Fido Roam Charges when Roaming Data is OFF!

Discussion in English Mobility
1

Hi everyone,

I recently experienced unexpected roaming charges from Fido while traveling in Mexico from January 10 to January 18. I made sure to turn off my Cellular Data and ensure that Roaming Data was also off on my phone before boarding the flight to Mexico.

Upon returning and reviewing my Fido bill, I was surprised to see these roaming charges. I immediately started researching and contacted Fido customer support.

Through my research, I discovered that this is a common issue for iPhone users, where there can be “leakage” of data usage even when Cellular Data is turned off.

The data usage during my trip was as follows (the 5MB data usage on January 10 was prior to boarding the flight):

And I was charged with the following:

I called customer support to dispute these charges but was unsuccessful.

My argument is as follows:

  1. I had both my Cellular Data and Roaming Data switched off.
  2. The minimal data usage shows that I had no intention of using data during my trip, and these charges are likely due to glitches in the phone or system that I was not aware of.
  3. I did not consent to using Fido Roam or activate it.
  4. I was not informed that Fido Roam was activated for each day I was charged.

Their argument for the charges being valid is as follows:

  1. There was roaming data usage, regardless of the amount, so I was charged for the full day.
  2. They claim to have sent a text message explaining the charges and that Fido Roam was available if I were to use it.
  3. They suggested I should have switched on airplane mode or removed my SIM card instead of just turning off Cellular Data and Roaming Data.

The best resolution they offered was to refund one day’s worth of charges ($12) and provide me with extra data and free long-distance calls in the next billing cycle.

I find it unreasonable that they can charge for a full day for a mere 15KB of usage (on January 14th). Additionally, by sending a text about Fido Roam, they consider it an automatic opt-in to the service, allowing them to charge as soon as any usage is detected, without explicitly informing you that Fido Roam is activated for the full day.

After speaking with multiple representatives and receiving the same outcome, I have decided to switch to a different carrier and will be filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the CRTC.

2

It seems there’s a bug in the app that automatically switches to using mobile airtime minutes for calls when it detects a weak internet connection, even though this behavior isn’t mentioned on their website. This has affected many users globally. To prevent this, you can try enabling Airplane mode and then manually enabling Wi-Fi before making calls. This should stop the app from using mobile minutes if the Wi-Fi connection is weak. However, this means you can’t use mobile data for WhatsApp calls.

Regarding your roaming charges, it’s possible that despite requesting a roaming block, you were actually opted out of Fido Roam, resulting in pay-per-use charges. Additionally, using Wi-Fi calling can still incur roaming charges, as it uses the internet gateway to access networks, even if it doesn’t use cellular towers. Calls and messages to Canadian numbers while abroad won’t incur extra charges, but those to non-Canadian numbers might.

Considering this, your charges could be from using Wi-Fi calling abroad to non-Canadian numbers, explaining the charges despite Airplane mode being enabled. To avoid this, consider using Simbud.com for an eSIM to save on roaming charges.