Disputing a phone bill
You know what your monthly plan costs, so how come there’s a charge of $40 for “roaming”? And what’s this data overage fee? Get help disputing your phone bill.
What you should know
If you’re surprised, first look at the bill line by line.
Do the charges appear incorrect, or just higher than expected? Have you bought extra services, dialled premium-rate numbers, or been hit with roaming charges?
Are you on a shared plan? Maybe other family members have gone over their limits.
Roaming charges happen when you travel. You may roam onto the network of another provider. This most often happens if you’re travelling outside Canada.
You can incur roaming charges just by leaving your phone turned on while travelling — some apps automatically send and receive data. Even getting a text message can trigger it. To avoid this, disable data or, total failsafe, take out your SIM card altogether.
Roaming is generally not included in phone plans, and roaming rates are typically high. Most providers offer roaming packages or add-ons that you can buy before you travel.
Your provider must notify you, at no charge, when your device is roaming. The notice must clearly explain the voice, text and data charges while roaming — no generic text messages here; they have to get specific!
The good news is that the days of returning from vacation to find a thousand-dollar roaming bill in your mailbox are over. Roaming charges are now capped at $100 per billing period.
Your provider will send you a text when you hit that limit, asking you if you’ll consent to additional charges. You can only get charged over $100 if you say yes. (If you don’t respond, you won’t be able to use data until your next billing cycle.)
Quick tip: when travelling out of Canada, take your SIM card out. Canadian phones have to come unlocked, so you can just buy a local pay-as-go SIM card, load it into your smartphone, and avoid those roaming fees.
Or, as soon as you land, call your phone provider and ask them your options for a roaming package. Don’t presume it’s too late if you’ve already left the country.
Like roaming charges, data overage charges have a cap. It’s $50 within a single billing period, unless you explicitly agree to pay additional charges.
If your phone was lost or stolen and someone else runs up a big bill on your phone, you’ll usually have to pay for the use of the phone up until the moment you notified your provider.
If you’re planning to dispute your bill, you may get charged late fees for not paying on time.
If your account balance exceeds $50 or has been past due for more than two months, your provider can disconnect your service. But they’ll have to warn you, normally at least twice, before doing this.
Take action
Who can help
If the cellphone company continues to stonewall you, there are government agencies that may be able to help.
Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services
CCTS deals with cellphone, TV and internet service complaints.
Competition Bureau
Deals with complaints about false or misleading advertising.
This information from People’s Law School explains in a general way the law that applies in British Columbia, Canada. The information is not intended as legal advice. See our disclaimer.
Related
On Dial-A-Law
Dial-A-Law has more information on Cellphones in the section on Consumer.