🚀 go-pugleaf

Beware: Bell Sympatico (Canada) unfair billing practices


If you want to get Internet service
from Bell Sympatico (Canada), they
ask you for your credit card number.

Then they took money from the c.c.
every month, upfront for the next
month.

So far, so good.

But sometimes their billing computer
makes mistakes, and, for example,
bill you for another, more expensive
service. Or forgets to take into account
the promotional rate you were promised.

Then you call their customer service,
their representative apologizes,
and promises that the overpayment
will be credited to your account
and will cover the next month or two.

So far, so good ?

Then the next payment date comes,
and their billing computer repeats
its mistake. You are overcharged
again.

You call the customer service again,
the representative apologizes again,
and promises that the overpayment
will be credited to your account
and will cover next month or two,
again. Sounds familiar, eh ?

But now your overpayment covers
several month upfront, so you prefer
to get the money back to your credit
card. You don't want to credit
the Sympatico for several months
upfront, do you ?

And then you receive the nasty news:
they are not going to return your
money!  Yes, they claim the money
are theirs regardless of the fact
that they weren't entitled for getting
them at all.

Let me clarify: there is no long-term
contract involved. The service
is on month-by-month basis
and it is agreed it will be paid
one month upfront, nothing more.

But according to their internal policy
(about which you heard nothing
up to now, nor it is mentioned
in the agreement you read before)
the only possibility of clearing
the account is using the overpayment
for buying their services.

And it doesn't matter, that you
don't want to use their services
anymore. Or if you die in the
meantime. They claim the money
is theirs and that's all.

Nice, eh ?

I understand that the correct name
for the situation, when a company
takes money which this company
is not entitled for, and when
this company don't agree to return it
- is simply 'theft'. What do you
think ?

Such a policy means, for example,
that Sympatico would be entitled
to keep money of an individual,
who was overcharged mistakenly
by $10,000 (why not ?) and died
after seeing the credit card bill.

Interesting, isn't it ?

Bad Sympatico, bad.