Transphobic name change policy

[beebertrand13]

Has anyone else dealt with the ridiculous, archaic, unsafe, transphobic name change policy? You can literally change your name over the phone if youve gotten married, but if youre changing your first name (as trans folks often do, not to mention countless others) you have to mail in all our goverment docs to a different province and wait for them to find them and act, meanwhile are being texted, emailed and sent mail with your dead name? I have dealt with six of the most shockingly unhelpful, combative Rogers employees and since I work at CBC have just escalated it to Marketplace and hopefully they pick it up. A tech giant that can't simplify a process Bell makes easy is very confusing to me. Anyone else?

[-G-]

I can understand your frustration.  Friends have related stories of all the hassles that they had to go through to get their name changed on their accounts, all while they were also going through messy divorces.  Sometimes it's easy, sometimes its hard, depending on the account and the type of service.  Part of the problem for companies is that it's not just changing the name on the account; it's also making sure that payment histories will still get reported correctly to credit agencies, and regulated companies also need to guard against fraud and identity theft.

It looks like Bell and Rogers both require you to submit legal documentation supporting your name change, regardless of the reason:

https://support.bell.ca/Mobility/Self_Serve_options/How_to_change_the_name_on_my_account

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Account-Support/Change-my-Name-on-the-Account/td-p/494154

There are probably ways that Rogers can streamline their processes to make them more customer-friendly, but call centre agents have rules that they must follow, and they can only help you navigate a complex process.  That may make them seem unhelpful, but they should also still be respectful and professional.