Have you tried going through escalation process before you walk away. You probably unknowling agreed to renew your contract at some point along the way and the changes may have been minimal that you didn't even think about it. I know I have done it, and just couldn't be bothered to fight, but If I got hit with big bills like you did, I would work at it for sure - I have done it with some success and some not - not enough for me to walk away yet.
Note the following everybody about this whole discussion about verbal consent - there are some requirements by Rogers and other providers of wireless services, that most of us probably don't know unless you are like me, retired, always read every piece of fine print, and CRTC information on each and every type of service I hold.
Go to http://crtc.gc.ca/eng/phone/mobile/codesimpl.htm
Speficically note the section on "permanent copy"
- A service provider must give the customer a permanent copy of the contract and related documents at no charge in the following circumstances:
- If the contract is agreed to in person, the service provider must give the contract and related documents to the customer immediately after the customer agrees to the contract.
- If the contract is not agreed to in person (i.e. if it is agreed to over the phone, online, or otherwise at a distance), the service provider must send the contract and related documents to the customer within 15 calendar days of the customer agreeing to the contract. If a service provider fails to do this, or if the terms and conditions of the permanent copy of the contract conflict with the terms and conditions that the customer agreed to, the customer may, within 30 calendar days of receiving the permanent copy of the contract, cancel the contract without paying an early cancellation fee or any other penalty.
- The service provider must also provide the customer with a paper copy of the contract upon request at no charge, at any time during the commitment period.
- The permanent copy of the contract and related documents must be a paper copy, unless the customer expressly and knowingly decides that an electronic copy is acceptable.
- A service provider must provide a customer with a copy of the contract in an alternative format for people with disabilities upon request, at no charge, at any time during the commitment period.
- Contracts for postpaid services must set out all of the information listed below in a clear manner (items a-m)
Note specifically on expressly and knowingly deciding that an electronic copy is acceptable.
In most people's case, I know this is mine, I have them say to me, I will send you an electronic copy - but have not ask me to explicitly and knowingly replace the paper copy with the electronic copy and if you can prove this, and any interpratation around this stuff must be in favour of customer, at least on the first time - that is why they usually give you something, or waive it fully and advise you this will be only one time because they now treat this as you are now knowledgable, but you can still ask for the paper copy any time - I advise that you do, because your computer storage can fail, or print the copy out, but I make them mail because I don't want to spend my printer and paper money. and on their side, terms are constantly changing with new contracts, and it can be very hard to figure out what your terms are. I got caught recently where they pulled a voice conversation from 7 years ago (front line CSR's don't have access that far back, they are archived), and I had agreed to a 2 year extension of my contract, that now put terms in place that I had forgotten about. I had agreed suppossedly by saying ok to they would keep all my contract the same for the next two years. I couldn't really dispute it, but I did ask that they send the paper copy of that contract so I have it for my records and when they said they couldn't, I asked for the current contract as required by CRTC, not verbally, but in paper, and not electronic. You have that right at anytime.
In your case, you have unknowingly accepted a contract extension with probaly those specific cancellation terms, but you do have the right to ask for a copy of the original contracts that put you there, and the voice recording confirmation of how you agreed. If they didn't offer you a paper version, and you explicitly and knowlingly declined the contract paper copy, you may have a loop whole to argue with - and may also just not be worth it. I am learning that we all have a choice, if we don't like it, just say I am leaving and do it. I can live without the service for a while, while I decide again, you will be saving back you money while you search, may get a good deal, in particular if you tell the other company what happened, they will often discount your cancellation fees to get you to come over, or offer additional services of that value, but we don't have to take it, just walk away. My own daughter just did that two weeks ago and now has a significantly better deal and they paid her cancellation fees in discounted fees for extra months.
If you have accepted the discounted 75%, unfortunately, you have negotiated a solution and if you accepted it, you are stuck, you can't even make an escalation, but you could try.
Know your rights around "verbal and electronic" contracts. The companies have some responsibilities, that I know they are not doing often in my experiences. I haven't had to use them to my advantage often, but they are there. And it is there responsibility to prove otherwise, not yours.
Just trying to educate us all on our rights, and responsibilities too.
Bruce
