seemed that my entire world evolved around the Bell Telephone Company. My Mom was a Bell Telephone operator in her younger years. Mom died May 7, 2007.

    “When my Dad remarried, my stepmom was also a Bell Telephone employee for all of her working career. Then her sister worked for you along with my half-sister.

    “Back in the years from 1983-1985 or so, I worked for Bell Northern Research.

    “Somewhere over the years, I have begun to feel that your standard of excellence has been lowered considerably. I began to feel that you make a bigger effort to win new customers than you do to keep the ones who have supported you forever.

    “Case in point, think of how you run your promotions. If someone starts up with you, they may likely get a discount for a period of time. Did you ever think to give a discount for those who have been with you for a period longer than a year? Or perhaps you could propose that for every year of loyalty, you might offer some piece of equipment or service for free or at a drastic discount? Why not make it worth our while to stay indefinitely?

    “For those of us not adequately supported by your 1,000 minutes or 1,200 minute long distance plans, do you have thoughts about unlimited service before I switch to someone who does? While Mom was in the hospital, she used my Bell calling card to make her long distance calls. We could never keep up and buying other long distance cards was not a satisfying option. Perhaps I missed that kind of deal.

    “During your most recent strike, I had your service rep hang up on me while I was attempting to get my line repaired (no, I am never rude to your reps). Or could it be during the time when your service reps treated me as if I was delusional when I tried to explain that in some rural areas, it was not so long ago we did not have 911 addresses for the sake of having our phones repaired through Bell phone care? Or maybe the rep who refused the last request I made while my Mom was dying this spring, because after the rep asked all of the qualifying questions to prove my identity, she would not accept my requested change while I did not have the actual bill in my hand. I was just too frazzled to go the car to find the one she needed.

    “Most recently, I have actually gone so far as to order a competitor’s service for the sake of comparison. Yes. That can be costly. What I found was that although you might have some better plans, Rogers gave me less static for any issue I needed to address. It was just easier to deal with them than you — after all these years of faithful support. Why should I be forced to tell you that?

    “I used to tell people that since Bell brought the services to us, Bell had paid dues to be the pioneer and deserved to maintain customer support and loyalty. Have you grown complacent with your successes?

    “This brings me to my most recent query. A couple of weeks ago, you posted a huge sign in the centre of town (Gooderham, Ont.) offering high speed Internet service. The sign could not have been up more than 2 days before I called to order.

    “The very nice woman who took my order promised delivery for Aug. 24. I believe that someone my home called on Aug. 23 and cancelled the order because, for the record, we don’t actually have the availability of equipment installed for high speed.

    “I called back later and asked if that applied to both lines in this house. One is a newer line. I asked the very nice and helpful rep to check to see if that made any difference. When she checked her records, she said that the records indicated that high speed is supposed to be available. We reordered the service for Aug. 29.

    “A day or so later, I received another call from another rep to tell me that again it was a mistake, because we do not have the equipment to take advantage of high speed.

    “This rep said that a ‘techie’ had been to Gooderham and confirmed that no such equipment was available. I asked if someone had come to Gooderham, why did he leave the sign advertising the service?

    “The sign is still here in the centre of town and people still order the service everyday. This has got to be the biggest ’screw up’ I have ever seen you guilty of committing.

    “Most people used to count on Bell Canada supporting even the most remote locations. Maybe I am delusional, but that is the way I remember it. I have had cellular dealers tell me that Bell Mobility goes where the others don’t. Well… They used to tell me that. Yet we rural folk have grown frustrated with the lack of support when it comes to the subject of high speed.

    “Yes, I guess that I could have purchased the equipment from Radio Shack to install satellite high speed. Yet it seemed so drastic a step to be required to take. From my perspective, it does seem rather a discriminatory practice.

    “My feeling is that if I am forced to go that route, it would not be long before I start to sample more of your competitors’ wares. I was only waiting for high speed, because you have always managed to bundle your services.

    “For several years, I have maintained a note on my file in the customer service office that I was not to be solicited for more Bell services for as long as it takes to acquire the service. Bit by bit, I have begun to downgrade the services I will actually purchase from you. But I grow weary and slowly I turn my sights elsewhere with sad regret.

    “In conclusion, to those of you reading this copy of my email to Bell Canada, every day a load of boxes with the free routers, etc. required to hook up high speed Internet appears at the post office. For the past 2 weeks, they have continued to send the equipment for a service they tell us we are not equipped to use. The sign is still there.

    “Today, I heard at the post office that a rep argued with one of the neighbours that the sign is not there. He sent her a picture through his cell phone. I wonder if he used Bell Mobility? This entire affair is just so priceless.”

18. KW

    Sep 6 2007

    Dear Kevin Crull, I have a major complaint about Bell Sympatico. I am from Stewart Hall in the Township of Otonabee South Monaghan, which is approximately 10 minutes southwest of Peterborough, Ont. I live on a farm that is a quarter mile away from a subdivision that has high speed DSL internet. Unfortunately, I am in a dead zone that only has the dial-up service.

    Two weeks ago on Monday, Aug. 22, a Bell rep called to tell me that high speed was now available in my area. Two days later, she called back and said that only the basic DSL was available. Since I was keen to get off the dial-up, I took her up on the offer. My modem kit arrived the following Tuesday (Aug. 28) and the activation date listed on my new modem was also for that day.

    When I got around to installing the modem the following day (Wed.), I followed all the instructions as required on the CD that Sympatico sent me. The modem wouldn’t connect. I did all the troubleshooting tips and still there was no connection. The DSL light would not come on, indicating to me there was a problem with the phone line not recognizing the DSL modem and vice versa.

    After this frustration, I called Sympatico. After talking to 5 different people, I was told that my problem would be sent to the senior level techncians. I asked: Are you sure the service is indeed available? The technicians said yes.

    When I finally spoke to these guys, they told me that I would have to wait 24 to 48 hours for them to correct the problem. They confirmed that I had done everything correct from my end and it was their problem. Thursday and Friday went by, with no phone call. I realize it was the long weekend so I called back on Tuesday, Sept. 5. I had to go through the same frustrating process having to explain my problem to 5 different people. Finally, I got back in touch with the senior technician, who told me that it would take another 48 hours to activate the phone line to get the DSL signal to work.

    Finally on Wednesday evening, Sympatico called me back and told me the reason why I was not getting the DSL signal was, in fact, because the main line through the central office was completely full and could not accommodate my service. He had no idea when they were going to be able to add more capacity, saying it could be months or even years. I was out of luck and sorry for the inconvenience.

    Needless to say, I am furious. Why would Bell Sympatico sell me a service that now I find out I can’t use? The right hand has no clue what the left hand is doing.

    Your sales representatives obviously have little or no understanding of the market they are selling to. Misleading customers makes for very bad business on your company’s part. Bell’s treatment of people in rural Ontario is disgusting. Your company holds us over a barrel, promises us better Internet services and then you turn around and can’t deliver. Shame on Bell. I am cancelling my Bell dial-up and going with Nexicom.

    Sincerely,

19. GR

    Sep 6 2007

    From 1974 until this June, we were Bell customers (33 years with Bell). Earlier this year, we received a promotion through our Gold CIBC VISA of a special offer to switch to Rogers Home Phone. This we did for one month (June). We switched back, though, very quickly as we experienced a nightmare of administrative problems.

    When we switched to Rogers, Bell almost immediately started sending us notices asking us to reconsider. One was from Kevin Crull, President, Residential Services, indicating in part that, “I’m writing to say that we are sorry to see you go. Even though you are no longer using Bell for your home phone service, we are still thinking about you. You were a valued member of our Bell family and we truly appreciate having been of service. We would like the opportunity to earn your business back. Should you choose to come back to Bell, we will waive the reconnection fee. This is just one of the many special offers we have waiting for you.”

    The first insult occurred when we called to reconnect. The call taker demanded two pieces of personal information before we could return. When I indicated that we had been a Bell customer in good standing for 33 years and we had only been with Rogers for one month, the call taker replied that it didn’t matter — you’re treated as any new customer is!

    The person at Crull’s department who arranged for our phone plan had indicated that for a TOTAL monthly cost of $42.44 we would receive: basic home phone service; 5 features; and 5 cents per minute for long distance. The plan would be all-inclusive except for mandatory items such as 911 and an unpublished number.

    I asked why I couldn’t have what I had before (we had basic home phone with no features except for touchtone service and used 10-10-100 for long distance) that cost us $31.47 a month. He said that was no longer provided.

    We had to go from no features to 5 features. One of the features is 3-way calling, which we will never use. I felt that Bell was taking advantage of us and was “up selling” us in this situation.

    When I questioned the increased monthly cost, Bell offered a $150 credit. We also signed on for Sympatico Internet service. At this time, no mention was made of a $15 courier fee we would have to pay to have the modems sent to us.

    We switched back on July 7. When our July bill arrived last month, we noticed that we were charged $56.47 for the monthly phone service (instead of $42.44); we were overcharged on the long distance, paying $9.53 for 13 minutes of long distance (at 5 cents a minute, it should have been 65 cents); and were charged the $15 modem courier fee we knew nothing about.

    We called Bell and when I explained the situation, I was told the long distance billing would be corrected. The rep told me that we were being charged a rate of $56.47 for the first two months of home phone service, then the price would be reduced to the quoted price. I was transferred to a Sympatico rep, who said a $15 credit would be applied to the August bill for the courier fee.

    Yesterday, I received my August bill. Much to my dismay, I noticed the long distance problem was not corrected. There was no long distance plan on my bill and I was charged $46.26 for 212 minutes of long distance (the cost for this at 5 cents a minute would be $10.60).

    I again called Bell and spoke with a rep who checked my bill and told me that I had no long distance plan at all. She transferred me to where the “Bring Back Customer” plans are issued. The rep said we could get the 5 cent a minute long distance plan, but it would cost an additional $5 a month (this was a network charge). I said that wasn’t what I was originally told and that other providers could offer much better plans.

    The rep then said he’d give me a $5 a month credit for the first year of long distance, but added, “Don’t blame me when your plan price increases after that.” He said I could call back in a year to try and get the offer extended. He offered to get the July and August long distance charges reduced if I signed up for the $5 a month long distance plan. He also said he would have to transfer me again to the Sympatico people to address the courier fee.

    I told him not to bother with the $5 monthly long distance plan, nor to adjust the long distance overbilling for July and August. I was getting very tired and frustrated with Bell. I’d rather just sign up with another home phone and long distance provider than having to call Bell and speak with its various representatives. He was most polite and helpful and tried to assist me.

    Although Bell gave an original $150 credit when we switched, it was soon “burned up” in Bell’s overcharging on long distance and hidden courier fees.

    I realized that we should never have entertained switching to Rogers Home Phone (even for one month as we did), but I never ever expected to go through the aggravation that Bell has caused.

    —————————————————————————————————————-

    Update:

    Bell did get back to me after you intervened. A lady in the executive support office said she couldn’t believe what I went through and I never should have had to go through it.

    She said I should never have been treated as a new customer when I returned after a one-month absence. The person who signed me back up could have easily found my file and would not have had to demand two pieces of personal identification. It was her opinion that this never should have happened after being with Bell for 33 years.

    As for the phone plan I had, she agreed that I was “up-sold” to the most expensive plan with 5 features that we didn’t want or need. She said there were three Bell Home Phone packages and I was signed up for the most expensive one. The call taker could have signed me up for the Basic Plan, which would have been just fine with us and almost the same as what we had before we switched.

    Contrary to what we were told, our plan did not include a 5 cent a minute long distance plan for Canada and the US. She readily agreed that the $150 credit we got from Bell when we switched back was quickly “clawed back” through Bell’s excessive charges. She was going to have a Sympatico representative contact us about the refund of the $15 courier fee, as that was the responsibility of another area of Bell.

    In summary, she offered to reinstate our original Bell Home Phone Plan (backdated to when we switched back to Bell) and credit our account for the difference; charge 5 cents a minute for our long distance calls since we switched back and credit our account; and check on the $150 courier fee.

    Yesterday, we signed up for a 5 cent a minute long distance plan offered through our Sears Account. Bell couldn’t match the price on that!

    I’m probably just one of numerous customers who were processed this way when we switched back. I remain concerned for those who don’t speak up for whatever reason and I’m not reassured that the Bell employees or contracted people who processed our switch back will be made aware of this. I’m skeptical that Bell will follow up with the individuals concerned. My trust in Bell to do this remains uncertain.

    Thank goodness for individuals like yourself and for newspapers such as The Star. The On Your Side column provides a fantastic service and is a wonderful, highly effective means for people to seek assistance. It’s unfortunate that people cannot get their problems resolved through the companies themselves. I’m quite sure that without your intervention, we would still have the highest priced monthly phone plan with features we don’t want or need.

    Funny, I read your column faithfully and never really envision utilizing it myself. Thank you for being there and for being such a great advocate for the consumer.

    This year, we will make an even larger donation to the Santa Claus Fund.

20. Doug

    Sep 6 2007

    I would try to get errors resolved ‘in-person’ when a Bell store or Rogers store (video) is nearby if you have tried on the phone enough times. Speaking face-to-face with someone and getting them to navigate their own company’s systems will eventually get noticed within their organization (if only because their sales people complain that they are spending too little time earning commissions and too much time fixing the problems the rest of the company has created!)

21. me

    Sep 8 2007

    Here is a question. Can the soon not to be BIG THREE turn their business around now? They are paying the price of quality issues, cockiness, a demotivated workforce, competition, lost market share, dissatisified former loyal customers, management halo effect, management bonuses, lousy corporate governance and customers who are being satisfied elsewhere.

    If the BIG THREE (GM, Ford and Chrysler) can turn their diminishing business around, maybe just maybe there is hope for Bell and its customers. Me, I’d rather buy a Lotto 649 and I don’t even gamble — at least I don’t anymore after leaving Bell.

22. Mark Miedzwiedzki

    Sep 9 2007

    Wait a minute. I don’t see anyone complaining about the “Build a bundle, save a bundle” discounts from Bell. Is everybody receiving their “promised” discounts? Am I alone in this “fight”?

    Below is a letter I sent to Kevin Crull’s office. I sent this letter to Bell and I received a call from Kevin’s office next day (not bad). I spoke to Linda Simpson, after explaining my situation. Best answer I got was: “Let me speak with our lawyers, make sure we are not misleading anyone and that we are not doing false advertising”.

    I have been an outstanding and loyal customer with Bell for approximately 10 years.

    Hey Bell - I did my part, I’ve bundled up - where’s my discount? I’ve read the fine print, it does not state anything near what you are telling me now that “I require in order to receive the discount.” Shouldn’t you make people aware of this before they sign up for additional services? I’m sure I would not have added yet another service from Bell if I knew that no discount was coming my way.

    What made go haywire over this was the fact that when I received my invoice, I called 310-bell because I had questions about the invoice. The lady I spoke to (sounded local - you know what I mean) answered “If you don’t understand your invoice, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT IT”.

    I was polite, I don’t believe in taking my anger out on innocent people, but do not believe in strangers insulting my intelligence. When I asked to speak to a supervisor (wait, here comes the best part), the woman LAUGHED AT ME! “Oh, you wanna speak to the supervisor, poor you!” and than she hung up. Yes, I was laughed at, hung up on - that was humiliating. I have never seen anything like this before. Bell is a huge company, thousands of calls are received daily and things must be very hard for Bell to trace this kind of call. I did call back to complain, the call was traced and the operator labeled our conversation as “could not verify identity - disconnected” - we all know that’s b.s.

    I am awaiting an answer from Linda on Monday, Sept. 10, 2007. I’ll keep you posted.

    What’s next for me? Nothing, I’ll sit tight for couple of months. I am a patient person. If I don’t see my discount, I’ll leave, I’ll pay the penalties for canceling my ExpressVu and cell phone contract (who cares?). Sometimes you have to fork over some of your own money to satisfy yourself. I will shop around and go elsewhere. Bell will lose a customer who spends $200+ every month.

    Here is a copy of letter sent to Mr. Crull’s office:

    —–Original Message—–
    From: ***
    Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2007
    To: kevin.crull@bell.ca
    Cc: Roseman, Ellen
    Subject: Bell Bundles

    Dear Mr. Kevin Crull:

    This is in regards to “Build a Bundle - Save a Bundle” - I have been contacted by Toronto Star on couple of occasions in regards to the following article: http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/249690. Toronto Star is following on their article and outcome of my “issue” with Bell.

    To make a long story short, I have recently added yet another service from Bell ExpressVu. My invoices have been combined to one bill and still state that I have 4 services with Bell now and my “savings for this month are $5.”

    I have called customer service on numerous occasions and do not seem to get anywhere. I have reviewed your advertisements (both online and in print in numerous local papers) and I have read the “fine print” with caution.

    Bell customer service keeps telling me that I do not meet the requirements to receive any additional discounts:
    - My cell phone - I need to have an Internet Browser (not needed)
    - My land line - I need to have a long distance plan (I do! - what is the problem?)
    - My ExpressVu - I need to upgrade my receiver to HD (I do not have HD television)
    - My Internet - this is the only service I get a $5 discount for - it is high speed edition

    I have been speaking with Will Wong at ExpressVu (416-443-4910) and I have also spoken with Andrea (Montreal office). Although Will Wong has offered me various discounts on ExpressVu (free channels for limited time, free upgrade to HD receiver or even a PVR unit), I have rejected all his offers.

    My point is simple. I have done my part, I have bundled up with Bell, I have 4 services with Bell. But I have only a $5 saving every month. This is not right, I should be saving $20 every month. I feel taken advantage of and do not feel that my loyalty as a Bell customer is being appreciated. Please feel free to review my account, since I have an outstanding record for the last 10 years.

    I wish to ask for your mailing address. I would like to mail you a copy of my invoice along with various advertisements from Bell about “Bell Bundles,” including all fine print, and look forward to your explanation. I strongly believe that I have met your requirements and deserve a better discount.

    P.S. - Yes, my wife laughs at me every month when we receive a statement from Bell: “$5 discount? - nice going honey!”

    Sincerely,
    Mark Miedzwiedzki

23. Harry S.

    Sep 14 2007

    My experiences with Bell Mobility, Sympatico and Expressvu have made me so angry that I have one by one gotten rid of all their services. After being a loyal Bell customer for over 25 years, they can now kiss this customer good-bye for life! Their system is too far gone to fix and people should do the same as me! It feels great! There are alternatives to Bell you know! Rogers, cogeco and star choice all have wonderful customer service. NO PROBLEMS! Cheaper too!

24. whine

    Sep 14 2007

    The question is, Can Bell’s customer service be fixed? NO!

25. Vanessa

    Sep 20 2007

    I have had nothing but negative experiences with Bell. My entire family has a joint bill and I’ve stayed with them simply out of convenience. This will soon change.

    Here are my experiences with them to date:

    – My first phone: I went to the Bell store and was offered a ‘great phone’ for a less than great price. I was, however, assured that I would be happy with this phone and it was worth the money.

    After the first month of use, I could no longer hear from the earpiece. While the phone was in repairs, they could not offer me a loaner, but did proceed to charge me for providing me the service that I was not receiving. When I did finally receive the phone back from repairs, the screen was defective. I called them and they said the person repairing the phone had made note of that on my file. My obvious question was “if the person who repairs phones noticed something was wrong, why wouldn’t he fix it?” They did not have an answer for me.

    And so, in my first 3 months of having that “great” phone (which I later found out was a much older model), I had only used it for one month. When I asked for a credit for those two months, they could only give me a service (that I didn’t care to have and never asked for) for free for the next two months.

    –Second phone: Living far from a Bell store, I called and asked that my next cell phone be sent to my home. It had to be done by a certain date as I was heading on a trip up north. Several days passed and there was no phone at my home. I called and was told there was no indication that I wanted it sent to my home. They did proceed to go over numerous fees added to my account, one of which was to courier it to me. Obvious question: why am I being charged to have the phone couriered to me if I never made any indication that I wanted that done?

    I ended up receiving the phone the morning I needed to leave. I explained to the Bell employee that I had very little time to activate the phone and it would need to be done promptly. She tried to up-sell my plan and I explained to her that I wanted to keep my existing plan. She then told me that it would take far too long to try to set me up on my original plan as I had exceeded my long distance minutes and there would be too many codes. What does this mean? I don’t know. All I know is that I was forced to upgrade to a more expensive plan or she wouldn’t activate my phone.

    – My third phone: My second phone was stolen before my plan was completed, so I had to get another phone from Bell. I explained my situation and despite having been a loyal customer with cell phone bills reaching close to several hundred dollars in a single month, they could not provide me with any sort of assistance. And so, I paid $150 for a phone that was featured as $0 because I was currently in a contract and they didn’t need me to commit more time to them, apparently.

    When it came time came for my contract to expire, I called and presented them with a list of items that Rogers was willing to offer me and asked them to do the same. (I really didn’t want to split up my family bills.) They said they couldn’t duplicate the offer, but they could offer me my exact same plan and charge me the standard price for any additional features I wanted! You can tell they really valued me as a customer. When I told them I would no longer need their service, they said “that is fine”.

    You would think that since they no longer have a monopoly on this market, they’d feel more inclined to treat their customers well. Apparently not.

26. Charles T

    Sep 23 2007

    I no longer live in Bell’s phone and Internet service area, but I remember going in circles with them time after time. I could never *just* call for customer service or technical support, because they were always obligated to try and upsell me during the phone call.

    On occasions where the issue was not resolved to anything nearing satisfaction, I found it particularly insulting. But I chose to take the high road and respond, “While I realize that it is part of your job description to try and sell me additional services, I would like your supervisors to know how completely inappropriate this is.” I felt that it was useless to direct anger directly at the CSR.

27. Bill Onstein

    Sep 26 2007

    I am both saddened and shocked after reading the above horror stories!!!! I thought that my lesser but aggravating negative experiences were just my bad luck!

    After divesting myself of Bell Sympatico and Bell long distance, I am still hanging on to Bell Mobility and the Bell Phone. However, my 3 year Mobility contract is about to expire. My initial tentative inquiries with “Customer Service”(!) about finding the “right for me” phone/plan at a competitive price have not been very succesful so far. I am not yet ready to give up yet, but…

    This is not the Bell Company that I worked for as a manager for 27 long years! I hope that Bell management can turn this around. It won’t be easy but it must be done. If not, I do not see a good future for Bell!

28. MM

    Oct 1 2007

    I am a Bell employee who is probably more frustrated than any of our customers. I work in the Business Sales and Service Call Centre and I can’t believe how much Bell has changed. The way we are treating our customers is pathetic.

    If we spend any time providing service we get penalized, because it’s time away from the sales (or so it feels). Customers are getting hung up on because there is obviously no sale involved in that call and the rep just doesn’t have time to waste when we are all about to get fired for not meeting sales targets.

    The pressure is incredible and Bell doesn’t care. All they care about is the bottom line, and while I can understand that they are a business and they are out to make money (as is every business), they have to realize that customers are leaving. Yet they still want us to sell DSL service to a screaming customer. It’s incredibly frustrating. Panic attacks are a daily occurrence and you often see reps in the bathroom crying.

    What does Bell do? They up the revenue targets again. MAKE US MORE MONEY!!!

    It’s obvious they want to have the call centre reps fired so they can outsource all the jobs. They encourage us to apply to jobs outside of our department, but within Ontario there may be 2 jobs a month hiring. So we have nowhere to go.

    I am dedicated to my customers. I can fix almost every PHONE problem described here, but I am not allowed to. If I do, I get in trouble. I am passionate about my customers and I am looking for a new job.

29. MM

    Oct 1 2007

    Let me add that I am reading the Bell Blues site and I am sitting here crying, because I am so frustrated and because I care so much! Yet I am one of the ones about to get fired because I can’t meet revenue targets!!!

    I can fix A LOT of the problems listed here! But yet Bell is choosing to keep the employees who know nothing about what needs to be done.

    Kevin Crull…are you hearing this?

    What do you want to bet that they are trying to find out who I am so they can quicken my termination?

30. Ian

    Oct 4 2007

    I can’t stand Bell any more (like thousands of Canadians). A few months ago, I sent the following letter to Michael Sabia, Bell’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Below it is his flat response. It shows that even people at the top aren’t listening to their customers.

    This week my brother is purging everything Bell in his house. He has had a nightmare dealing with them. Whether it be ExpressVu or his internet, he is annoyed with crappy customer service and long wait times. To this day, he cannot solve a problem when they keep adding to his bill for a Gay channel he never ordered. (BTW… My brother is not gay!)

    ————————————————————

    To: Michael J. Sabia

    Dear Mr Sabia,

    I think it is about time that you, the head of BCE are made aware of what is happening with your company. In short, customer service that used to be Bell’s hallmark, has now degenerated to the point of complete incompetence. Whether it is to solve a problem with satellite, phone service, internet, billing or whatever, the customer is put through the mill trying to get whatever the problem is, rectified.

    I speak for millions of Canadians who rely on Bell for their various services. We are fed up with our calls being directed to India where our calls are lost in a quagmire of ineptitude. It is disgraceful! Bell used to be the best of the best, but because of your aggressive cost cutting and poor management it has degraded into a second rate service.

    I have been a loyal shareholder ever since my father gave me five shares of Bell Canada when I turned 10. Recently I sold all my BCE shares because of the impending takeover, but also because of the embarrassment of being a shareholder of such an incompetent company. Why own shares when one can clearly see that the company is not managed well and will probably continue its downward spiral?

    Do you and the executives at your level fully understand the severity and depth of the problems? Does anyone really care? Have you ever tried to get a problem solved using your incredible multi-layered voicemail system? Have you tried fixing an internet problem with someone who speaks English poorly or doesn’t know how to assist someone owning a Mac? Have you spent hours on the phone trying to get a billing problem solved with ExpressVu?

    We, the public, are fed up with all the problems. Please sir, get your head out of the sand and do something! Don’t keep offering new services when you cannot even handle the ones you have already.

    This is a very serious situation that needs to be addressed immediately. I request a personal response from you. In the event I do not hear from you I will attempt to have this published in the Toronto Star, etc. as an open letter. I know you are a busy person, but it is high time you become accountable to your shareholders and customers.

    Yours truly,

    ————————————————————–

    Response to my letter…

    Dear Mr. Wahn:

    Thank you for your email of July 19. Let me address each of your concerns in turn, starting with outsourcing.

    At Bell, as at many companies, we have been working with external partners for various parts of our business for several years. In the past 12 months, we have begun to work with partners who are located off-shore for a small percentage of our call volume. As we work with our partners, our strategy is simple and consistent; we are all committed to delivering a great customer experience. I can assure you that we put the same rigour and energy into our hiring, training and ongoing management of our customer service delivery regardless of where the call is answered – in-house or by one of our partners.

    Like many companies, we use our interactive voice response (IVR) system to make sure that we send your call to the service representative who is best skilled to handle your concern. This system quite simply helps us assist you much more rapidly. We are constantly looking at the comments that customers make about our IVR and we are always making small changes to it to make it easier for customers to use. In fact, many of our customers are able to complete their requests entirely through our IVR. We work hard to balance the need to provide you with a choice of self-service options and the ability to speak to a live representative quickly. Our team is always easily accessible through the command “I want to speak to someone.”

    This year, we have continued to focus on improving our service delivery. Here are some of the highlights of what we have achieved so far:
    · We’re answering calls faster and more consistently – in fact our service level is up 10% since 2006
    · We’ve reduced waiting time significantly – our average speed of answer is 54% better than in 2006
    · We’ve improved our reliability by 7% year over year meaning that our technicians are better able to get to you when you need them

    Are we performing perfectly every single time? Not yet. We serve more than six million customers per month. We work hard to get it right the first time but we also understand that this is not always the case. And we take quick action to correct issues that are raised.

    Best regards,

    Michael Sabia

31. Ellen Roseman

    Oct 4 2007

    I sent Ian’s comments on Michael Sabia’s letter to my favourite Bell media contact. Here’s his response and then my response to what he said.

    ————————————————————

    Michael’s letter is a thoughtful and detailed reply to the questions posed, so I do think he’s listening.

    Maybe I’m old school, but when someone writes to the CEO of a company of this size and scope and that CEO replies with a straightforward letter that addresses the questions posed directly - rather than firing off a form letter or nothing at all - I’m actually impressed.

    Did this address or fix the customer’s specific service issue(s)? No, but he didn’t ask about them or at most talked broadly about service problems that may have been experienced by the “millions of Canadians” he speaks for.

    And I don’t have anything directly to do with Michael’s replies to customers or his other communications, so these are my own thoughts, not a self-interested defence of a communications approach.

    But all that said, he’s had issues with our service that have resulted in these strong emails to you. While he seems quite firm on his departure, our folks are ready to dive in to help if there is any hope of a fix.

    ————————————————————-

    I agree that it’s great to get a letter from a CEO. I’m always amazed how few companies do this.

    As for Michael’s reply, I think it expresses what Bell is doing — but doesn’t really address what the customer is saying.

    Ian asks why is there an emphasis on cost cutting, using automation and external partners, which in his view leads to service deterioration.

    Michael Sabia assumes that customers understand Bell’s need to cut costs, outsource and use IVR technology. It’s obvious in his mind, since he’s a businessman, but not obvious to a customer who longs for the good old days of personal service (and might even pay more to get it back).

    As for the statistics that show improvement, I find them useless. I know Bell people love them, but in my view they’re for internal consumption only. First, they’re only percentages and don’t give absolute numbers. if service was abysmal in 2006 and is now 10 per cent better, should we be happy?

    Then, at the end, there’s the usual statement about how Bell isn’t perfect, but has so many millions of customers and is working hard to change. Again, I find that doesn’t grab me. When Sabia says “we take quick action to correct issues that are raised,” that is meaningless. Wouldn’t it be great to get an example or two of system-wide changes because of customer input?

    This customer says he’s fed up. I don’t get much of a sense of compassion or anxiety to keep him from the company that’s losing him.

    By the way, I wonder about the statement by Sabia that “a small percentage of our call volume” goes offshore. Maybe in total, but I’m hearing that certain kinds of calls always go to India — e.g. 611 service calls and Sympatico technical support calls.

    If these are the services you want, it’s not a small percentage of calls going offshore. It may be 100 per cent of calls, unless you ask for bilingual help or you’re a senior who can’t get past the accents.

32. Ben Dover

    Oct 9 2007

    Hey, isn’t that what Kevin said? Or are they hiring recent PR grads these days to deliver “the message”?

    Back in my day, we had to put in some effort to make something sound a bit original. Today, the schools give A’s for copying and pasting.

    As for the message, it’s the same politically correct garbage legally/ financially/ negligible echo that’s common these days. The days of real sincere effort, down and dirty in the trenches that created these businesses, are now gone.

    Good riddance. But there is a bright spot. There are other companies that are old fashioned and they are in the muck, learning, growing, not perfect mind you but changing and improving to win your business! So give them a try.

33. whine

    Oct 9 2007

    Sabia is long past his shelf life.

34. ticked

    Oct 10 2007

    There are other departments of Bell that have gone overseas as well, such as ExpressVu. Then there are others who have been let go in Ontario, and departments closed, just to rehire and open the same department in Quebec. Also, Bell also gets outsourcing companies from right here in Ontario. The closed the Kingston call centre, only to hire Startek to do their outsourcing.

    I have no problem with the people that work in outsourcing. Everyone is entitled to a job. The problem is that Bell doesn’t train them properly or provide decent ongoing training. They built a brand new Bell Canada call centre, modern state of the art, to close it after 2 years and let everyone go. Now it sits empty. People worked at that call centre for 20-plus years, dedicating their lives to making Bell Canada what it WAS, just to be kicked to the curb by Mr. Sabia, who I might add is going to walk away with a much, much better package then anyone in Kingston was offered.

    But hey, that’s why he makes the big bucks. We are just another rung he had to climb on his way up to the top. Who cares who got hurt or if service declined as long as he got what he wanted? I would say a severance package of $31 mil is a pretty good deal!!

35. tired of bell

    Oct 14 2007

    Just finished reading Sabia’s response letter above to a former customer. I have experienced nothing that Sabia refers to. Longer wait times, lousy calls to outsourced India 100 per cent of the time (not a small percentage of calls Mike, ALL THE CALLS!). More upselling than dealing with the matter at hand.

    The service at Bell has degenerated so much that I don’t want to continue being a customer, only to be outright lied to by the CEO (Chief Excuse Offender). Mike, get out and don’t slam the door on the way out. YOU have ruined this company. Did you learn nothing as a “former employee” and what customers want?

36. unreal

    Oct 15 2007

    I had to call Bell for my mom as her phone line was down. She lives in a rural area. Every time I called I got a call centre from India. I know this because I asked.

    The first time I booked a service call… NO SHOW by the tech. I called back, the ticket was closed and the problem was supposed to be resolved.

    I call back… again India. Open a new ticket… again no show… I call back.. ticket is supposed to be resolved.

    I am so furious by this point I ask to be transferred to Canada. She says that is fine, “but before I transfer you, can I tell you about our wire care service plan?”

    I couldn’t believe it. Her phone service is still NOT WORKING. She’s in a rural area so her Internet is also through her phone line — and this lady is trying to sell me something after five days of no service!

    Got transferred to Canada, booked another service call and her service was restorded two days later. Unreal.

    If there was another provider in her area, I would have my mom leave Bell for good.

37. MM

    Oct 15 2007

    Sadly that rep in Canada did EXACTLY what Bell wants all the reps to do now. If we don’t, we get threatened with termination.

    Bell, where we make it simple.

38. Disappointed!

    Oct 18 2007

    Bell is in business to make a profit, not for your benefit. The larger revenue customers are treated better deliberately. Like most organizations, customer service is being moved overseas (India) and this is again improve their profit margin.

    BCE is another one of those “fat cat” organizations for far too long, with the side effect of being “Management Top Heavy”. The misuse of technology, where they are unable to perform simple tasks in this organization, is a product of their stupidity. It’s completely their own fault to allow this to happen.

39. Mike

    Oct 18 2007

    Disappointed with Bell. After over 20 years with Bell Canada as a small business owner, I made the switch to Rogers to save on our very large monthly bill. I received a bill from Bell for $2,600 for cancelling our contract. Of course, we did not have a contract and after speaking with several Customer Service reps they finally agreed that there was no contract and credited me the amount.

    This month, I received a bill from Bell for $740, stating that they want back all the savings over the past 3 years as I did not have a contract. Is this similar with other small business owners out there?

40. Alex.R.Mack

    Oct 18 2007

    I have been with Sympatico for many years and until 2007 have had excellent technical service. This summer since the Canadian technicians were discharged, the service has been useless. The technicians are pleasant, their English is good (90% understandable) BUT the problem does NOT get solved.

    Give the contract back to the call centres in the Maritimes and Ontario etc, which were so good. All supervisors up to the president should be required to undergo having to resolve problems using Asian technicians. I am about ready to dump Sympatico — if I have any serious problems.

41. Don Higgins

    Oct 18 2007

    OK, let me understand this. They gave you a discount that you weren’t obligated to anything and took $2,600 that they weren’t entitled to. And now they still want the fruits of a non-existing contract. Take them to small claims court over this because they don’t have a leg to stand on in my opinion.

    Never mind talking to anyone from Bell, because if they screwed this up they’ll screw that up as well. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

42. Karmen Hong

    Oct 19 2007

    I got a repeat bill statement for a cancelled service. I called to cancel my Sympatico service in June 2007, and I had already returned the modem on June 29 by Canada Post with a dated stamp. The service had been cancelled & I received the July ‘07 & August ‘07 statement with $0 due.

    All of a sudden, I got a bill charging me $44.63 for service not used between Sept. 4 and Oct 30, 2007. I called Bell and talked with someone in Manila and I confirmed that he fixed my account & ensured the service is cancelled. He said he put a stop on the billing and I wouldn’t be sent any more statements for the service that had been cancelled in June 2007.

    Now, today Oct. 19, again I received a Sympatico statement stating that the amount due is $35.70 for the non-used service from Oct. 4 to Oct. 27.

43. MM

    Oct 20 2007

    Mike, I actually totally understand why this has happened. As much as I hate them right now, I have to side with Bell on this one. I explain this problem to customers probably on a weekly basis (doesn’t happen often) and once it is PROPERLY explained to a customer they usually understand it as well.

44. Don Higgins

    Oct 20 2007

    Mike,

    Take it to small claims, stick to your facts and let a judge decide. Your facts are similar to my old situation where they wanted to take advantage both ways with or without a contract. In my case, I proved that I didn’t have a contract, and therefore no obligation. They could not present any proof of an agreement, so I won the judgment easily. However, be prepared for all kinds of sneaky questions and intimidation by them, i.e. appeal.

    I told them I would win no matter what they’d do and make them look like fools in public. To this day, I haven’t heard back from them, which is rather sad, because I am still looking forward to expose and embarrass that pathetic company again in court.

    And by the way, I shared my experiences with my friends and family and we all talked about the crappy service and the multitude of mistakes and overcharges, mostly on our bills. Glad to say that all of us made a switch and I encourage you all to do the same.

45. Sylvia

    Oct 22 2007

    Hey, I just hung up with Bell. I spent 45 minutes on the phone with them and they hung up on me 3 times! On my last try, I just screamed: get me to the manager. The rep transferred me, but she asked for my phone number “in case we get disconnected” and, guess what? We got disconnected!

    After 5 minutes, the manager called me — for real! — and tried to help me fix the problem. I even told her I was crying out of frustration. SHE HELPED and waived my penalty fees of $100!

    Here is what happened:

    I’ve been with Bell more than 8 years. They always have something going on: overbilling, bad service or the Internet not working. Four months ago, I moved to a new house and they were supposed to come for the installation. You guessed it, they never came.

    I took 2 days off work and called Bell maybe 50 times. I talked to their reps, supervisors and all the people in India, but was finally transferred to a manager in Canada. I asked to cancel everything and for them to waive my penalty fees, as it wasn’t my fault they never came. She said fine and gave me a confirmation # and her name.

    That was 4 months ago and guess what? I just got a new bill from Bell, but I’m now with Videotron (the best I found here in Quebec). Bell is charging me for the penalty fees, plus some phone calls I supposedly made 3 months ago. I called and after trying for 50 minutes, I finally reached the manager and the problem is solved (for now).

    If you need to reach Bell, just go straight to the “to cancel your service” option, and threaten to cancel. You’ll see what happens.

    I have posted this comment on several websites to get the word out and advise people not to ever sign up with Bell.

46. SDC

    Oct 22 2007

    Dear Mr. Crull,

    May I suggest that you terminate “Emily” and the “Beavers”. Put their salaries to good use - invest more into your Customer Care. After being a Bell subscriber for many years, I just couldn’t take it anymore (and I know that I’m probably not done with you either - there will be some problem still lurking in the dark). How many more customers are you willing to loose?

47. Anil

    Oct 26 2007

    My story is too long to describe here, but after spending hours on the phone with Bell, speaking to dozens of reps, being promised that various billing and service problems would be fixed only to experience them again and again, I would love it if someone can please post all the appropriate websites where we can voice our complaints. The word needs to be spread.

    My worst complaint is being offered deals, then getting charged a higher rate.And when I complain, I’m told the confirmation number I was given is not valid!

    The best line I heard from a Bell rep was today: “You didn’t agree to the $15 2-year contract discount in addition to a $5 bundle discount. Our records show you instead agreed to a 3-year contract and no bundle discount”. I guess Bell reps are not authorized to use common sense.

48. Chris

    Nov 1 2007

    I have been with Bell for quite a few years now and I am fed up with them. I had gotten high speed Internet in December 2003 at my business with a yearly contract. This month, after 4 years of service, I decided to cancel my Internet to save money. My original contract started on Dec. 4, 2003. My cycle always starts at the 4th of the month and since December is coming up, I called today to cancel the service. They told me if I cancelled now I would have to pay a penalty fee of about $200.

    I asked them why, since my contract expires on the 4th of December and I gave more than 30 days notice. She told me my contract was renewed on July 31, over 3 months ago. I said that’s impossible. I didn’t get my Internet service in the summer. I remember it was in December.

    Anyway, here is what Bell did to me. I have been in the same commercial building for years now. The only thing that’s changed is my room number. As I grew, I moved into a bigger room. So I would call Bell, notify them of the move, pay the $200 fee they asked me to and bam… I was set up in the new place. Now the rep I spoke to told me that when I made the change of address, the contract was renewed and, thus, the contract date changed.

    The service never stopped, everything was great, just the CONTRACT date changed. Now, because of that, I have to pay penalty fees. I argued with the guy for 45 minutes and all he answered was “That is how Bell operates”. What a clown. I asked him how come no one notified me of the change. He said you have to ask. I hate Bell. I will even make my family members change companies……

49. Christina

    Nov 7 2007

    I can’t believe even executive office has bad customer service. I have called there numerous times trying to get resolution on a problem from Jan. 07 and now here we are in Nov. still with no resolution. I love the line we’ll have “someone” call you back in 24-48 hrs and then a week later I am calling them back to say no one called me only to have that person say I’ll look into it and have “someone” get back to you in 24-48hrs. What a load of crap, why can’t that person in executive office deal with it right then!!!!!! It’s executive office for god sake!

50. Ron

    Nov 13 2007

    Bell: Losers. I’m out a modem deposit because their self-addressed package never made it to Mississauga from Hamilton.
    No one knows where it went.

    I have no proof. No tracking number. I was in a hurry didn’t get it from the clerk. My mistake, but I thought a self-addressed sticker from Bell would do the trick.

    I’ve made 20 customer calls to 310-surf, with same answer…what’s your tracking number. A $50 profit for Bell. They probably have it, but are not gonna tell me.

51. Mike

    Nov 27 2007

    I just received a call from “the Executive Office” about my cancelled business lines. After they took off my $2,600 termination fee (as there was never a contract), they billed me for the savings of $730 over the past few years. I sent a letter to Bell and after a month, I received a call saying essentially, “too bad so sad, you owe us your savings.”

    It would have been a nice gesture to say “hey thanks for the 20 years of service you gave Bell and we want your business back!”

    I will take the advice of peers and columnists and not pay this bill, but take my chances in court.

52. Easy Listening at Bell

    Dec 6 2007

    Whenever I deal with anyone at Bell, the first thing I tell them is that I am recording our conversation for “Quality Control and Training Purposes.” Then I ask if they agree to being recorded FOR REAL. At that point, there is a long silence and they timidly agree. I ask for their name or employee identification. Then I continue the call, which usually gets screwed up most of the time in Canada and ALWAYS IN INDIA.

    I record these calls for purposes of documenting everything, including any legal situations which may arise i.e. broken contracts. My attitude is if they want to record all their calls with me, I have the same right to do the same. The difference with my recording the call from Bell is that I actually do listen to the recording, whereas Bell Management obviously doesn’t want some “Easy Listening” for their drive home at night to see how their customers have been (Oops, almost said, served)…screwed.

53. Amanda

    Dec 14 2007

    I am an employee with Bell Sympatico business office, aka customer service. I am investigating customer comments so that I may do my job more efficiently.

    I feel I must begin in response to MM. Which Bell do you work for? Granted it’s in our job description to find if there is a need for our customer to receive additional service, but ONLY when it is appropriate. For you to go on a public website and trash the company you work for does not give you much credibility.

    I (and many I work with) am treated exceptionally by Bell. Poor customer service too often….yes. There are many agents who are not cut out for this job and I am in complete agreement that those agents need to be tracked and relieved of their position. For those of us who take pride in our job, these behaviors make efficient customer satisfaction difficult, to say the least. This is being rectified, but with the number of employees who need to be monitored, it will take time. This project has just begun, because of recent (in the last year) customer comments.

    So yes, public, keep your feedback coming in…..it is making a difference. Bell is hearing you…and please know you have allies in this company who are working to have these corrections made. But let’s not forget something. Bell is still the number one provider statistically in Canada. We lose people, yes, but a higher percentage is more than happy with the service. In my opinion this is a personality issue. If you take anything personally in life, disappointment is sure.

    Mike, perhaps I can shed some light on your problem. If you were not on a contract, you were not entitled to “contract discounts”. If you were on a contract and breached the contract, there is (as with most utility providers) an early termination penalty. This is not Bell trying to be unfair. It’s called business. Contract discounts are put in place as incentives for customers to agree to a contract. This benefits both the customer and Bell, ensuring the company has their business for a predetermined amount of time.

    As for court, my father is a justice, and I can tell you Bell is within its legal limits.

    It is unfortunate to hear the negative experiences with Bell service. But it has been the testimonials that, in the end, give Bell the input needed to maintain its number one status.

    As a Bell employee, thank you for your inspiration to improve our customer service.

54. Mike

    Dec 16 2007

    Our last experience with Bell was a surprisingly good one. Up until this one, I would agree with most of the callers.

    This episode was with Bell Express Vu. We called to change our programming. It took some time as we had numerous questions to figure out the best deal. I handed my wife the phone as I went to get a copy of the programming. She loves to talk and asked where the employee was based. We were shocked to find out he was calling us from in town in Brantford.

    This led to some more questions, and soon we found out the employee was only a year out of high school, lived in our neighborhood and he knew our son.
    It was such a relief to talk to someone local instead of someone who you can barely understand. Some accents are so rough, you have to ask them to repeat every other sentence.

    Maybe Alexander Graham Bell’s hometown has garnered a little bit more attention from Bell.

55. James Giovannetti

    Dec 17 2007

    I have been going to war with Bell since July. They promised us $500 in credits on our services. I have yet to receive ANYTHING from them. I have called their customer service centre many times, recorded dates, times, names, call #’s and the supervisors.

    I have yet to receive any sort of credit.

    I am almost at a point where I will cancel my service with them.

56. MM

    Dec 18 2007

    Amanda, apparently you also missed the passion for customer service. Which tells me a lot about you. Other than that, I agree with your clarification on Mike’s issue.

    But it’s blatantly obvious that you are one of the people I spoke about — new and too into sales and mangement tactics. I would say “Come and talk to me in 10 years,” but then I realize that you won’t be here in 10 years. I will bet that you won’t have a job with Bell then.

    But keep up the great attitude!

57. hello

    Dec 20 2007

    Oh wow, it looks like CSR Amanda knows all about contract law because her daddy is supposedly a justice. Imagine that! Now I may not have a fancy degree or daddy like Amanda and the others at Bell, but how is anything in a contract binding if Mike did not sign one to begin with? Mike see them in court!

58. Sam

    Jan 8 2008

    Why don’t we get all together and file a massive lawsuit against Bell? THis would also involving TV and radio to see if we can awake the sleepy (and incompetent) giant.

    I keep being double-billed by Sympatico and getting charged by my closed telephone account!

59. Jeffery Turriff

    Jan 22 2008

    Here is some resources that may be helpfull
    Kevin Crull
    President - Residential Services (Expressvu satellite TV, Sympatico internet, and wireline phone)
    kevin.crull@bell.ca
    ph: (416) 581-2923
    fx: (416) 593-1338
    Executive Assistant: Jacqueline Fowler
    (416)-581-2953
    jacqueline.fowler@bell.ca

    483 BAY ST. (BTS)
    TORONTO, Ontario, M5G 2C9

    Wade Oosterman
    Pres - Bell Mob.& BDI & Chief Brand Off. (wireless phones)
    wade.oosterman@bell.ca
    ph: (905) 282-4944
    fx: (905) 282-3553
    Assistant: Laura Mihalis 905-282-4945

    5099 CREEKBANK ROAD
    MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, L4W 5N2

    or if that doesnt help anyone you can always try reporting any of your Bell problems to The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) and there website is
    http://www.ccts-cprst.ca/en/
    I have been a loyal customer with Bell or 20 years, and when my contracts are up which some are now i will be cancelling all of my services. If any Bell employees are reading this please feel free to contact me . Jeffery Turriff

60. happier customer

    Jan 22 2008

    I just recognized you Amanda! You’re the same person who used to finish every call with “is there anything else I can help you with today” before transfering me to someone else who also wouldn’t help me. Last time you did it I said “there’s nothing ELSE you can help me with because you haven’t helped my FIRST problem”.

    I used to have Bell phone service. Then I had enough and moved my business, dropping my home line altogether. They won’t change until they have to. I’ve stuck with Rogers for internet until now but it’s also a disaster too. I think the only thing we can do is continue to move our business around until we see change. I can only hope we see more competition.

61. Mike

    Jan 29 2008

    I finalized this without going to court. Plain and simple, Bell sent this to a collections agency. Go figure.

    Bell was willing to “adjust” the new amount owing and we basically split the bill. I did this only as I did not want to incur any court costs and I wanted to get them off my back once and for all.

    Amanda, if Bell is in their legal right to go after a small business like myself, then what is stopping them from going after every consumer in Canada for their residential services?

    Plain and simple case of a large company pushing their weight around.

62. gamma

    Feb 7 2008

    I have recorded phone conversations with a Bell Mobiity CSR stating the exact discounts I am supposed to receive with my phones. After 60 minutes on/off hold, I eventually get to speak to a manager or someone who tells me I will be receiving my proper bill - but when the bill comes, it is ALWAYS incorrect.

    I have honestly had it with Bell’s lies and I want out. Why would I continue to pay them money over a 3 year contract if they refuse to honour the deal I was initially offered?

    We need to find a group of recently graduated lawyers who will help us take these crooks to court. Who here has organizational skills? I will testify with my awesome audio recordings.

    PEACE

63. ShadPTR

    Feb 8 2008

    I was once a long time LOYAL customer of Bell’s (all services, TV, internet, home phone, cell phone) for over 7 years. But I’m leaving because of their pathetic quality control and ‘customer last’ attitude, blatantly poor CSRs who LIE, saying one thing and making changes to your account another way. Some have the heaviest accents, which makes it difficult to understand and makes me feel like I’m playing Russian roulette each time I call and try to get my issues resolved.

    This has made me cancel almost all my services. Good riddance. A little too late. Bell will not be getting ANOTHER CENT.

64. Johnny

    Feb 13 2008

    Every time I called them, I always got this message back, “SORRY SIR, THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO FOR YOU.”

    Takes me a week to get my internet back and only takes them 5 minutes to fix it. WELL DONE, BELL.

65. Scott

    Feb 20 2008

    Once a loyal Bell customer… never had a problem with their phone reps, but they were great at overcharging and not following the contracts they put out and not reimbursing funds owed. Cost me close to $300 to disconnect from them because I just wanted out ASAP.

    It was only when I phoned to disconnect did I get anyone with any authority to repay me, but by that time it was way too late. So far, very satisfied with Cogeco.

66. Jim

    Feb 28 2008

    Too late! I’ve made other plans and I’m ending all my Bell accounts. For what it’s worth, I’ve never been so disappointed with a company as with Bell (Canada?). Being as top heavy and arrogant as this company seems to be, I’m sure they’ll treat this lost account like lint on their shoe. Without exaggerating, I haven’t heard one good thing about Bell’s service in years. Not that they care, though.

    Years ago, I wanted to go from cable to satellite and when I went to the Future Shop in London, Ontario, they said I had to pay with a credit card only for Bell ExpressVu! Due to that stupid and senseless decision on Bell’s part, I went to Star Choice.

    Outsourcing your call centre was, and still is, the dumbest idea of those at the top level ever. Where’d you get those decision makers from, the same people who greet you at Wal-Mart? My apologies to Wal-Mart greeters. I’m sure the greedy company saved money by outsourcing their call centres, but it can’t possibly last much longer. People like me who don’t like change, or the hassle it takes to do it, will do exactly as I have, get rid of a company. How’s the stress level amongst the employees? Oh wait, you don’t care, cause you’re up there on top of the world!

    Bell has the worst customer service by phone and online, but I’m way down here, so who cares? As a former customer of over 28 years, I’ll be closely watching the value of Bell Canada and its subsidiaries within the next year, along with the other folks down here who decide where you’ll go in the future.

    DON’T CALL

    DON’T EMAIL

    DON’T MAIL, UNLESS IT’S MY FINAL BILL!

    From: Sympatico Assistance

    Hello,

    You have reached Bell Internet Services, my name is Rajkamal Narla and I
    appreciate the opportunity to respond.

    After going through your email, I understand your concern. I like to
    help you with this. I have checked with your account and could see that
    you have upgraded your service to Essential. As per our records, the
    speed which you are getting is good speed. I will provide you with some
    steps, please check with these steps.

    Blah, Blah, Blah,,, Mr. Alphabet typed out the whole manual that they’re instructed to read from. I’m afraid it’s replaced the sacred cow!

    I appreciated having the opportunity in assisting you.

    Thank you for choosing Bell and have a nice day.

    Regards,

    Rajkamal Narla
    Electronic Customer Care
    Sympatico Client Services

    What I finally sent them, since I couldn’t get through on the phone.

    First name :
    Last name :
    E-mail address :
    Telephone Number :
    Are you currently a Sympatico subscriber? : Yes
    In a few words, enter your question or comment : your company
    Category : Abuse
    Topic : Other: newsgroups, content, copyright

    Additional comments : Approx. two weeks ago I updated my service as the
    present service suddenly became too slow. I was told by your rep that
    I’d receive a new modem in less than four days….nothing yet!! I can’t
    even access your difficult website without frustration in trying to see
    if I’m paying more for service that hasn’t changed since my conversation
    two weeks ago. I realize that Bell is experiencing problems today, but
    this issue goes beyond that. I would like a response today or I will
    make other plans.

67. Terry

    Apr 8 2008

    I have gotten rid of Bell services, except for ExpressVu. Today the service manager (Louise emp 29092) from Winnipeg basically told me where to go (”sorry sir, we never said that, we never promised, I don’t see that anywhere”). After 10 hours of holding to India and back, crappy phone lines, customer reps that do not document or record agreements and promises, I HAVE HAD IT!!!!!!!

    Just ask anyone “are you happy with Bell?” All of a sudden, you realize why everyone is leaving them, CUSTOMER SERVICE STINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They don’t care about retention, they want new customers. Enter the beavers to add salt to the wound.

    Then I’ll get phone calls and mail: WE WANT YOU BACK!!! I HATE BELL WITH A PASSION, will never ever ever deal with them again.

68. Matt

    Apr 15 2008

    Haha… I sent an email to michael.sabia@bell.ca and I got a call back from someone at the corporate office in Montreal within 15 minutes. It looks as though they’re taking some of these issues seriously… hopefully some of your emails will make an impact.

    I spoke with a guy named Andre Oulimar and he gave me his direct line: 1-866-673-4572 Call him to talk to a Canadian representative.

69. Krissi

    Apr 21 2008

    I use to work for Bell Sympatico as a customer service rep. I quit when told that when customers call for a refund, it’s your choice whether to give them their credit or not. Most CSRs went by the caller’s personality; if they sounded nice, customers would get their well-deserved money back.

    I once gave a woman $2,057, because she cancelled her service, not knowing that her husband was paying the bill. I was told that I should never do that again. Bell has tools to see if you have used the bandwidth or not. Therefore, I think they should get charged back the money for Sympatico’s mistakes!

    After working there for 6 months, I no longer have Bell’s service and refuse to use them. All they want is your money!

70. Chris

    May 17 2008

    Had a Nimiq2 dish upgrade done in February, 2008. The upgrade was supposed to be free, but got billed for $179.99. Now it’s May 17th and I’m still trying to get my account credited.

    I told the CSR that Bell’s billing department has till my June 2 bill to correct the error. If it’s not, then on June 3rd, I will be using the service providers I have lined up for TV, Internet and phone and Bell can get lost.

71. Chris

    May 22 2008

    Hi Ellen, thanks so much for your help. I got a phone call today from Kristen at Bell Canada. She told me Bell was very sorry this matter had dragged on for so long and told me she had credited my account for the $179.99, including taxes.

    She also indicated her team will review how Bell’s CSR departments interact with each other when it comes to billing matters.

    So, thanks to you and Kristen, I will continue my 31-year relationship with Bell Canada.

    Thanks Again,
    Chris E.

72. Don Oldfield

    May 29 2008

    Hi Ellen, I just bought a “Bell Shine LG8700 cellular phone” from a Bell store. I bought this phone on the advice of a Bell Rep.

    First, I would like to say that this phone is useless in the daylight. You must hide it under your arm or find a dark place to viww the screen. BUT my biggest complaint is that there is no MANUAL in the box to instruct you on setting up the phone. Now, how are you to program this phone if they don’t give you a MANUAL?

    I called the Bell store and they say NO MANUAL. If I want to come in, they will show me some of the features. Well, isn’t that great?

    I just wanted to get this off my chest because I think this is downright stupid that they do not supply a manual on how to operate their product. Thanks for reading this. Maybe you might find it funny. I have to go now. I am going to canvass the neighbors to see if I can find anyone who can help me.

73. Taz

    Jun 9 2008

    Bell is useless. I rely heavily on my phone and, to get a password reset, it takes weeks and months as it needs to be processed through an order manager.

    However, the order managers are busy and there is a heavy backlog. “We don’t have an estimated time of arrival (ETA) on when your phone will be working,” a rep told me.

    I don’t understand how you can run a business like this. I will never recommend Bell to anyone. And whoever is on Bell, try to get away from it.

74. Miko

    Jul 2 2008

    I recently was contacted at home by a Bell “customer service person”. He asked me if there was anything he could do for me.

    Confused, since I hadn’t contacted them first, I said “no”. He told me that he would like to see if he could offer me a deal on “services”.

    After putting me on hold, he proudly told me he could save me $5 a month on my home phone service. I asked what the catch was. He repeatedly told me there was none.

    I said something must have to change, but he said I was such a “good client” that he was going to be able to offer me the discount.

    After much consideration I accepted his offer. Imagine my surprise when I received a letter congratulating me on my NEW 2 YEAR CONTRACT with Bell home services (complete with cancellation charges)!

    When I called, they told me that the salesperson was supposed to let me know that I was engaging in a contractual obligation. They let me cancel it, but I am still hopping mad! It remains to be seen if they will actually do what they say.

    DON’T agree to anything they offer you ! Two years ago, they called to tell me I HAD to change my satellite service (to one that was twice as expensive). After much arguing, I asked them what would happen if I didn’t (would I still get service?) and the person dejectedly said “no.. my service wouldn’t get cut off or altered in any way, but I’d have to pay an extra $5 for not switching satellites.”

    Not the best news, but still better than having to pay double for the service I already had.

    So, beware all ! Never listen to them when they call. Good luck to you all! I’ve been on hold, cut off and ignored along with all of you.

75. Artie

    Aug 6 2008

    I agree that it can be painful trying to get through to the right person at Bell when dealing with a billing issue or a repair issue, sometimes you get bounced around 2 or 3 times and end up calling back…sound familiar.

    But I have to say that the grass is not always greener on the other side. I have never had any issues with home line or internet and honestly would not ever in a million years go back to cable for tv…that being said the easiest thing for me to tell you is educate yourself by visiting there website and see up to date packages, bundles and pricing. I almost got hooked into going to a cable company for all 3 services based on price only to visit there website and find out that they were the same price if not higher in every area and to be honest have heard more horror stories about the cable companies than I have with my friends who have Bell. Funny how only say 1 in 10 of my friends use cable but have more problems!

    Before accepting any deal from someone calling call there customer service first or check it out on line. We all get the fliers in the mail from all companies but never read the fine print.

76. Karl

    Aug 27 2008

    I have cancelled my Bell High Speed Internet service as of April 2008 and made the last payment in May 2008. I have also contacted my bank to ensure that any charges from Bell Canada should be refused and gave them the service termination confirmation number provided by Bell Canada as proof.

    Since then, Bell Canada has engaged in deceptive business practices to bill me for services that I no longer use and which they themselves have recognized as their own recurring billing errors.

    Recently, they have tried to destroy my credit rating by calling on a debt recovery agency even when the Bell Canada Executive Office of Customer Relations (supervisor’s name, #) confirmed that I don’t have any overdue amount.

    Advice:

    If you need help, avoid their customer service and call directly to the Bell Canada Executive Office of Customer Relations. If you do speak French, choose it and ask for a supervisor. If you are not in a contract or it has expired, you don’t have to pay a service termination fee to cancel your service.

    Bell Canada Executive Office of Customer Relations:

    Québec: 1 866-317-3382
    Ontario: 1 866-317-3382

    You may also write to them at:

    Bell Canada Executive Office of Customer Relations
    P.O. Box 593, Station A
    Toronto, Ont. M5W 1E4

    E-mail us at:
    executive.office@bell.ca

    To fax us:
    1-800-554-5148 (no charge)

    I think they are deserving of some backlash, since they haven’t seen any yet

    http://www.favvas.com/2007/01/23/bell-canada-sucks-or-how-not-to-practice-permission-marketing/

    Some important email addresses

    Firstly for Bell:

    President of BCE (Bell Canada parent company)
    george.cope@bell.ca

    President of Bell Canada Residential Services
    kevin.crull@bell.ca

    Two other miscellaneous execs:

    Bell’s brand senior vice-president
    rick.seifeddine@bell.ca

    Chief Brand Officer of Bell Canada
    wade.oosterman@bell.ca

    Secondly for the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund:

    Manager of the fund
    jim_leech@otpp.com

    Chair of the board of teachers pension fund
    eileen_mercier@otpp.com

    Retired teachers of Ontario
    info@rto-eno.org

    Retired women teachers of Ontario
    info@rwto.org

    Ontario Teachers Federation
    maureen.davis@otffeo.ca

    La vie est Bell Hell…

77. Toni Downie

    Sep 14 2008

    Ha! Bell and customer service do not go together at all.

    I was contacted by a bell CSR (I was with Rogers at the time) and he offered me the moon. He ended up telling me that everything including long distance in Ontario would cost me $7 and change for the next 6 months.

    I found this hard to believe, so knowing that the call is recorded, I made him repeat this to me several times. After that, I decided that I COULD NOT pass up.

    I switched to Bell, only to find that when my FIRST bill came in I was charged around $40.

    I spoke to a Bell CSR, who of course gave me the usual runaround (being transferred from one person to another and being put on hold for extremely long periods of time).

    I asked to speak to a manager and was told there wasn’t anyone available. I told them I was not going to argue the point of he said/she said any longer and told them to check the recorded call. That would tell them everything they needed to know.

    I was given a number and told that someone would call me back in a couple of days after they had investigated. It was 2 weeks and I finally called them back only to be told that someone would contact me within the next 2 days.

    Someone did call and asked my spouse to speak to me, unfortunately I wasn’t home at the time so they said they would call back.

    Of course, I had to call them back after a week, only to be told they were sorry that their customer service rep had misinformed me and that was basically it.

    I SWITCHED FROM ROGERS TO PAY A HIGHER COST THAN I WAS PAYING BEFORE.

    I am still with Bell right now, but definitely when I find some time will be switching to another company.

78. J

    Oct 9 2008

    I cannot believe how the stories above reflect what has happened to me as well!

    I had a new phone and internet connection established last summer based on the terms on Bell’s website. Every month thereafter, the prices changed on my bills.

    Every time I called to complain, they told me that they didn’t give anyone the rates they originally gave me, or didn’t have relevant information in my file, etc. Investigations were not followed up, the customer service people were incompetent and, finally, I cancelled my services.

    I demanded not to pay a cancellation fee because of all the trouble I had experienced and was told that none would be applied. The Bell representative even gave me her employee # and confirmation # for our conversation.

    Lo and behold, there was a cancellation fee on my final bill. When I called Bell to give them the confirmation # that I didn’t have to pay it, well, it was not on my file, they had no record of the employee #, etc.

    When I said that, well, it seems that Bell lied to me, I got no response except one of their empty apologies. Bell has since, in record time, sent my final bill to a collection agency.

    I have no faith, respect or tolerance left for Bell and will never use their services again. Bell and customer service? Never the twain shall meet.

79. Colin

    Nov 24 2008

    Why do they want my credit card information to book an appointment for installation? They say they will not charge anything to my account. I am a current user of Sympatico, Residential Land Line, Express Vu and Mobility.

    I was on the phone for over 1 1/2 to try and book the install appointment to upgrade to HDTV.

    CSR hung up on me. Man, am I mad right now.

80. Erik

    Dec 10 2008

    Well, I cancelled Bell today. The Internet is atrocious. It goes down literally every 5 minutes and they couldn’t help.

    So I’m now with Rogers. Unlike with Bell, I get someone that speaks English. Unlike with Bell, I know exactly what is on my account. Unlike Bell, they are happy to help. And I made sure and documented that I will not be charged cancellation fees on my Bell internet.

81. Derek

    Dec 11 2008

    Bell has the worst customer service and if the company were to tank tomorrow it would be for that very reason.

    I canceled all my services with Bell in 2005 because of a customer service related issue that I would much rather not go into too much detail about. In summary, I was without a phone for 6 weeks and the only way I could have it fixed was to bring in a private contractor.

    After three years and assurances Bell had changed its tune in the customer service department, I wanted to give them another try. I was attracted to Bell because I needed to purchase several phones for my company, of which I am the president.

    Well, I was told by the arrogant customer service representative that since I am a “new” customer I would only be allowed to purchase a single phone. I would have to put down a $200 deposit and if after six months I had consistently paid my bills, I would be considered for a second phone.

    I could not believe what I was hearing, so I asked to speak to the manager. The customer service person would not connect me, because they insisted that the manager would not be able to help me.

    I didn’t even go into half the details because it will only make me severely mad again. This was not a question of a bad credit rating, it was not a question of outstanding bills. It was simply over the fact that my company was a “new” client.

    What company is going to put up with this insolence? Just like every other product or service that is available, there are always alternatives. I think Bell forgets this aspect.

82. Bell Employee

    Dec 27 2008

    Hi, I am a Bell employee.

    All I have to say…. Stop calling me and there won’t be any problems with customer service. You all must have read the BOFH stories before… you just did not know that the B in BOFH is “Bell”….. Bell Operator from HELL……

    BOFH Story 1:
    =============

    I am sitting in my cattle cubicle waiting for the phone to ring. And right on cue ** Ring ** Ring ** Ring**

    It’s not good to answer a call on the first ring. The person on the other line had to deal with Emily and if you pick up right away, you will hear lots of swearing and other loud noises, sometimes crying…

    ** Ring ** Ring **

    ** Hello, How can I help you?

    I have received a bill that has an erroneous amount. It says I owe $250 in long distance charges!

    Please hold… …ah crap… A customer with a billing issue!… The internal billing system at Bell is like a giant random number generator. I wonder how long I can put this person on hold. Maybe I will go and get a coffee…

    Story continues on my blog…. BELL Sucks BOHF Blog

    Have fun everyone…. Change your services to another company before you lose your sanity….

    Signed BOFH (Bell Operator from HELL)

83. Laara

    Jan 6 2009

    Don’t bother to write to Kevin, your emails will come back

    This morning, I had the misfortune that I needed to call Bell Canada Mobility. First I had to go though the automated Emily, then I got the most condescending call centre person on the line.

    I did get her name, Sharon, as well as her number, and by now I was so angry “on the border of a heart attack” due to frustration with Sharon. I dared to get rude to her, “just to get my own in,” and she hung up on me.

    A number of years ago I left Bell, much for the same reason, I was hung up on. Sprint rang at the same time and I said, “Where do I sign?” I came back, not because I wanted to, but because I was getting DSL and had to use Bell phone lines to get it installed.

    I don’t call often, but today took the cake. Not only did I call because of billing disputes, but to add all the other upsets with it. The time has come to change providers again. This is absolutely unacceptable.

84. Han

    Jan 12 2009

    This afternoon, I called Bell Canada Mobility. I want to know when will my contract expires. Customer service representative told me that I renewed my contract in May, 2008.

    I told them I DID NOT renew my contract. I have enough with Bell!

    I’m leaving because they have these CSRs who LIE, saying that I did. It is time to change to another phone provider. This is totally unacceptable.

85. Helen

    Jan 25 2009

    Hire a Systems Analyst to go through your business from top to bottom - take their recommendations while you still have some Stocks and a Business to manage.

86. gsell wilfried

    Mar 16 2009

    I am confused. I signed up with Bell last August. I have received 3 Internet Modems (Post EXPRESS) in 7 Days???

87. Arnold sookoo

    Mar 27 2009

    Changed 3 modems so far and still having very low MBPS. I can work on the Internet, then suddenly I will lose connection.

    I tried out CSRs in India with negative results. When will someone address this problem and finally fix it, my friends?

    You are collecting my monthly fees, which I think is a ripoff, but I will stick around and wait a little longer. Then ROGERS will be my choice. So get off the high horses and do something very soon.

    Fed up and frustrated customer.

88. Abigail

    Aug 5 2009

    Bell Customer Service completely contradicts their promise to properly service their clients.

    -We have been with Bell for 5 years and after weeks, months and a few years of complaining about the poor quality of their products, nothing was done.

    -We finally made a decision to cancel our service with Bell and we had to put up with agents placing us on hold for 15-20 minutes at a time until the queue closed, humming while we spoke, being sarcastic. There were several reps that would refuse to let us escalate our call.

    Today, I was told that there is no Head Office to write to and there is no way to send a written complaint (of course, all of which are on the website).

    We have had it; we were even told that they DO NOT have a QA Dept and we have been lied to several times and Bell refuses to pull/listen to the calls.

89. Barbara

    Oct 9 2009

    Switched from Bell home phone service to Rogers. Bell owes me a credit.

    Spoke to several CSR’s until I finally got a CSR from Canada, who verified that I didn’t have to pay the very small balance that I owe to Bell. It’s about $11.54 and I would be receiving a credit of $75.34.

    Called the executive office. My refund from Bell is being sent to me with my revised FINAL bill.

    I am staying with Rogers.

90. j rinehart

    Nov 9 2009

    I have had equally as many problems with Bell and Rogers. These are two giant companies that try to suck every drop of blood they can out of us and than they wonder why people steal television signals and download shows from their overpriced channels.

91. allison

    Nov 17 2009

    Ok people, stop going on about customer service. We are not Bell, we do not try to take your money, we try to solve problems with what little authority we have. Keep in mind that we are humans (even though rarely we get treated as such.)

    We don’t know your problems. Sometimes customers are HORRIBLE communicators. We can’t read your mind.

    Bell is a company. It’s going to charge you for basic services like activations. People switch from Rogers to Bell all the time, complaining about Rogers. People undoubtedly switch to Rogers all the time, saying that Bell sucks. They are both huge corporations who are eventually going to let you down in the end.

    Don’t get mad at the little guy trying to do some basic troubleshooting. If you yell at us, calling us incompetent assholes, don’t be surprised if we’re not sweet as a peach. If you call in swearing at us and threatening to go to a competitor, good riddance.

92. Moe

    Dec 4 2009

    Allison, we appreciate you are human, but what CSR’s need to understand, is that the customer is the boss. If a “Senior Technician” will call you within 48hours of a problem being resolved, why after 2 weeks this call has not come. I was having download issues for more than 6 weeks, 5 phone calls, 2 “Online chat” sessions.

    I was hung up on and a chat had been terminated. I have been in the CSR industry, so I know how a CSR should be treated. Like a human being with feelings. When is Bell going to treat me like a customer?

    Needless to say, the switch is happening this weekend.

93. Marion Staples

    Dec 26 2009

    I am writing to you today because I was going to watch the James Bond movies on the movie channel today; however, I can’t since the weather is bad and there is no signal.

    I am so sick of the false advertising, both from salespersons and the television ads. They speak of clear pictures, but when you don’t get a signal, it does not matter how clear the picture is, there isn’t any.

    I signed a two-year contract for SKY DISH and want to know, if after a year, I can’t give them their 30 day notice and get this dish off my roof and say good riddance to a bad product and no service, which I must pay for.

94. Bell CSR

    Jan 18 2010

    I work for Bell, unfortunately. We’re told to sell, sell, sell! If we don’t, then we are out the door quick.

    The managers all walk around pumping the sale, driving it into the agent’s head on a daily basis until either you quit, or you’re fired.

    Of course, we’re taught to solve problems, which a small number of us actually do, but the rest of the focus is on pulling as much money out of the customer as possible.

    I don’t like it. I find it insulting to the customer and it drains the agents to the point where we are zombies by the end of the day.

    The managers get bonuses based on the agent’s performance, so you can only imagine what we have to put up with. Top tier management will say that “customer service comes first,” which couldn’t be further from the truth.

    Next time you call, and the agent starts a friendly question and gently “probes” for information on what you like to watch, it’s not being friendly. We’re taught to “converse pleasantly with customer in order to best acquire an upgrade attempt without the customer knowing it is actually an upgrade attempt”.

    And we have no choice. We’re paid barely above minimum wage and our jobs are at risk if we fail to meet a close ratio. Please understand this when calling in.

    We’re not pitching because we don’t care about your problems. We pitch because our jobs depend on it. Thank you.

95. Bell CSR

    Jan 18 2010

    Pardon the error in grammar on the previous post, I’m very tired.

    And about escalating, it only goes to another agent in the centre. Managers only get involved when the customer asks for the supervisor’s supervisor. Majority of the time, you’re just speaking with another agent who claims they are a supervisor.

96. pat

    Jan 25 2010

    The only way to effect change is revolution! Act NOW destroy anything with BELL on it and they will be forced to comply or fold and you will be able to relieve some stress.

97. Richard Z

    Feb 3 2010

    I have had many years of ongoing problems with Bell on my business line as well a residential line. I have had very little help, but more than 1,000 promises that my line will be repaired. It never happens or it seems only for a day or so.

    Now along with noise on both lines, I’m getting charged for an internet service i have never signed up for.

    Lately, every time I have to call to get repairs or to find out about additional charges to my account, I get the reply they are unable to access my account. This is an ongoing issue for more than 12 years.

    I receive calls from customer service, asking if I am satisfied with the service. I explain that the problem is ongoing, but nothing ever gets done.

98. josh

    Mar 4 2010

    I am currently with Bell Aliant high speed ultra and there is a problem with my internet. I have called their tech support since October because I have services that are less than dial up.

    I get the following:

    0.12 Mbps download (supposed to be between 4 - 7 Mbps)
    0.11 Mbps upload (supposed to be up to 1 Mbps)
    1113 ms ping (should be around 50 or less than 100…)

    I call and call and call their support team and they finally told me a month ago that there is a problem with the server I am on and that it needs to be fixed. They should have told me that from back in October ‘09.

    It is now going on 6 months and they still have not fixed the problem. I am waiting for a call back from Dale MacNeil, quality manager, for about a month now and every time I call to see if he is in the office, he never is….

    Bell Aliant knows the issue exists and said they will fix it but when?

    Also they said they will refund me the money when it gets fixed, but since it looks like it never will be, I guess I will never be refunded. I am very upset with them.

    I have spoken to about 130 reps and about 10 supervisors and no one seems to be able to get this fixed for me….it just doesnt make sense.

    I have another technician (about my 10th or so…I had all new lines put in my home and all phone jacks fixed, but still doesn’t work) coming to the house tomorrow and they are going to try and re-route me through a different server to see if this will work. However, the rep wasn’t even sure if it was possible…

    I mean, what do I have to do to get something done here? Is there someone I can contact or is their a corporate address or phone number?

    I clearly need someone higher than a rep and a supervisor to deal with this issue, but no one will point me in the right direction….

99. Mike

    Mar 20 2010

    I can honestly say that Bell provides the worst customer experience! It is such a disappointment in general that many have forgot that customers are what keep a business alive.

    I am amazed at how many companies (Bell soaring above most) are so unappreciative of the consumer! I would like to suggest that customers review “The Bell Code of Fair Information Practices”. Although at the bottom of the list it states…

    Customer and employee access to personal information: The Bell companies shall inform a customer or employee of the existence, use and disclosure of his or her personal information upon request and shall give the individual access to that information. A customer or employee shall be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and to have it amended as appropriate.

    So, how often is the accuracy and completeness of the information provided amended as we see appropriate?

100. Michael Black

     Mar 28 2010

     A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that my Bell Sympatico email inbox was no longer filling with messages from certain sources I have heard from regularly for years.

     When I logged onto the Bell website and checked my junk mail folder, I found, lo and behold, that there were all sorts of items from legit senders such as the Toronto Public Library and Globe and Mail, which never made it to my computer.

     Bell outsources spam control to Microsoft’s Hotmail division. It seems as though Bill Gates and the gang have started using some extremely aggressive junk mail filters.

     I’ve been a customer of Bell Sympatico for a decade. Occasionally I will monitor the reliability of their filtering. Never before have I encountered the kind of incompetence that gives the green light to male organ enlargement hard sells, and red to public library notices.

     The real problems arise with the use of email ‘clients’ (e.g., Outlook or Apple Mail) that reside on your own computer — as opposed to web-based email services (like Gmail or Yahoo!Mail) where it’s fairly easy to access your junk mailbox.

     Home users of Outlook-type programs can become complacent that all messages flagged as spam will be quarantined in their client’s junk folder. Not so! This is simply the final cull in a two-stage process.

     The initial spam filtering occurs remotely on Bell/ Microsoft servers. Emails that they block are buried in an online Junk folder and are not even routed to your computer. Even worse, messages tossed onto this junk heap are kept there for a mere 10 days before being PERMANENTLY DESTROYED.

     I’ve noticed that people are alert to the dangers of malevolent spam and phishing, yet they underestimate the likelihood of having important messages deleted by their home internet service provider, and/ or Microsoft. Just how serious is the problem?

     I’ve heard of horror stories concerning important documents (travel etickets, software keys, etc.) getting trashed. The sender doesn’t receive an undeliverable message and the intended recipient isn’t notified either.

     The only way to monitor the accuracy of remote spam filtering is by logging onto your Bell/ Sympatico account online. If you’ve never before accessed your Junk folder in cyberspace, use this link for the Bell Mail site: https://www.bell.ca/home/Home_L_Login.page . Click on the Bell Mail icon, and a page will appear with a login button in the middle.

     Now’s the time to locate your password that you probably scribbled on a sticky long ago. After you’ve signed in, click on Check Usage Get Bell internet email (right column). In the middle of the next page, select: Go to your Bell Mail inbox.

     Once you have arrived, click on Junk (left column). The moment of truth! What appears is 10 days’ worth of emails that the Bell/ Microsoft filters have diverted as spam.

     If, like me, you find valuable messages, you’ll want to move them to your computer’s inbox as soon as possible.

     To help prevent further mishandling of mail, click on Options (upper right corner) and then choose More Options from the bottom of the menu. Head to the Junk Mail section and select Filters and reporting.

     I can recommend these settings: a Low filter level; a Later deletion time; and Report Junk. Hit the Save button (lower right), then return to the Junk Mail section, and select Safe and blocked senders. Add the email address of anyone whose emails have been erroneously blocked by Microsoft to the Safe Senders list.

     Furthermore, if you’ve been having problems receiving newsletters, enter their names in the Safe Mailing Lists section. That just about does it, unless you also want to take the opportunity to block incoming emails from known enemies, in-laws, collection agents and the like.

     POSTSCRIPT - When I sent the above comments to Bell’s customer support address, I received an automatic reply advising me to resend my email later as their inbox was completely full. I’m not impressed.

101. sohail

     Mar 31 2010

     My payments are up to date and I owe ZERO to Bell Canada, so I was surprised today when I found my home phone was disconnected by Bell.

     I called Bell (accounts receivable) and got the answer that I had to pay a “security deposit” which was NEWS to me. After I asked for more clarification, they changed their stance and asked me to provide bank account information for direct payment.

     It’s not the reason for service disconnection if you haven’t chosen the direct payment option.

     Sorry to say, outsourcing is hurting quality of service. If Bell Canada takes pride in this type of customer service, than I won’t say any more. But I know Bell used to be a business with #1 customer service and that is not their vision.

     Where is process?

     Today I don’t have phone service because someone in India decided to have little fun and disconnected my service for which I have not been contacted by any letter. There must be a process for service suspension/disconnection.

     Accounts receivable could have sent me a letter saying what they wanted and setting a timeline. And if that was not met, they could have had the right to disconnect my home phone service… BUT.. sadly I didn’t come around with any activity for such process.

     Call to 310-BELL:

     I called to 310-BELL and asked to talk to a supervisor. Sorry, I was told, they can’t help me because accounts receivable (in India) is closed at 7:00 pm EST - such a lie from a supervisor of Bell customer service in Canada. It was confirmed when I called myself to accounts receivable and they told me they are open till 9:00 PM EST.

     Previous Incident - Overbilling:

     Bell telemarketing made me switch my Internet services from Rogers to Bell. I agreed and found that my Internet service was not high-speed.

     After several attempts to discuss this, Bell admitted that my Internet service was not 7mbps but it was less then 2mbps. It also admitted that the building where I live is not equipped for providing high-speed internet service.

     Bell kept charging me $50 per month over 13 months, and then it took another 5 months to get credits for excess billings. I didn’t get an apology from Bell Customer Service and I can understand this is not the same, since it has been compromised by outsourcing.

     Previous Incident - Billing Without Service:

     One day I had enough and moved my internet service back to Rogers. I called Bell Canada to disconnect my Internet service. Did it happen? I was on Rogers Internet service, but Bell kept me billing over 5 months for Internet that I didn’t use.

     After a call to Bell and Bell’s confirmation of no service use, they credited my account for the billed amount (they didn’t took care of the internet charges for the month in which they applied credits for billing on non-service product).

     What are my Options?

     Sensible bell services or Magic Jack, Rogers, Telehop Primus etc.

102. lynn

     Apr 9 2010

     I have had so many issues with Bell, and yet it continues!!

     I woke up this morning to find my cell phone disconnected> That’s fine. I called as soon as they opened this morning and made a payment by credit card.

     I was told that the computer does a scan twice a day, 7 am and 7 pm. I called them back about 20 minutes ago and spoke to a CSR, who repeated 3 times he did not know when the scan would be completed, and that they do not reconnect phones. He would not listen to a word I said and interrupted me 2 times with the same speech.

     So frusturated. Here it is 9 pm and my phone is still not reconnected! That is over 12 hours later!!!

     I think that the CSR should listen and stop talking by script. If a person makes a payment by credit card, the phone should be reconnected immediately, not waiting for a stupid computer to do the job for them!

     Very frustrating, and if I didn’t have 2 years left on my contract, I would be gone!!!!

103. jay

     May 25 2010

     I signed up for high speed- 7mbs after 4 months, 3 tech visits, and 3 modems. The most I can receive is 2.5.

     I switched to Rogers and called Bell to cancel. They told me that I have to give them 30 days notice, and pay for it.

     I complained that I never received what was promised, but they do not care…

104. mike

     May 31 2010

     Jessica: Hello, thank you for visiting bell.ca. How may I help you today?

     You: hello.. I have a question..regarding my cell phone

     Jessica: Yes, please.

     You: I currently have a phone with a data plan..

     Jessica: Okay.

     You: I would like to get an additional phone..a Blackberry Bold 9700…I need to know what is the best possible rates you have..Is it possible to combine the data plan for both phones?

     Jessica: Thank you for being a loyal customer to Bell – I would like to ensure that you get the appropriate attention you deserve. I would like to provide you with the right contact information for the department that will be in a better position to assist you and offer you options to resolve this.

     Jessica: Is that ok for you?

     You..: Well.. I just spoke with someone from Bell, not very helpful, wanted to give me some free Samsung. Not what i wanted…and totally oblivious to my questions.

     Jessica: I am sorry this is a sales queue for new account opening, so please call the customer support or visit the nearest Bell store.

     You..: I wanted a new phone… isn’t that a new account?

     Jessica: Yes, but online you cannot combine the data plan for both phones online.

105. Ayman Hindam

     Jun 15 2010

     Bell is a Hell: Another Victim – Bell Customer.

     Last September, I received a letter from Steve Bickley, Senior Vice-President, Residential Services, at Bell, asking me to return back for Bell Television service and I get 40% discount and no reconnection fee.

     I bought a receiver and called Bell to activate it. They told me they have to send me someone with no extra charge. The guy comes just to plug in the receiver. I have already the Dish.

     Since day one, I have problems. During the activation after I select the programming, I asked the lady about the monthly subscription fee. Any company will tell you how much you are going to pay to agree on programming.

     She told me an amount 150% more than Starchoice and I didn’t agree. She told me that I cannot change my programming. I asked her that I want to cancel my service with Bell from the first 5 minutes.

     She switches me to another department. After 1:30 minutes, the guy told me that he will give me 2 dollars less than I used to pay in Starchoice for the same programming. I want to leave Starchoice because of holding time in customer service.

     I paid $200 for a new receiver with Bell to have a peace of mind (I was completely wrong).

     Since October until today, I didn’t get a correct bill. In March, I was lucky to get a manager after spending 1:40 minutes, fixed all the issues and we agree on the amount to pay. I dreamed that problem is solved. Next bill, same problem…

     Today, I called again, 1:50 mins, from department to department, and start over the history each time. The person who resolved the problem in March put a note on the system about the final agreement. But Bell didn’t honour this agreement.

     I get frustrated and asked to cancel my service. A guy told me that I have to pay $200 because I am on 2 years contract. I didn’t sign any contract. No one told me that I am on contract.

     The Senior Vice-president’s letter didn’t have any small print and mentioned “Pay no reconnection fee”. In the yellow paper, they mention that contract is for Basic installation, which is not my case.

     And the suffering continues….

106. Ayman Hindam

     Jun 19 2010

     I get a phone call from Bell today for not cancelling my TV subscription. We have reached an agreement and credited the extra amount in the bill. Hope no more surprises.

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