Hi,

I moved to Canada in '09 and am about 20 months into my 3 year contract.
I am on the $100 family voice + data plan from Rogers, which includes 1GB shared data, and... 400 shared minutes, I think? I never actually got a copy of my contract, I'm just trying to decipher my bill.
I have call display on both lines, ($8 each - In Australia, that's completely free with every carrier. )
We end up paying approximately $30 extra a month for 'long distance' charges, which mostly consists of calling from a town 40km away...
All-in-all, total bill is usually about $168.
My partner got an iphone at the beginning of the plan, and I brought my own from Australia. When the iphone 4 came out, I asked if I could get upgrade pricing seeming as I never got a phone initially - they said no.

It SOUNDS like I'm being screwed - I just really haven't thought to look into this until now. Is there anything I could do about this? All advice appreciated.

You're not getting screwed, per se, but I think you could find a better option. Start by getting Rogers to define your plan. You say you get 400 minutes, but do you also get free evenings and weekends? Most people do. What about text messaging, is that included?

$50 each per month would not be unreasonable for unlimited evenings and weekends, 200 anytime minutes, 500 MB of data, and some kind of text plan. However, the first thing you should probably look into is a long distance add on, which would probably reduce your long distance costs.

It's unfortunate that you locked into a contract without getting a phone subsidy, but I'm afraid that there's not much you can do about that now.

Call them and tell them you feel you are paying too much. Rogers is legendary (retentions) for working with you to adjust your bill. If they don't play nice ask them how much it will be to cancel your contract early as there is more competition in the market now than 20 months ago. That will generally get you to the people you need to talk to for adjusting your plan the way you want. In my experience you may have to call back more than once to speak with someone who will be willing to go the extra mile for you as far as setting up your plan.

I would also suggest looking at perhaps splitting the family plan up into two separate plans this way you have more flexibility and can fine tune your specific needs between you and your partner. For example, perhaps you happen to be the one that is using the most long distance minutes and your partner uses almost none - you need the LD pack.

As far as the phone, you may be able to negotiate that but they will almost always force you to renew a 3 year contract. That's how they ensure the subsidy on the phone. I have heard of some people negotiating with only a 2 year renewal but it is very YMMV.

Finally, there are lengthy threads in other forums which discuss the Rogers plans and various options and successes people have had with them. You should read through them and have a look at what may work for you. Just google Rogers + Plans + Forums and they will pop up.

Thanks very much for the insights, and I do intend to place a couple of calls to Rogers once I've gotten myself up to speed on how they usually deal with others.

Do you think I'd be liable for the contract cancellation charges if I wanted to split the family plan into two separate plans? They seem a lot more flexible and I wouldn't need to pay for what I don't use.