Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Shaw Cable billing questions and discussion

64K views 91 replies 51 participants last post by  tux 
#1 ·
Hi there,

I just got a look at my shaw bill for July and the HST portion of it was $9.91 - OUCH.

I have basic phone, hd plus, digital tv and movies and extreme internet.

I am going to have to seriously consider going from extreme to normal hi speed as a result.
 
#5 ·
Hi there,

After seeing my bill today, I just wanted to share how the new B.C. hst, actually impacted a monthly bill for cable services. It will affect all of us in B.C., with this and many other services.

I definitely do apologize if I have wasted anyones time, in reading or responding to it.
 
#6 ·
Sith...Im just looking at my bill also but its for Shaw Direct. In BC also. Current charges 18 Jun-10 to 17 Jul-10 148.85
GST............................................... 4.58
PST............................................... 6.41
HST............................................... 4.96

So i'm paying all 3....and the HST is only untiil July 17

Nothing to apologize for. Just another cash grab as well as another couple of cents a liter for the carbon tax on July 1.
So in reality the HST is just for July so on the the next bill there should be no PST or GST, just HST...right?
 
#7 ·
Hi Killarney, Thanks.

Yeah I didn't even think of that.....there is no way that they can charge pst and gst and then also hst...so it's probably just screwy this month for the bills and then next bill should make more sense - Just HST.

Still sucks though.
 
#12 ·
I guess it wont matter because I'm sure no matter which provider you are with it will be the same. Government has to make money some how. There is another option though ,if you don't want to pay the tax on the service, go back to Free OTA then you won't have to worry about it.Don't what you could do about the phone and internet portion though.
 
#14 ·
reality check

Okay, since we are tossing numbers around, let's make sure it is clear what the numbers are.

Here is an example of my bill:
Cost of services before taxes - 116.85

Pre HST taxes
GST - 5.84
PST - 5.31
Total taxes - 11.15

Post HST taxes
HST - 14.02


Net change - 2.87.

Yes, more taxes, but not enough to make me cancel anything.

Ultimately we have to decide if we want government services or lower taxes. My choice would be lower taxes, but apparently I am out numbered.
 
#16 ·
Ultimately we have to decide if we want government services or lower taxes. My choice would be lower taxes, but apparently I am out numbered.
There is no government services with the HST. It has been said by the BC Liberals that it is designed to be revenue neutral. Therefore, the tax burden is shifted from businesses and onto the consumers with no increase in taxes in the governments hand (but who knows if that is even true).

Honestly, it's all a farce. They have an example using automotive repair on one of the BC Liberal's blog showing how the HST may mean its cheaper to get your car fixed. I bought my truck in 2004, and the hourly rate at the dealership was $100/hr. Today (six years later), it is still $100/hr, so I know that they are absorbing overhead costs. Therefore, when the HST hits, they will just use the money saved towards their overhead.

But anyways, back on topic, the increase is only a few dollars, however I hope for Shaw's sake they dont have another price increase this year...
 
#17 ·
Ya I noticed that on my bill as well.... *sigh

I don't think they will have a increase for prices this year, knowing HST is in place now too.

I'm surprised at how many people are still payoing $100 so with all this job loss going on etc,... I'd think most people would have decided to cut down on the cable bills
 
#22 ·
Shaw billing questions and discussion

I got my bill for the last month, in which i had upgraded to mpeg-4 boxes, and there is a 59.95 installation fee on the bill?

is this because i had someone come to my house to install? because i've had housecalls before and they were not charged to my bill so this seems rather strange to me...

or this an activation fee?

sorry if this is in the wrong place...

thanks guys
 
#23 ·
I got my bill for the last month, in which i had upgraded to mpeg-4 boxes, and there is a 59.95 installation fee on the bill?

is this because i had someone come to my house to install? because i've had housecalls before and they were not charged to my bill so this seems rather strange to me...

or this an activation fee?

sorry if this is in the wrong place...

thanks guys
There really shouldn't be an install fee for installing a DCT if you are a triple play customer (phone, internet & cable). If you are a double play customer installing a DCT there would be a $14.95 charge and a single play customer is $29.95. not sure where the $59.95 would come from.
 
#24 ·
HD Plus Loyalty Discount - Question

Today I called shaw to change my home phone package. I asked them to change me from the $55 full phone package to the Shaw phone Lite package. I was told that I would lose my HD Plus Loyalty discount if I did this. Right now my bill shows $12 for HD Plus and then below this is a deduction (-$4.50) labelled "HD Plus Loyalty Discount". I also pay for shaw's internet service (high speed). At the same time I called to reduce my phone service, I asked them to reduce my internet service from "extreme" to regular "high speed". I was told that this reduction would not affect my HD plus loyalty discount, but that I had to keep the $55 phone service to maintain the HD plus discount.

To me this doesn't make sense. No where does it say that this HD Plus discount is associated with the phone services. At no time did Shaw ever state this to me or put it in writing. My understanding is that I have this loyalty discount because I am a long-time subscriber to the HD Plus services. If the discount meant something else then it should be labelled as such (eg. Shaw full package loyalty discount or some such thing).

Has anyone else had to deal with this? Is anyone else out there getting this discount without the full phone plan? thanks for your help.

P.S. I placed this in the Shaw cable thread because the discount is for cable tv ("HD Plus") even though it involves Shaw phone services.
 
#25 ·
Please use this thread for questions about your Shaw Cable bill — mysterious charges, billing practices, payment issues, etc.
Discussion of TV only accounts or those with bundles that include TV is OK here.
PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT for discussion of programming packages, deals and pricing. For those matters, please see the following existing thread:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=114634
 
#26 ·
Bought the $178 HD box for my parents as a gift. Apparently, I had to buy it under my account because Shaw isn't authorized to put it under my parent's account (okay, will deal with transferring it over later).

Interesting that when I check my account history, instead of reading something like "Purchase, Item # __", it reads "transaction fee $178.00". Then the appropriate taxes are added and it's titled "change in service GST" and "change in service provincial".

I just don't find their billing very straightforward. Anytime you change services you get a 3-page bill full of reversals and then charges. You need to really analyze to ensure they charged correctly.
 
#27 ·
Cable TV service = Headache

I was offered an enticing bundled offer that includes TV+Internet+Home Phone all for $69.95 per month. So I thought, great I'll try it out. I already had Internet and Home Phone with Shaw, and I was paying about $80 with tax for my TV with Bell. So saving more money, it was a no brainer. Plus, the first month was free; no risk in trying it out (just cancel if I don't like it).

To my disappointment, I didn't like the picture and service quality of Shaw's TV. So I decided to cancel. I called in and Shaw tells me that I need to send my equipment in and then they can cancel my TV service. So I thought, ok I'll do that.

So it's been about 2 months and they tell me that I haven't canceled my TV service with them. They've been charging me for the past 2 months for a service I wasn't even able to use. I called when the 1st month bill came and asked why I was being charged when I was promised that my first month of service was free! Shaw tells me that that should be reflected in my 2nd bill.

So I waited and now I have to pay for the service (again, I couldn't use it) for this January! I just called Shaw and asked if they can clear this up. What they tell me is that they have no order call in their records that I wanted to cancel my TV service with them. They argue that I could have another equipment that could decode the signal; they say that they have to cut the signal from coming into my home. Basically, with that said, they refuse to credit me my December and January billing! Shaw basically took about $100 from me for service that was unreliable and didn't even deliver!

Does anyone have had this horrible experience? If yes, what did you do and what was the outcome? I live in the Vancouver area.


Overall, this experience with Shaw has been quite a headache from the start. They couldn't even get what channels I wanted from the start to begin with! I am now considering canceling completely my business with Shaw (Home Phone and Internet)!
 
#28 · (Edited)
You should go into the office to talk to someone in person. If that doesn't work then I wouldn't pay. If they send it to collections tell the collectors you would like to dispute the debt and Shaw will have to sue you in small claims court. I highly doubt they would prevail but who knows nothing really lost other than time. You should also counter sue Shaw for libel/slander though. Companies can't just go around defaming your character like this.

You can also sue prior to it being sent to collections to avoid the credit file hit while you the process goes through the courts. When you win you can claim for legal expenses incurred you should also get damages for the stress this matter has caused you.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top