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Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

phoneq
I've been here awhile

I bought the 100min a year voice Pay As You Go plan which I believe comes with voicemail.  If I call in to set up my voicemail or check it does that count against my 100 minutes of voice?

 

 

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Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

RogersMaude
Moderator
Moderator

Good day @phoneq,

 

Thank you for your post and Welcome to the Forums! Smiley Wink

 

To answer your question; Yes, you will be charged, or airtrime will be deducted from your plan, whenever you dial in to your voicemail to retrieve your messages.

 

Same thing goes in the case where someone would leave you a voicemail. If you have not activated your voicemail box, but it has been added to your line as a feature, you will still get charged when someone calls you and gets the automated message saying that your voicemail isn't active.

 

If you do not want to get charged per minute every time someone leaves you a voicemail, or whenever a message is retrieved, you can request the deactivation of your voicemail feature. You simply have to let a Pay as you Go representative know that you wish to bring this modification to your service. Please contact them at 1-800-575-9090

 

Hope this helps!

 

RogersMaude

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Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

RogersMaude
Moderator
Moderator

Good day @phoneq,

 

Thank you for your post and Welcome to the Forums! Smiley Wink

 

To answer your question; Yes, you will be charged, or airtrime will be deducted from your plan, whenever you dial in to your voicemail to retrieve your messages.

 

Same thing goes in the case where someone would leave you a voicemail. If you have not activated your voicemail box, but it has been added to your line as a feature, you will still get charged when someone calls you and gets the automated message saying that your voicemail isn't active.

 

If you do not want to get charged per minute every time someone leaves you a voicemail, or whenever a message is retrieved, you can request the deactivation of your voicemail feature. You simply have to let a Pay as you Go representative know that you wish to bring this modification to your service. Please contact them at 1-800-575-9090

 

Hope this helps!

 

RogersMaude

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

phoneq
I've been here awhile

Thanks.  I've got a couple more questions.

 

"...you will still get charged when someone calls you and gets the automated message saying that your voicemail isn't active."

Does that mean if someone leaves me a voicemail that's, say, two minutes long, two minutes are deducted from my yearly 100?

 

"If you do not want to get charged per minute every time someone leaves you a voicemail.."

By charged you mean minutes deducted, right?

 

I just called my number.  It didn't go to voicemail and nothing picked up to tell me voicemail wasn't initialized.  What does that mean?

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

Hello again @phoneq,

 

I apologize for the confusion when I used the word "charged". If your plan allows you 100 minutes per year, it will deduct minutes from your airtime package and will only "charge" when you run out of the minutes allowed in your plan.

 

If someone leaves you a two minutes voicemail, yes, they will count towards your yearly allowance.

 

If you called "yourself" and you did not hear your greeting or did not get a message saying that your voicemail is not active, it simply means that it was not added as a feature. It is often the best thing to do and I know a lot of other users have shared with the Community that it's what they chose too.

 

RogersMaude

 

 

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

OLDYELLR
I'm a senior advisor

All air time used is deducted from your balance. If you're using PayGo to save money, cancel the voicemail.

 

How did you "call yourself"? It won't work calling from your cellphone, only your landline or another phone.


Rogers PayGo. Location: S-W Ontario

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

I have the pay as you go unlimited text, evening & weekend talk plan. I haven't set up my voicemail yet.  My question is if a call during the day goes to voicemail will I still be charged for a call even though I didn't actually answer it?

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

barndoor
I'm a trusted contributor

@RogersMaude wrote:

Good day @phoneq,

 

Thank you for your post and Welcome to the Forums! Smiley Wink

 

To answer your question; Yes, you will be charged, or airtrime will be deducted from your plan, whenever you dial in to your voicemail to retrieve your messages.

 

Same thing goes in the case where someone would leave you a voicemail. If you have not activated your voicemail box, but it has been added to your line as a feature, you will still get charged when someone calls you and gets the automated message saying that your voicemail isn't active.

 

If you do not want to get charged per minute every time someone leaves you a voicemail, or whenever a message is retrieved, you can request the deactivation of your voicemail feature. You simply have to let a Pay as you Go representative know that you wish to bring this modification to your service. Please contact them at 1-800-575-9090

 

Hope this helps!

 

RogersMaude


Good solution  ... but it doesn't seem to address whether  you are charged for the airtime  of leaving a voice mail on a properly functioning system  .  

 

Also for someone like @trkychsr will  he/she be able to retrieve voicemails  at no charge  during his evening and weekends free local calling time frame?

 

 

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

barndoor
I'm a trusted contributor

After repeated searches I found this in Rogers  "help and support "  so I can only asume that it is current. 

 

from Rogers website : 

 
" What am I charged for checking or receiving voicemail messages?

When you access your voicemail from your wireless phone, airtime rates, based on your monthly plan, will apply.

If you access your voicemail from outside of your outgoing local calling area while in Canada, you will be charged applicable airtime, plus long distance.

If you access your voicemail while roaming, you will be charged the roaming rates that apply to the country to which you have travelled.

Mobile-to-Mobile calling does not include calls from your wireless phone to your voicemail box.

No charges apply when a message is left for you.  "

 

Maybe someone from Rogers can confirm if this  page from the Rogers website is actually the way Rogers prepaid voicemail works   ? 

 

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

barndoor
I'm a trusted contributor

So, pay as you go people are second class customers yet again it seems  ... the information posted above is incorrect.

 With pay as you go voicemail you pay airtime to receive and you pay airtime  to retrieve a voicemail .  But, if you have something like the $120 free evenings and weekends plan and you call in to retrieve your  messages during your free calling period  you will not be charged for that airtime ... as long as it is a local call  . 

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

OLDYELLR
I'm a senior advisor

That is why, if you have the basic PayGo for occasional use to save money, you should disable voicemail or it will quickly deplete your balance.


Rogers PayGo. Location: S-W Ontario

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

barndoor
I'm a trusted contributor

@OLDYELLR wrote:

That is why, if you have the basic PayGo for occasional use to save money, you should disable voicemail or it will quickly deplete your balance.


Absolutely  .... but it must be frustrating for some if other companies don't double dip like that and the only info posted  on the Rogers website  is  post paid plan information  that uses a protocol similar to everyone else .  The other prepaid company I use, I can call in to retrieve messages for nothing from my landline as well as no airtime charge for messages left  ... no mention of that here either that I can find  ... just seems baffling sometimes . smileywink:

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

Try to figure out my pay-as-you-go smartphone. when I look into my settings, the voice mail number is a +1 416 XXX XXXX , but I am in BC an have +1 250 XXX XXXX?! When I call this# and put then as requested my number, it tells me that this is not a registered voicemail... I called 1 800 575 9090  to figure out what's going on. The CSR made sounds like he just woke up, then he asked me" you want me to activate your voice mail?" No, I would like to know why I have to - most likely - pay LONG DISTANCE when I call my own voice mail.... Do you have maybe a 1 250 number? I told him to not to activate anything so far. I just would like to know why is - when you look into the settings - in the SIM-info under voicemail on differenct ROGERS sims (used in BC) the same +1 416 XXX XXXX number? Calling Rogers on 1 800 575 9090 pushes me almost always off the edge and gets me close to a cardiac arrest, just to get to a 'real' person, and only every other time there is somebody friendly and knowledgable on the other end of the line, who understands, that usually customers are not 'highly trained' Rogers people. If there is a 1 250-or local number for retrieving my voice mail, I still would like to wait with activation, just in case the telemarketer calls are starting with my new #, like they did with my old one, where I had to deactivate my voice mail because of telemarketers leaving 'empty clicks' on my voicemail and I had to pay a second time for listening to these 'clicks'. Sorry, but I am so mad at the moment, it is not necessary for me to have a "plan", pay-as-you-go serves me very well for years, but I lost just now almost 4$ for calling my voicemail, which is anyhow not active.... DUH? So I pay for that. Sorry for that rant, it is exhausting dealing with ROGERS. There are some very good people answering the phones, and some VERY BAD ones. Unfortunately, you can never ever talk to a 'good' person a second time, one has to go through the same hassle over and over again. 

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

barndoor
I'm a trusted contributor

Do the first few posts in this thread answer your questions ?       http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Pay-as-You-Go/Cannot-set-up-Pay-As-You-Go-Voicemail/td-p/286706     

 

Why doesn't Rogers provide a bit more complete  information on how things work  rather than having to search here to find out what experience others have run into  ....

 

I see when I went to  the how to section written by Rogers Darrel .... there is no mention of paying long distance to retrieve voicemail  yet I have seen it mentioned in several other spots.  So which is it ... or do  you have to  call the special toll free number to  not have to pay long distance ? 

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

 

Hello, @PayGoUser

 

Thank you for posting your concern in the Community. Certainly, we strive to provide an excellent experience everytime you reach out to us, however, at times we may disappoint. I would be upset as well if I have received such service. I appreciate your patience.

 

The voicemail retrieval number is based on the region/node your phone number is registered. You don't have to manually dial that number to retrieve a voicemail, you just need to hold "1" key for about 3 seconds to retrieve the voicemail.

 

I'm wondering if your phone was in use in Ontario, hence, the +1 416 voicemail retrieval number. Usually, when you insert the SIM and go through the setup process, the accurate voicemail retrieval is programmed automatically on your phone.  Please try rebooting the phone, it should get the voicemail retrieval number allocated to the Western region and it may not be + 1 250 number. As for the charges you would pay your regular local air time. 

 

If you still see the +1 416 number after the reboot, you have to reach out to Pay As you Go support so that they activate your voicemail and push the retrieval number or walk you through the add the correct number. 

 

Regards,

RogersMoin

 

 

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

barndoor
I'm a trusted contributor

"PAYGO: FAQ’s

 

 

How am I charged for Voicemail on my Pay As You Go account?

 

Voicemail is available with no monthly fee on the Pay As You Go service. Airtime charges (plus long distance and/or roaming where applicable) apply for messages left in your Pay As You Go voicemail and for checking your Voicemail messages. Airtime charges apply if you call a number and a voicemail service answers.

 

 

Am I charged if someone leaves me a voicemail on my Pay As You Go phone?

 

Yes - you are charged for each voicemail received at your local airtime rate (which varies according to your price plan). Plus, you are charged to listen to your voicemail at the local airtime per minute rate.   "

 

Does this mean that there are two different paygo voicemails  ?  

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

this is all non sense, apparently you did read my post only partially. I do have A NEW PHONE, it is A NEW SIM CARD, and it shows the same number for THE OLD SIM CARD.  I cancelled for my old phone# the voice mail, years ago...Please read my post again.

This below is what I see today. What a rip-off. And the 778-xxx-xxxx call is not even possible, because my voice mail is not initialized. (as I called that 778# from my home phone, additional it is also considered LD, beause I was told to dial again with 1 infront, hence LD). I DO NoT WANT MY VOICE MAIL ACTIVATED yet, because the rip-off

06/10/2017 14:43 $0.45 (778) xxx-xxxx Voicemail received Local Call  
06/10/2017 14:16 $0.00 225 Outgoing Call LD Call  
06/10/2017 14:15 $0.95 (416) xxx-xxxx Outgoing Call LD Call  
06/10/2017 14:08 $0.95 (416) xxx-xxxx Outgoing Call LD Call  
06/10/2017 14:07 $0.95 (416) xxx-xxxx Outgoing Call LD Call  
06/10/2017 14:06 $0.95 (416) xxx-xxxx Outgoing Call LD Call

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

oh, btw... I DID contact Rogers support and got very upset, please read my post again... MAN! That's why I posted here in the community-forum... Rogers is Rogers is Rogers is Rogers.... I'm so fed-up

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?


@barndoor wrote:

@OLDYELLR wrote:

That is why, if you have the basic PayGo for occasional use to save money, you should disable voicemail or it will quickly deplete your balance.

 

 


Absolutely  .... but it must be frustrating for some if other companies don't double dip like that and the only info posted  on the Rogers website  is  post paid plan information  that uses a protocol similar to everyone else .  The other prepaid company I use, I can call in to retrieve messages for nothing from my landline as well as no airtime charge for messages left  ... no mention of that here either that I can find  ... just seems baffling sometimes . smileywink:


I know who you mean, "barndoor". And they don't charge for incoming texts. But, I don't use TEXTING. Maybe 10 times within many years of use pay-go. They offer now also DATA, though, I checked their coverage and I am not sure if I want to spend even 100/yr and then be somewhere and have no reception. I don't use my phone all the time, but when I use it, it's usually important.

That "oldydweller" post does not apply for me, because I still did not activate my voicemail, I am just checking my options. If anyone would read a whole post, would be awesome.

 

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

barndoor
I'm a trusted contributor

@PayGoUser  ....My understanding of the situation from previous posts  by Rogers staff  is that you have what I would call  partially engaged   voicemail  ... which means  you either  need to call and tell them to "deactivate it "  or "activate it" .  To tell them not to activate it  gives them grounds to claim ambiguity and misunderstand .

If  you "activate it"  I would suspect that you would get  a local to your phone voicemail box  so you could retrieve  messages via a local  call  ... I don't know if at some point  there would be long distance charges or not  ....they haven't cleared that up in regards to my previous question .  Smiley Sad

 

And if you don't call in and "deactivate"  it   ...you will remain in the partially engaged scenario where they will bill you if someone calls  and gets the message that your voicemail is not active .   A money grab  basically  because why not just have it deactivated right off the bat and call in if you want it activated for use .  Sounds like you have to call in for sure either way with their current protocol  ..... Hmmm.... that might  reduce the load on the Csrs if you only called if you wanted it . Smiley Wink

 

To each their own I guess on the texting   ... 90% of my communication via cell is by text  ... it is its own no fee voicemail ...doesn't have to be answered immediately ,  no long distance  charges  ,  relatively quick if you keep the messages brief , the only downfall is I have a slideout keyboard  and I don't know what I 'm going to do when it fails .. they don't seem to make them anymore  ... I haven't tried a touchscreen yet  that didn't exacerbate fat finger disease .  Smiley LOL

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

how do I de activate my voicemail

Re: Does calling voicemail count towards my used minutes?

57
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@User5019 wrote:

how do I de activate my voicemail


Call Rogers.  The PAYGo people seem to be separate from most other Rogers services, otherwise I'd say to use any of the other means to contact Rogers. See the following link for PAYGo:

 

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Account-Support/Can-t-purchase-data-pass/m-p/426891#M22822

 

I don't believe you can do it online or any other way. 

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