Help: Rogers Billing Mistake

[tyong]

Hi All,

I am sure that I am not the only one that have billing problem with Rogers Cable. Please may I ask for your advice on how to deal with case below?

I have been with Rogers Cable for my Internet, Cable and Wireless for 5+ years. I have been getting the 10% discount on bundle. Due to some accounting/system mistake (as told by the Customer Service), they have accidently removed by bundle discount. They are willing to rectify it for future billing. However, they cliamed that their system will not allowed them to credit back the roughly $700.00 they over charged me. I understand that the customer is advised to check their bill. But, does the customer have take responsibility for a mistake made by Rogers system/billing problem?

I keep all my bills and have all the evidence. Rogers also by law have to keep all system data for 7+ years.

What is the proper way to get my money back? Who should I escalate this to?

Any help or advise is much appreciated.

Tyong

[57]

The regular Rogers CSRs have the capability to rectify certain "errors" up to a certain amount or certain period of time. Say 1 year or $100. I'm guessing they cannot rectify a $700 error. How far back does this go?

You may be able to escalate the issue by asking for customer relations or writing to the office of the president, however, it is incumbent on the customer to check bills and as a provider they cannot be expected to correct something beyond a reasonable amount of money or time. They get to decide what is reasonable unless you wish to take them to court, which would cost you more than the $700.

Visit the Rogers website, search for "Terms of Service". I had a quick glance and found the quote below. You may be able to negotiate a partial credit of your overpayment and put the rest down to experience so that you check your bills in the future.

Quite frankly, whenever my bills change, I check why there was a change, but maybe that's just me.

Edit: I searched the TOS for "discrepancies" and found the following on page 4 - it appears that anything beyond 90 days would be good will on their part:

8. Any questions or discrepancies regarding charges must be reported to us within 90 days of the date of our invoice or other statement. Failure to notify us within this time period will constitute your acceptance of such charges.

http://www.rogers.com/web/content/su...setProvince=ON You want Consumer Terms of Service.

You may also be able to negotiate a larger discount for future bills, if you have a large monthly bill with them. See the following thread - recent posts discussing typical discounts higher than 10%:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=149570

[tyong]

Thanks for the response and information.

I don't like this rule of "8. Any questions or discrepancies regarding charges must be reported to us within 90 days of the date of our invoice or other statement. Failure to notify us within this time period will constitute your acceptance of such charges.". Is it even legal for them to put up a rule like this?

Does the BANKs have the similar rules posted? If the BANK draw money out of your account by mistake and you don't catch it after 90 days. Could they say, sorry. you are out of luck, you didn't catch us from stealing your money.

I asked the CSR if they charged me $1000 by mistake on my bill and I didn't catch it 90 days later. What would happen? Is this rule still apply? The CSR kept silence. I asked, Why would a customer accounted for Rogers's system/human mistake? Why do they need the customer to policing their billing issue? The CSR kept silence...

My case is very different, here is the full story...

I continue to received the bundle discount for many years until 2009 Oct. Then, I notice on Jul, 2010 (9 months later) that my bundle discount has disappeared.

I called them on Jul, 2010 and they admitted that it was either a system/human error and agree to rectify the issue by:

1. Reimburse the 9 months
2. Re-activate the bundle disocunt.

Of course, I was foolish enough to trust their word. On Aug, 2010 billing, I notice that they re-imbursed 3 months. The remaining 6 months are outstanding and bundle discount is still not activate. I called and was told it will be done in Sep, 2010 billing.

For some reason, I neglect to follow up with them and assumed that I don't have to police them every single month. I checked recently and notice that thay haven't done anything with the bundle activation and re-imbursement. They owed me 33 months of bundle discount, which is roughly between $700-$800 dollars.

I called yesterday, they admitted that it was (again) another system/human errors. They are only willing to give me 3 months of re-imbursement. I asked to talk to the manager and will negeotiate accordingly. I will keep everyone posted for the details.

For those who are in legal field, is it even legal for Rogers to do this? I have all the evidence for my case. What is my chance for taking them to court?

I am wondering how manay customers out there are screwed by this as well.

I learn the lessson now. First, never setup auto payment with Rogers. Secondly, never setup online billing with Rogers (I know it is eco-friendly). Third, check my Rogers bill line by line every month or simply move all my services out of Rogers.

Regards,

Tyong

[57]

1. You'll find there are similer, perhaps worse, issues with other providers.

For some reason, I neglect to follow up with them

2. I don't understand how, when there was an issue in 2009, which you picked up in 2010, you let this slide until now, 2012. I believe you should shoulder at least some, if not most of the blame.

What is my chance for taking them to court?

For $700 (or less since you should be able to now negotiate some compensation) your chances of recompense are approximately zero when you factor in your costs for time or lawyer.

3. If you were overbilled over $20/month for 33 months, then you must be paying over $200/mo. I suggest it should be easy for you to negotiate a 20% discount (or more) going forward that would compensate, as discussed in the pricing thread link I provided.

[alebowgm]

Ya, if it were me, I would work out a strong discount on a 2 or 3 year commitment.