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Jumping ship to Bell - is there a way to get out of Roger's contract for free?

D

Doju

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 16, 2008
1,510
1
I've heard of people cancelling their contract and not having to pay. What are the excuses that merit this? Where I work there's literally not a bar of service until you drive thirty minutes out of town with Rogers, would that work?

I also heard of people refusing to accept the new Rogers contract and getting out of it? http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1572104&page=1&pp=15

Suggestions? Bell is a million times better than Rogers in my area.
 
If you break your contract, you will have to pay the termination fee. There is no way around it. That is why cell phone companies get you to sign a contract to begin with.

The no bars of service you may be able to use, if they have a sales area in your area and they cannot provide you any service. But that is going to be a hard fight or prove. And you would have to have no service to the address on your bill as well.
 
Kevlar said:
If you break your contract, you will have to pay the termination fee. There is no way around it. That is why cell phone companies get you to sign a contract to begin with.

The no bars of service you may be able to use, if they have a sales area in your area and they cannot provide you any service. But that is going to be a hard fight or prove. And you would have to have no service to the address on your bill as well.
Click to expand...

You can move to an area where Rogers service isn't available and they will end your contract. You can't fake this though because they ask for proof.
 
Doju said:
I've heard of people cancelling their contract and not having to pay. What are the excuses that merit this? Where I work there's literally not a bar of service until you drive thirty minutes out of town with Rogers, would that work?

I also heard of people refusing to accept the new Rogers contract and getting out of it? http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1572104&page=1&pp=15

Suggestions? Bell is a million times better than Rogers in my area.
Click to expand...

Do you happen to live in one of the cities where the local calling area is shrinking, and it no longer includes your residence? If so, then the change might work to your benefit in terms of getting out of the contract. On the other hand, Rogers's solution might be to port your number over to the new LCA for free, rather than let you out of the contract.

Alternatively, if you used to live and work both within the same local calling area (and have proof of this fact) but now your home and workplace are in two different local calling areas (as a result of Rogers' change), this might be effective ammunition.

You have to ask yourself, though, how valuable is your time? Is saving the ETF worth the effort that may be involved?
 
A bit of context for our American friends:

The distinction between local calling and long-distance calling is alive and well in Canada. Nationwide, carrier-agnostic incoming and outgoing calling at the anytime rate is definitely the exception rather than the rule.

If you use your Rogers cellular phone to call any phone number whose registered address is outside the local calling area of the cell tower you're currently using, you will be charged an extra per-minute long distance fee in addition to your regular airtime. For example, if your account is registered in Toronto, and you visit Vancouver, then you can place calls to other Vancouver numbers at your normal airtime rate, but calls home to Toronto will cost extra.

Similarly, if you are connected to a cell tower that's outside the local calling area of your account's own registered address, then all incoming calls, no matter where they are originating, will cost you an extra long distance fee in addition to your regular airtime. For example, if your account is registered in Toronto, and you visit Vancouver, then every call you receive will cost you more than if you were receiving the same call while you're in Toronto.

If your sister also has a Toronto-based cell phone, and she travels with you to Vancouver, and she calls your cell phone, then you'll both be charged long distance: Her for dialing out to a non-Vancouver number, and you for not being Toronto when you received the call.

Changing the layout of your local calling area can have a direct, tangible effect on what your calling plan will cost you.
 
Not going to work.

The only way they'll let you out for that reasoning is if you have no reception at all within a large area, and even then it's a long process. Bad reception in certain areas won't work.


Your best bet is to wait until they change terms in the contract and then call up and complain, and they'll likely let you out.

Otherwise, pay the ETF.
 
goosnarrggh said:
A bit of context for our American friends:

The distinction between local calling and long-distance calling is alive and well in Canada. Nationwide, carrier-agnostic incoming and outgoing calling at the anytime rate is definitely the exception rather than the rule.

If you use your Rogers cellular phone to call any phone number whose registered address is outside the local calling area of the cell tower you're currently using, you will be charged an extra per-minute long distance fee in addition to your regular airtime. For example, if your account is registered in Toronto, and you visit Vancouver, then you can place calls to other Vancouver numbers at your normal airtime rate, but calls home to Toronto will cost extra.

Similarly, if you are connected to a cell tower that's outside the local calling area of your account's own registered address, then all incoming calls, no matter where they are originating, will cost you an extra long distance fee in addition to your regular airtime. For example, if your account is registered in Toronto, and you visit Vancouver, then every call you receive will cost you more than if you were receiving the same call while you're in Toronto.

If your sister also has a Toronto-based cell phone, and she travels with you to Vancouver, and she calls your cell phone, then you'll both be charged long distance: Her for dialing out to a non-Vancouver number, and you for not being Toronto when you received the call.

Changing the layout of your local calling area can have a direct, tangible effect on what your calling plan will cost you.
Click to expand...

That is incredible. I haven't had to worry about extra long distance charges on my cell phone since the early 1990's. Do you have to pay data roaming as well in other parts of Canada? What a racket that is. Is Bell better?
 
don't know if it's the same there as it is in the states,

get your hands on a utility bill from another country and say you are moving there...they have to terminate your account, with no cost to you

at least, that is what i've been told.....
 
christyn said:
Not going to work.

The only way they'll let you out for that reasoning is if you have no reception at all within a large area, and even then it's a long process. Bad reception in certain areas won't work.
Click to expand...
I wasn't talking about "bad reception" in certain areas. Indeed, I wasn't talking about "bad reception" at all...

Your best bet is to wait until they change terms in the contract and then call up and complain, and they'll likely let you out.
Click to expand...
I was talking about a tangible change in the price the customer would have to pay because suddenly the customer would be paying long distance fees to use their phone in areas, or to place calls to areas, which weren't long distance before. Same level of network coverage, and still on Roger's own internal network. Effectively nothing more than a change in Roger's long distance calling policy.
 
goosnarrggh said:
I wasn't talking about "bad reception" in certain areas. Indeed, I wasn't talking about "bad reception" at all...


I was talking about a tangible change in the price the customer would have to pay because suddenly the customer would be paying long distance fees to use their phone in areas, or to place calls to areas, which weren't long distance before. Same level of network coverage, and still on Roger's own internal network. Effectively nothing more than a change in Roger's long distance calling policy.
Click to expand...

I understand your point, but none of my comments were directed at you at all.
 
goosnarrggh said:
Apologies. Sometimes I find it difficult to judge who's talking to whom in flat threads like this.
Click to expand...

np. I probably should have quoted :)

You have a good point, I've lived in the US for about 5 years now, but I'm a Canadian citizen so I see what you're saying.

Unfortunately Rogers has been porting these numbers over for free to avoid letting them out of their contracts. My dad actually looked into this as he also wants to switch to Bell, but is going to end up paying a ETF to get out when the iPhone releases over there and that's likely what the OP will have to do as well.
 
barkomatic said:
That is incredible. I haven't had to worry about extra long distance charges on my cell phone since the early 1990's. Do you have to pay data roaming as well in other parts of Canada? What a racket that is. Is Bell better?
Click to expand...

No, thankfully no data roaming within Canada.

Bell isn't any better than Rogers or Telus, or anyone, they're all a joke. This is why it frustrates me when people complain about AT&T :mad:

Our contracts here are worded in such ways that our carriers can do whatever they please with our pricing and service throughout the contract. Unfortunately, no one hardly ever reads these and when they call in to say "you raised my monthly bill by $xx.xx, that's against my contract", they'll laugh at you and tell you to read it.
 
acfusion29 said:
No, thankfully no data roaming within Canada.

Bell isn't any better than Rogers or Telus, or anyone, they're all a joke. This is why it frustrates me when people complain about AT&T :mad:
Click to expand...

haha I think the same thing. I've had both Rogers and telus before I moved to the States. This is exactly why I have never really been on this "AT&T is evil" kick. AT&T's pricing and customer service beats the Canadian carriers hands down.
 
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