In my latest bill, I noticed that they have added a new charge called the LD Network Access Charge. It comes to $2.95 a month. I dropped the basic Telus long distance plan years ago as it didn't warrant the extra cost each month. When I make a rare long distance call, I just pay the higher Telus basic rates.

I called Telus about this new charge and they informed that this charge was recently approved by the CRTC. If I didn't want to pay the amount, that would mean that I could not make long distance calls from my phone anymore.

Any other Carrier have this?

How Telus can remain in business is beyond me. I'll be looking to try out Shaw Digital.

Your L.D. carrier would still be Telus. Transfer your L.D. to a service which does not have the charge (otherwise known as a re-biller).

I got this charge too, this was the final straw with Telus. I'm now with Shaw digital lite.

We rarely make long distance charges too, so we don't have a LD plan with Telus. This $2.95 recurring fee is not an actual plan, you still have to pay LD charges on top of that.

Our monthly bill with telus was $42 or 43 a month, just for basic phone service with call display. This is over $10 a month difference than Shaw. And with Shaw you get more features.

I'm glad I'm rid of Telus, I won't even get their cell service either.

Bell also has a charge - depends on what plan you have too, whether you use LD, etc.

Customers who do not subscribe to a Bell long distance plan will pay a $1.25 Long Distance Network Connection Fee on the first long distance call placed each month. If no long distance calls are made during the month, there will be no charge.

http://www.bell.ca/shopping/PrsShpPns_Lng_BaseRateNotification.page?EXT=PM~1002~BC_eDMWi reline_Dec_10122007_En_Off&PMUID=PM~99999999~1002~BC_eDMWireline_Dec_10122007_En_Off

Nickels and dimes - where the profits are... ;)

I have a grandfathered rate with Bell, which may end this month since it's no longer listed under the new plan options. It'll be interesting to see what happens on my next bill.

You will get stuck with the 1.25 network charge if you use your Bell Calling Card (since that is Bell LD) while traveling.

Best to see if your LD provider for your home service has a Calling Card as well and get one of those and then call Bell and make sure you CANCEL your existing Bell calling card (and tell them why :p)

Hey satanshollow, I hear where you're coming from. Our telus bill use to be a few dollars less than Shaw lite, so we didn't bother changing over, but then came those LD charges. What was worse was that they retro charged us the month before as well, so enough was enough.

We now pay the same price for our phone but with added features, and I hope we never have to go back to Telus.

If you sign up with another long distance provider ie. yak
the LD charge of $2.95 will be dropped.
That's what I did.

Just noticed this extra $1.25 on my Bell bill. We pay for the most minimum phone plan. No frills, etc. I guess now we have to pay an extra $1.25 month when we decide to make a long distance call.

Is there a consensus on who has the cheapest landline? Our Bell landline is $25.72/month. Includes 911 and the ever-popular touch-tone service. And then add tax. Is that as cheap as it gets?

I received a $1.25 charge on Jan.31 from my last bill. Was going to call them but forgot about it. (how many people do that?)
Then today i get my next phone bill with another $1.25 charge on Feb.19 for a LD network connection fee.
So today i decide to call Bell to remove this 'mistake'. I am told it's a new thing in place since January 1. I will only be charged this at my first LD call of each month. If no LD calls are made, then no extra fee.

oooooookay. So how do i get rid of this? I need a LD plan i'm told. So i check Bell's website for LD plans. $5 a month gets you 5c a call, $2 a month gets you 10c a call etc.
One option they have is 15c a minute plan with $0 a month fee. So i click that but before i checkout i see a $5.95 system access fee.
A live tech pops up and we chat, i ask him about the fee and he says it's a monthly fee.

So what he just told me and he double checked this is a no monthly fee plan has a $5.95 monthly fee added to the plan. So the $5 monthly plan has a $5.95 monthly fee added as well.

It's not really a big deal personally, i don't make many LD calls. But Bell needs to stop adding all these hidden charges and fees from customers. Tell it like it is!

Nickel and dimes, but it's millions for them at the end. Don't say it's $30 a month for phone service when in reality it's $50.

i take it this is only appicable telus land lines and not telus mobility accounts right?

I should add that my post above was for Bell account, not Telus. Just wanted to show that Bell was doing the same.

And no, it's only land lines.

$5.95 a month is not nickels and dimes. :eek:

Plans are available that have no service fee. They are getting more difficult to find. Most of the big, established providers are implementing them. Long distance plans are very common. Many organizations, clubs and even banks are offering them for free. Check around.

CRTC orders Telus to pay back the $2.95 to customers who did not make long distance calls. (http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/NEWS/RELEASES/2008/r080417.htm)

In November 2007, TELUS began charging close to half a million customers in Alberta and British Columbia a monthly network-access fee of $2.95. These customers had not signed up for a long-distance plan, either with TELUS or another company, and the charge applied even if they did not make long-distance calls or if they made long-distance calls using only dial-around long-distance services.

I too cancelled my LD to avoid the 6 buck or so per month charge, assuming that would be the end of it with no additional charges. I was not told that there would then be a $2.95 charge. I asked about having the $2.95 charge waived and was told there would then be a $10 charge if I ever wanted to come back to them. After threatening to pull my cell phones and internet, they agreed to waive the 10 bucks. Then I discovered that my Advanced Call Forwarding had been converted to Call Forwarding Variable. Their answer? It was not compatible with the Toll Restriction service. It was no longer offered, but existing customers could continue to use it. Because they had arbitrarily removed it, I was told I would be a new customer for that service and I was out of luck. After I reiterated my intent to cancel all Telus services, they agreed to move me back to the previous setup - #2.95 a month, but gave me a loyal customer bonus to defray THAT charge. I now have my Advanced Call Forwarding back. My cost? About 2 hours on the phone, screaming at CSR's and managers, and I'm sure about five years of my life!

Telsu charges me a $4.95 LD fee just 'cause. When my internet contract is up, they're toast.

I called Telus a few months ago to demand they take off the $4.95 fee for LD. After arguing a bit, they agreed to do it only when I threatened to cancel my Telus account. This morning, I looked at my Telus phone bill and noticed the $2.95 fee because of 1 LD call I made last month.

I called Shaw this morning and signed up for their residential "Lite" phone service as I rarely call LD(I use skype). Not only will my monthly phone bill be $30 less, I'll also get a $8.95 reduction in the cost of my Shaw X-treme speed Internet connection.

Just wish I had done this months ago.

Just noticed this extra $1.25 on my Bell bill. We pay for the most minimum phone plan. No frills, etc. I guess now we have to pay an extra $1.25 month when we decide to make a long distance call.

Is there a consensus on who has the cheapest landline? Our Bell landline is $25.72/month. Includes 911 and the ever-popular touch-tone service. And then add tax. Is that as cheap as it gets?
I just have a standard phone line from Bell. No other features, no LD plan. It's now 24.83 a month down from 25.05 a few months ago. That includes touch tone service. I wonder if I can get that taken off :)

I just called Telus this morning to say that I was considering cancelling my service and switching to Shaw. Out of the blue I was offered the same no frills plan at a reduced cost of $16.95 per month instead of the $23.90 I'm currently paying (this excludes LD as I cancelled this as soon as the addition $2.95 LD charge appeared).

If I want LD and Caller Display she offered me a $22.00 per month plan!!

Hey guy I hear where you are coming from we switched our LD service from telus to shaw years ago I'd say it's was the best move we've done I went up to a guy at the telus store and I asked him how much is a basic line with no features he's like $23.95 my jawdroped and I switched my cell service from telus to rogers best move ever!!!

I thought it was time to give this issue a bump.

When Telus dreamed up this blatant end-run cash grab, it infuriated many
customers who like myself left Telus to protest.

On April 17, 2008 the CRTC ruled (http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2008/dt2008-33.htm) that it indeed was an end-run cash grab
and ordered a refund to affected customers.

I have not heard any follow-up news since and have certainly not received
my refund check from Telus :rolleyes:.

Anybody out there with some news?