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***

[jdshang]

Yes. you've got your point. The GC may not the best example to describe this case.

I understand the Rogers account has the expire date. But the balance I accumulated was not under the agreement when I made my purchase. If Rogers want to change the term it should be against ONLY for the new sign ups. Would this make sense? 

[barndoor]

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@jdshang wrote:

But the balance I accumulated was not under the agreement when I made my purchase. If Rogers want to change the term it should be against ONLY for the new sign ups. Would this make sense? 

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Don't you mean the balance accumulated was under the  original agreement ? 

That seems reasonable  or if Rogers has identified that those big balances are an issue for them  ...and they have now given notice that they are  .... anyone currently  with a high balance should be allowed  to keep it and use it as they deem best for themselves rather than Rogers imposing a ceiling  of $150,threatening to take the excess away   and  only giving a year to use what many loyal customers have likely  taken a decade  or more to build  ....  it's just a slap in the face for loyal  customers and gains Rogers nothing  really in the long run . 

This forcing customers into a position where they feel they  need  to threaten contacting  CCTS or whatever gov't oversight there is   , calling the office of the president and the ombudsman etc  to try and negotiate  their  best deal  is just slimy tactics   on the part of Rogers  IMO . 
 

[jdshang]

Totally agree. But individual negotiation may not give customer a fair deal.

[barndoor]

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@jdshang wrote:

Totally agree. But individual negotiation may not give customer a fair deal. 

The part I find ironic about this whole situation is that people like myself ..... I lost my trust for Rogers  well over a decade ago  when there was a kerfluffle about account numbers and bill payments  ....My loyalty has been to the best deal ever since not the company .  That   is why I took any means at my disposal to keep my Rogers balance low  ...so I could walk if a better deal came along and because I just don't trust them with any significant amount of credit .  The irony here is that this latest action  of a balance cap and removing any credit over that amount, only penalizes  those who have been most loyal to the company ... it doesn't affect me in the slightest other than with the new $50  renewal option I can keep my balance even lower  so if something better comes along .... it's even easier for me to switch . 

[jdshang]

Smart way to deal with them!

[BS]

@barndoor  I am glad that we have been given latitude on our discussions on pricing and options in this thread, because it is only through word of mouth that some are even learning about this whole change, and this is a good place for word of mouth when Rogers has provided no clarity on this topic from day one.

When they said, consider options - so long ago now I don't remember what was said exactly, little did we know that the options would be all over the map, which is also nice because it provides for flexibility for the customer.

I see why people are frustrated - the largest group that this is impacting are those who have had Anytime minutes, or which ever plan they went on and have creatively found ways to work with their payments and and their carry overs.  The plan model has changed very little in over decades, and speaking for myself, I really don't like change, but can accept it when the change is provided in a clear and consistent manner (which I will acknowledge is not generally the nature of change - it usually comes when we least want it, and it disrupts my comfort with life).

But the reality is that we are customers of a company, that currently is largely like the dog being wagged by its tail (the tail being change in technology, and competitive pressures and a CRTC model that was defined by asking customers what they wanted to see and that led to basically flexibility to move easily, notice and clarity of our contracts - now you could actually contact them and they have to provide us with a replacement of our contract under the new rules - probably, because some of us never did get copies, just verbal quotes, written quotes, which we found out were different than we had thought, and often we are left saing, "I don't remember ever agreeing to that or receiving any notice", and low and behold, they find a document or a audio recordeing that supports we did agree, and if we send it to CCTC they appeal it, and then when they appeal it the CCTC has used terms, like the company provided them with "reams of paper", and then a decision gets made.

So I thank the moderators for keeping the flow of this thread flowing as it is one of the few ways that people can be informed without phoning in or chatting, and on this topic, one may not want to spend that time without some idea from here as to what is going on.

Bruce

[BS]

@barndoor  Like you, I am loyal to my cash flow, both now and for future - this is why I have historically stayed away from contracts, bought lower end phones, stayed away from share everything "value added" plans where value is defined by them, not me, and am constantly keeping myself aware of the protections under the CRTC codes, and why I never agree to things on the phone, and if they intercommunicate, I reevaluate once I get a written statement. I don't agree until I have that written statement (as required by CRTC) in my hands, or in PDF.

It drives me nuts the amount of "individual communication" that the companies force us into which just creates confusion and miscommunication for everybody involved.

I am not tied to Rogers in any way anymore, and can walk any time I feel like it, and at my age, I also have the freedom to change my life style and preferences and to even live without some features, options, or even some services.

This whole incident has been the best example of a poorly communicated change, whatever the reasoning was, it has been a great forum thread to educate us al where we stand as Rogers customers.

As has often been said, Rogers is first responsible to their shareholders and top CEO's decisions and when the decisions from CEO's don't work to benefit or liking of the board of directors, they have moved on to another.

Our power is our feet, our ability to communicate, and to understand the options in front of us, and as I have learned, don't get yourself trapped into contracts where it may cost you a lot to get out - you never know when life will change and you may not be able to afford the cash flow.

Great discussion, take care everybody and happy negotiating.  Stick to your desires and your pocket book.

Bruce

[OLDYELLR]

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@BS wrote:

@barndoor  I am glad that we have been given latitude on our discussions on pricing and options in this thread, because it is only through word of mouth that some are even learning about this whole change, and this is a good place for word of mouth when Rogers has provided no clarity on this topic from day one.

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Yes, it's only through word of mouth in this forum that PayGo customers have learned about being able to use their high accumulated balance to renew instead of plunking down another $100 + tax for a year. While 100/year is a really good deal for occasional use, being able to use your balance to renew is even better. Shame on Rogers for not publicizing this option and not making it available on line.

[barndoor]

Just curious  @OLDYELLR ....did you get a notice of some kind about their  $50/6 month option for renewal from balance ? I got an email  about a week ago about it  . 

[OLDYELLR]

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@barndoor wrote:

Just curious  @OLDYELLR ....did you get a notice of some kind about their  $50/6 month option for renewal from balance ? I got an email  about a week ago about it  . 

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I have not received such an email, only read here about customers being offered this. But my current balance is about $267, due to expire in September.  When I renew by using $100 out of that,  I'll likely be under the $150 cap anyway.

[barndoor]

hhmmm  ...thanks .... I wonder if it was only sent to those with balances  between  $60 and $110.   

or with a renewal in the next couple months 

[jdshang]

Just did. Thx

[barndoor]

Have those with a high balance been finding  a satisfactory exchange for their balance ? 

[Marg1]

I do the same as you

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@lmcjipo wrote:

My balance is significantly higher than $250 and in terms of them taking it away, their own guidelines clearly state that "Refill before expiration date to roll over your balance" which I have made sure that I've done for the last 7-8 years or so.

As mentioned, I'm someone who opted for prepaid not because I couldn't pass a credit check but because I don't use my cellphone that often and I'm generally around a landline phone over 75% of the time (while I'm at work and while I'm at home) and despite what cellphone carriers and VoIP providers might state, landline connections are generally better/clearer than either of these services so when I'm at home/work and need to make a call, I'll generally pick up the landline instead of using my cellphone.

In terms of transferring to a postpaid plan, I'm almost 100% sure that Rogers will give me this option BUT why would someone who is eligible to go on a postpaid plan (i.e. can pass a credit check) which includes minutes (and possibly texts) and has a minimum monthly plan charge of ~$20/month when that same person is on a prepaid plan which includes 0 minutes and 0 texts, pays a high rate of $0.50/minute on local calls, and does not use more than the $100 in a year?

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I do the same thing my cell phone is just for emergencies. I curently have $140. bal and the next $100. is due Aug 4 2018.  I use my cell for long distance instead of my no frills land line.  I guess they don't want to give us the $100. Cr. for the next year.   One year I had over $300. left  and got a credit for 2 years.  I don't make a lot of long distance calls.  

[OLDYELLR]

My balance is $261.48 right now.  I'm due for renewal in September, when I will use $100 of it. Since anything over $160 will be lost, I'm pretty sure I' won;t lose much or anything. I too use my PayGo cellphone for long distance instead of my landline if I have a healthy balance that won't get used any other way.

[Johnny99]

Any opinions on the offer of unlimited Canada wide calling and texting for $25 monthly?

[jdshang]

 Hi All,

Here is my theory... we paid $100 for 2 services: 1) buy $100 minutes; 2) buy one year service time. with new rule of maximum balance amount of $150, it could hurt a lot of people who rarely use the cell phone include myself.

Rogers is offering an option to use your own balance to buy service time for next year, but we still lose $100 minutes. This is not right. I was over $350+ and I discussed with rogers and they were able to refund me the cash/check to make my balance just below the maximum allowed.

BTW, I also added text service using my balance which can provide me more convenience, cheaper than make a phone call.

[pegfredhead]

I just got off the phone with Rogers after 40 minutes of frustration.  I had given them $100 of my large credit balance so that I would not have to top up for a year.  As others have noted, this money did not buy me ANY minutes.  This was not explained to me when I did it or I would never have done it.  Live and learn.  As compensation for my "inconvenience" I was given $20. back onto my account.....*sigh*   However, I enquired directly with the agent as to what the maximum balance of credit was.....and was told multiple times that there WAS NO LIMIT. She continued to insist that there was no such thing as a $150. limit and that any balances at Dec. 31.2018 would NOT be reduced to $150.  I directed her to this forum with no less than 29 pages of discussion on the issue. She STILL insisted there was no such thing and told me many people had balances of over $1000. on their accounts and were in no danger of losing anything.  Have they changed their tune?  Or is she giving me incorrect information?

[Johnny99]

I would sure also like an answer to this. Perhaps a Rogers monitor will give us the information.

[OLDYELLR]

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@pegfredhead wrote:

I just got off the phone with Rogers after 40 minutes of frustration.  I had given them $100 of my large credit balance so that I would not have to top up for a year.  As others have noted, this money did not buy me ANY minutes.  This was not explained to me when I did it or I would never have done it.  Live and learn.  As compensation for my "inconvenience" I was given $20. back onto my account.....*sigh*   However, I enquired directly with the agent as to what the maximum balance of credit was.....and was told multiple times that there WAS NO LIMIT. She continued to insist that there was no such thing as a $150. limit and that any balances at Dec. 31.2018 would NOT be reduced to $150.  I directed her to this forum with no less than 29 pages of discussion on the issue. She STILL insisted there was no such thing and told me many people had balances of over $1000. on their accounts and were in no danger of losing anything.  Have they changed their tune?  Or is she giving me incorrect information?

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First of all, exactly which prepaid plan do you have and how long have you had it?

I have the original talk anytime plan that runs a balance and deducts from it so much for each minute or text or data used.  I can renew it for a month by adding various amounts or for a year by adding $100. I usually call and use $100 from my balance to renew if I have at least that much. However, this year Rogers announced

(a) Any balance amount over $150 at the end of this year will be lost unless it's used.

(b) These plans will be converted over to $10/month plans talk/text plans at the end of March, unless you called to have your plan grandfathered, which is what I did.

Some people with a large balance have asked to have it applied to a regular post-pay plan, but in my view, if someone accumulates a large balance on PayGo they they really don't use their phone enough to justify the cost of any post-pay plan.

The money you've paid Rogers has to be somewhere. I would suggest calling the PayGo number and get this straightened out. They are very knowledgeable and helpful.

You can reach PayGo at 1-800-575-9090. To reach a representative choose option 4, then option 4 again (how to contact Rogers). At the end of the information on how to contact Rogers, you will select option 1 to speak with an a agent.

[jdshang]

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@pegfredhead wrote:

 However, I enquired directly with the agent as to what the maximum balance of credit was.....and was told multiple times that there WAS NO LIMIT. She continued to insist that there was no such thing as a $150. limit and that any balances at Dec. 31.2018 would NOT be reduced to $150.  

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May be they adjusted their policy due to huge impact. You may note it down the agent's name and they will response for what info they give out.