New Pay As You Go Maximum Balance

[lmcjipo]

Had my prepaid phone off during the holidays and just turned it on today to receive the following text from Rogers:

Rogers service msg: Starting at the end of 2018, our prepaid services will have a maximum allowed balance of $150. Any balance above $150 will no longer be available as of end of 2018. We will be in touch with more information on how you can use your balance soon, but in the meantime you can continue to use your balance as normal. Questions? http://rogers.com/contactus

What are the options? The option that I think that they will do is to force those high balance users to go to postpaid. Unless they give me the option to get a new phone, there is no way that I would be able to use my balance or reduce it to under $150 before the end of 2018. The only other thing which would reduce my balance is for me to take options/services that I don't need (like data/SMS/addon services) that I don't need for the sake of just reducing my balance.

This seems ridiculous.

***EDITED LABELS***

[57]

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@Sarcee wrote:

If you don't use your cell phone much, all the more crazy it seems to throw away $100.

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Normally I would have to pay $10/month to keep my emergency phone with the old plan.  The $100 for a year is less than that and I've already paid the money since it's in my balance.  I've had my emergency phone that I use occasionally for 9 years and have spent around $7/month to have it.  I don't call that crazy.

[wleadie1]

are the "Resident Experts, Advisors etc" who have been commenting in this thread, compensated in any way by Rogers? (receive an financial honorarium, discounted services, etc)
http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Rogers-Community-Forums-Blog/Introducing-New-Members-to-Rogers-...

[57]

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@wleadie1 wrote:

are the "Resident Experts, Advisors etc" who have been commenting in this thread, compensated in any way by Rogers? (receive an financial honorarium, discounted services, etc)
http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Rogers-Community-Forums-Blog/Introducing-New-Members-to-Rogers-...

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From the link in your post:

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RE's are NOT Rogers employees; RE's are volunteers in the community and we're grateful for their help!

As a "Senior Advisor", I'm also not compensated.  I'm just another customer like you, who may have special experience in the field, or simply posted a lot... 😉

[barndoor]

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@wleadie1 wrote:

are the "Resident Experts, Advisors etc" who have been commenting in this thread, compensated in any way by Rogers? (receive an financial honorarium, discounted services, etc)
http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Rogers-Community-Forums-Blog/Introducing-New-Members-to-Rogers-...

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LOL .... I guess I would fit under the"etc ".   I've returned  a couple months ago from a four month ban from  here because of my negative comments about Rogers that were labelled as  "off topic"   so, no,  I certainly receive  no benefit from Rogers to be here.  

[RobTheGob]

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@Sarcee wrote:

If you don't use your cell phone much, all the more crazy it seems to throw away $100.

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In the past - it was never "throwing away $100", if the surplus was added to your carried over credit. I personally would rather pay $60 per year (for my $5/mth SMS) and have a $40 credit at the end of the year, than using $100 of my credit to extend my expiry. YMMV. At this point - I don't think I have many options.

I was always hoping that "some day" I'd be able to use my credit for data add-ons, but the pricing is crazy ($20 for 500MB?!? Come on!)...

[Sarcee]

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@barndoor wrote:

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@Sarcee wrote:

If you don't use your cell phone much, all the more crazy it seems to throw away $100.

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It doesn't FEEL right  .... but do the math over a period of time  ... it's the only way to go  unless you have an aggressive   personality and WANT  to fight with Rogers over whether that balance is yours  or really theirs because you had to pay it for access to the network . 

Look at your situation right now  ...you say you can't afford the $100 right now  ...we just showed you how to get a years access for $60 if you won't use a lot of airtime  ... if you switch to the monthly plan it will cost you $60 for just 6 months . 

Why do you think Rogers/Telus / Bell have done away with their anytime type  plans ?  They don't make enough money on it  would certainly seem to be the obvious answer . 

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I have $87.00 credit balance. That's my money I've already paid it. If I pay, say $20.00 two more times (extending two more months), that's $40.00 more, to bring my balance up to $127.00. Then I use $100. of that -- not for actual calls or airtime -- but simply to renew for another year, then I have only $27.00 left for airtime calls. I have spent $100.00 without getting anything for it. I have simply given Rogers $100.00 for....nothing. I spent $100.00 to get $27.00 worth of service. And at 50 cents per minute, that works out to 54 minutes of airtime for $127.00, or $2.35 per minute!

That's not a "FEELING", that's literally throwing away money. Literally....

[57]

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@Sarcee wrote:

I have $87.00 credit balance. That's my money I've already paid it.

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It depends on your personal situation.  If I have a balance of say $150 (which I've accumulated by spending $10/mo per my Auto-Top-Up plan) and I never intend to use that amount because I use my phone only "for emergencies", then extending my access to my phone for a year is "worth it" because I consider the $150 "gone" (no use to me really).  Taking $100 from my balance is better than continuing the $10/mo Auto-Top-Up. for the next year because it saves me $.

If, on the other hand I were a heavier user, I would look at the situation differently and probably go with a totally different plan that charged less per minute anyway.  I would then transfer the $150 to that new plan, which is currently allowed). Each person is different and that's why Rogers has different plans/options to cater to those differences.

Edit to add: If you look at it from a $/minute or $/call, I've been paying quite a bit, however, if you look at the roughly $7/month that I've been paying for 9 years, it's pretty inexpensive insurance to have access to my cell.

[barndoor]

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@Sarcee wrote:

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I have spent $100.00 without getting anything for it. I have simply given Rogers $100.00 for....nothing. I spent $100.00 to get $27.00 worth of service.

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Actually you are getting system access for that $100 .    Its what made that the cheapest plan going if you didn't use much airtime ... because they combined the system access and airtime  . 

Do the math over a 5 year term and see which way wins  .... like has been asked here before ....what are you going to do with the  big balance  that you accumulate  if you  only use the phone for emergency use any way  ?  

Or pay the ten dollars a month flat rate  ... you will pay $120 every year with NO accumulated balance ... you will get more airtime but  but if you don't use many minutes anyway that can amount to more of a waste ? 

It all depends on your use which  way is cheaper . 

[RobTheGob]

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@barndoor wrote:

Actually you are getting system access for that $100 .  

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Having said that - in the past, I used to get a year of system access and a $100 credit for $100... (By putting a $100 voucher on each year and choosing the Anytime (?) plan).

I can see that it would be hard to make money doing that - but that's why we've been on Roger's Pay-As-You-Go for 15 years...

[Alcus440]

Again I want to thank everyone who has posted here as it has helped me resolve my issue with the nasty SMS received.

Here is my update as promised:

I have a balance of over $330 and I am fully paid up until Jan 20, 2019 with no ability to reduce my balance before the end of December 2018. If their text message had offered the option discussed in these forums, I would have opted to have $100 taken from my account but I did not know about that option when I renewed in January and added another $100 unnecessarily.

Good news! I called 1 800 575 9090 (4 for General Information option), (4 for Contact Rogers) and (1 for Urgent Matter). This got me to a live agent.

I explained my situation and that I am currently paid up until Jan 20th 2019 and asked for an extension. They agree to extend the date for me to Dec 31 2019 to allow me to take $100 from my balance next January in an effort to reduce my current balance.

I'm not positive that this will be enough to get me below $150 by December 31st , 2019 but I will certainly be much closer.

I found the compromise to be reasonable and hope others can request and receive the same treatment if your balances are high and in a similar situation.

PS - My Rogers agent was extremely nice and polite. It took a while as she had to put me on hold and request permission from a superior but it was worth the additional time and she even supplied me with a confirmation number to ensure that I do not have any difficulties.

Very professional service!

Thank you Rogers for being reasonable about this.

[Sarcee]

"System Access"?  Why should I pay $100.00 for "system access"? I never paid a system access fee when I joined, certainly not $100.00 . And no other plan or carrier has that.

You are really reaching for excuses.

[57]

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@Sarcee wrote:

"System Access"?  Why should I pay $100.00 for "system access"?

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Call it what you will.  With any plan, from any provider, you're paying a minimum amount per month or per year, whether you use the service or not. Typically, the more you use the service (depending on plan), the lower your cost per minute, but the higher the monthly/yearly cost.  Those who use their cell phones mostly for emergencies, call it "system access" because it's very similar to having access to electricity or natural gas at home. You pay a certain amount per month, no matter how much you use.  Some call this a "customer charge" to cover things like billing, access to CSRs, etc.

[barndoor]

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@Sarcee wrote:

"System Access"?  Why should I pay $100.00 for "system access"? I never paid a system access fee when I joined, certainly not $100.00 . And no other plan or carrier has that.

You are really reaching for excuses.

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LOL  ...

"system access" is just a label   I was using in an attempt  to help you understand where I was coming from . 
Obviously there is a point  about your situation  that I missed .     

Good Luck and please let us know  how it turns out for you .

[Sarcee]

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@57 wrote:

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@Sarcee wrote:

"System Access"?  Why should I pay $100.00 for "system access"?

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Call it what you will.  With any plan, from any provider, you're paying a minimum amount per month or per year, whether you use the service or not. Typically, the more you use the service (depending on plan), the lower your cost per minute, but the higher the monthly/yearly cost.  Those who use their cell phones mostly for emergencies, call it "system access" because it's very similar to having access to electricity or natural gas at home. You pay a certain amount per month, no matter how much you use.  Some call this a "customer charge" to cover things like billing, access to CSRs, etc.

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Nope. When I joined Rogers, I simply paid for a voucher. I spent the entire value of that voucher only on air time.

[57]

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@Sarcee wrote:

Nope. When I joined Rogers, I simply paid for a voucher. I spent the entire value of that voucher only on air time.

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Good for you.  You are indeed a remarkable individual to exactly balance your output with your input for years on end. If only everyone could exactly predict their usage each and every day/month/year.  You must do very well on the stock market. Others are not quite as remarkable and are left using a bit less airtime, or paying for a bit more airtime as required.   I guess you didn't have an emergency near the end of the year otherwise you may have had to pay a penny or two more.  😉

[barndoor]

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@Sarcee wrote:

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Nope. When I joined Rogers, I simply paid for a voucher. I spent the entire value of that voucher only on air time.

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Could you use that airtime on Bell or Telus  ?   Then I would suggest there was an aspect of that  voucher that entitled you to access  the Rogers system .  

[Sarcee]

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@barndoor wrote:

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@Sarcee wrote:

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Nope. When I joined Rogers, I simply paid for a voucher. I spent the entire value of that voucher only on air time.

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Could you use that airtime on Bell or Telus  ?   Then I would suggest there was an aspect of that  voucher that entitled you to access  the Rogers system .  

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What does Bell or Telus have to do with anything? When I bought my voucher it was for Rogers. I paid for air time, not one cent of which went to access fees. I used it all up as air time. Got every penny's worth. No access fee.

[OLDYELLR]

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@wleadie1 wrote:

are the "Resident Experts, Advisors etc" who have been commenting in this thread, compensated in any way by Rogers? (receive an financial honorarium, discounted services, etc)
http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Rogers-Community-Forums-Blog/Introducing-New-Members-to-Rogers-...

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Some years ago I received a "prize", a pair of earphones. Occasionally REs are invited to product launches. That's it. "Advisers etc" are just rankings member are assigned based on the number of posts I think.

[57]

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Sarcee wrote:  When I bought my voucher it was for Rogers. I paid for air time, not one cent of which went to access fees. I used it all up as air time. Got every penny's worth. No access fee.

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Although it may not have been itemized, a portion of that voucher paid for access to the system, to billing information, which you probably made use of either via MyRogers or via your phone and for CSRs (if you used them or not).  I see that we will have to agree to disagree on the "access fee" or "customer charge", however, just because it's not itemized doesn't mean it's not there forming a portion of your payment.

[barndoor]

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@Sarcee wrote:

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@barndoor wrote:

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@Sarcee wrote:

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Nope. When I joined Rogers, I simply paid for a voucher. I spent the entire value of that voucher only on air time.

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Could you use that airtime on Bell or Telus  ?   Then I would suggest there was an aspect of that  voucher that entitled you to access  the Rogers system .  

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  No access fee.

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If their is no access fee included in the price per minute or text that you use .... there should be no time limit on their use  ...so  don't add any money to your account until you have used up those airtime minutes and see what happens .. I bet when your system access   expires  your  airtime minutes won't be worth much . They  go hand in hand . 

 I agree ...that it is complicated .... I expect that  is why they are doing away with this type of plan and going to a flat rate monthly .... where the fee is basically system access for a given number of minutes or texts and you pay airtime for anything over and above that amount .

Anyway the terminology really doesn't change anything  as far as the math of which renewal strategy gets you the best bang for your buck .... if you don't see how using $100 of the balance  does that for you  ....good luck with whatever  you decide to do . 

[Sarcee]

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@57 wrote:

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Sarcee wrote:  When I bought my voucher it was for Rogers. I paid for air time, not one cent of which went to access fees. I used it all up as air time. Got every penny's worth. No access fee.

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Although it may not have been itemized, a portion of that voucher paid for access to the system, to billing information, which you probably made use of either via MyRogers or via your phone and for CSRs (if you used them or not).  I see that we will have to agree to disagree on the "access fee" or "customer charge", however, just because it's not itemized doesn't mean it's not there forming a portion of your payment.

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But that is light years away from using $100.00 as an access fee. There's no comparison. You can't say, 'just think of that $100.00 as an access fee'. Even if we grant the analogy, any hidden un-itemized amount within any voucher I buy that could be counted as the access fee portion, would not be part of any equation I calculate to determine whether it's worth shelling out $100.00 to renew my plan. Any 'access fee' would be infinitesmal over a year.  It doesn't cost Rogers $100.00 for me to access their network. The network only costs Rogers money to operate, not to access. There is no need to charge an access fee in the first place. It's a bogus charge. It's all operational costs.