Roaming charges with cellular data off and roaming off

[Nnash]

Hi,
I’m so disheartened with the charges I received today. I did my research before heading out overseas for 5 weeks. The best option for me was to buy a hotspot from the country I was in, allowing multiple devices to have wifi at all times. I don’t understand why I was charged roaming fee of $15 for about 8 days. If I received a call I should have been charged the call, or if I received a text or sent a text in green charge me for that text. $15 a day…a total of $150 for a handful of days they charged me for is ridiculous. I had Wifi 90% of the time. I didn’t agree to roam from home!!!!! Please explain, I’m thinking taking this to the media is the best option at this point. I’m not happy!

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[Pauly]

It would be impossible to receive a Call or SMS if your had turned off the roaming. how is it you were able to receive a call or SMS?  Your phone would say no service if you turned off roaming.

With that said, you can still use Wi-Fi when travelling. I would also double check to make sure Wi-Fi Calling is disabled, I do not know how Wi-Fi calling works when roaming is off but I would just turn it off to be safe as it makes your phone appear connected to the cell network but via a Wi-Fi signal instead of the cell phone towers.

[Nnash]

Exactly if my roaming is off why would the call come through….anyhow apparently it does using local towers and that’s why they charged me roaming fees even after choosing not roam and turned roaming off, cellular data and wifi calling… so the only way to guarantee no roaming fees is to keep your phone on airplane mode or remove SIM card as confirmed by Rogers supervisor . I’m sorry but after being in Europe for the summer our cellular providers here in Canada seem below average at the very best with very expensive services.

[Bplayer]

It is frustrating and carriers assume that Easy Roam is what everyone would need/want. It is likely that a you were receiving incoming calls and Wi-Fi calling took over, and this triggered Easy Roam. Have a look at you call log. You can call Customer Service and request that Easy Roam be removed so that any usage would be billed at the per-call-rates, but the default is daily Easy Roam charges.

My script for traveling, using an iPhone:

- Airplane Mode to On

- Wi-Fi to On (assuming that you are going to want to use Wi-Fi from a hotspot etc.

- Cellular: Cellular Data to Off

- Cellular: Cellular Data Option, Data Roaming to Off

- Cellular: Wi-Fi Calling to Off

You could also just take out the SIM, but do not loose it.

[Pauly]

It is very concerning if your roaming was off and you were able to connect to another network and receive a call or text.  This is very alarming and it is something I would want investigated by Apple or who ever is the handset manufacturer is and as well let Rogers know about this issue.

It sounds like the Roam like Home / Eazy Roam is turned on by default.  To be safe I would call them in the future and disable that feature and only call to activate it when you need it like right before you take a trip or something.

[Roscam]

Hi,

I also was charged for two days ($15/day) while my cellular data was off. When I contacted Fido and I assume Rogers would be the same, they said it was because I accessed my voicemail. So lesson learned, when cellular data is off don’t retrieve voicemails.

[davidlloydevans]

It's a money grab by Rogers. They billed me for charges when I was out of the country when I had both my roaming and cellular data switched off on both our phones. I am cancelling all my Rogers services unless they remove the charges.

[RogersTony]

Hello, @davidlloydevans

Welcome to the Rogers Community Forums!

I can see how frustrating it has been dealing with this billing issue. We can definitely take a closer look at it for you. Please send a private message to @CommunityHelps so we can gather your info and get started. 

Not familiar with our private messaging system? No worries, click here. 

RogersTony

[Roamingscam]

I am charged $15/ day even though my data roaming is turned off and I have an Esim from a local carrier which I use to make calls on as well as use internet when I’m not connected to wifi. I can’t put my phone in airplane mode because then I can’t use my local carrier on the same phone. This is absolutely a scam that rogers charges $15/day roaming when I’m using a local carrier and have the roaming turned off. Their customer support has no suggestions just to continue paying a $600/month phone bill.

[lala8653]

Thanks to everyone for the warnings. I was planning to turn off data and roaming, but thanks to your testimonials I will simply remove the SIM card from the slot and that's it.

[ScubadooX]

Perhaps you've already done this but you should contact Rogers (via chat is best because then you can email a transcript to yourself) and opt out of Roam Like Home. Any calls or texts you make after that while roaming will be charged on a per use basis, e.g., $ per minute, cents per text. Incoming texts should be free with most plans. If you respond to them, though, you'll be charged for the outgoing text.

[57]

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@ScubadooX wrote:

...you can email a transcript to yourself...

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Just a caveat that sometimes the chat transcript is not sent (see thread below).  Make sure you take a screenshot or copy the text before signing out.

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Account-Support/Copy-of-Live-Chat-Support-Transcript/m-p/49276...

[Trishm]

Happened to me too they have no reason as to why this happens and are very rude about the support given to refund due to their errors

[DaveChan]

SHAME ON YOU, Rogers Communications!

I have been using Rogers mobile service many years in Canada.  Knowing Rogers' service would be expensive in the USA, I purchased a T mobile traveler SIM card plan for $20 before going to Boston for a two-week vacation. The T-Mobile plan gave me 30 days unlimited talk, text and data in USA. When I was in Boston, I used the T-Mobile plan on another iphone to communicate and access internet. So I didn't need to use my Rogers service, but still keep the phone on as it contains information I need to access during my trip. 

To my surprise, when I returned to Canada, I received Rogers' bill charging me $36 ($12 per day) for Roaming fee arising from the Roam Like Home Plan which I didn't subscribe. When I looked closely into the bill and my calling history, I found there were three episodes of accidental connections and data use during my stay in Boston. The total usage is less than 2 minutes of phone connection and 168 Mb data.     

This is a typical price gouging: Rogers charges me $36 for a total of 2 minutes of accidental incoming call connection (with which I didn't even talk a word!) and 168 Mb data use (with which I didn't know what the data was used for).  In contrast, the T-Mobile traveler plan costs only $20 for 30 days of unlimited talk, text and data.

SHAME ON YOU ROGERS!

[57]

@DaveChan wrote:  SHAME ON YOU ROGERS!

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Looks like your post was moved to this existing thread.  It's actually shame on you for not doing enough research before travelling.  

https://www.rogers.com/support/mobility/roaming-support

The only way to totally avoid roaming charges is to keep your phone off, or switch it to airplane mode.  It's also possible to delete roam like home from your package before leaving and use "pay per use" rates, which can get expensive, but may be an option if you use it sparingly.

I believe there are also Canada/US plans that may be options for some people depending on usage patterns.

If the phone is not turned off or not in airplane mode, any type of communication can trigger roaming, like app updates, texts, notifications, etc.

[BCGal]

I am very familiar with the pitfalls of "Roam Like Home", unplanned flat rate daily charges, and disputing roaming charges.  Now that I have a plan that includes unlimited Canada/US calling, my question is: when I travel to the US, do I need to make any changes to my iPhone setup to ensure that my usage is billed correctly?  Should roaming be on/off?  Does it matter?

[ScubadooX]

Totally untrue. Any Rogers customer can contact Rogers to opt out of Roam Like Home. I have. Be careful not to opt back in by texting 222. If you accidentally opt in (or back in) to RLH, call or chat with Rogers to opt of of RLH. Rogers' instructions on this are very misleading.

[ScubadooX]

Having data roaming on or off should not matter in the US if you have US roaming. If your mobile data isn't working in the US because you have data roaming turned off, turn it on.

[57]

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@ScubadooX wrote:

Totally untrue. Any Rogers customer can contact Rogers to opt out of Roam Like Home.

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Not quite sure why you said "Totally Untrue". In my post I stated:

 It's also possible to delete roam like home from your package... 

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I also stated other ways to avoid roaming charges.

[ScubadooX]

Oops! Misread your post. Thought you wrote "not possible." My apologies.

[Matt747474]

The same thing happened to me. I find it extremely deceitful to charges customers for roaming when they have turned roaming off. It's simply a terrible business practice. If Roger's doesn't refund me, I am moving on to a new provider