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Any chance of getting cell phone bill reduced?
SilverWind
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I got a text message from my sister this morning, asking "Hey, are you able to check my phone bill for me?"
With a heavy sense of dread I did so online, and it revealed that she had racked up about three hundred and sixty dollars worth of long distance costs. She's currently travelling across Ontario and has for the past five weeks. Her excuse for all of this? "Yea, i thought it was calculated by distance... my friends just told me otherwise... Ugh. Help please."
I have no idea how she got that into her head. This is the third fucking time she's done such a thing and I've warned her multiple times. It's the first time that we're a bit tight for money though, so I was wondering if there is anyone we can talk to to get this insane number reduced.
I have such a headache right now.
We're with Rogers Wireless. I'm going to punch a pillow right now or something.
Any help or even a "yeah, there's no way out of this one" is appreciated.
With a heavy sense of dread I did so online, and it revealed that she had racked up about three hundred and sixty dollars worth of long distance costs. She's currently travelling across Ontario and has for the past five weeks. Her excuse for all of this? "Yea, i thought it was calculated by distance... my friends just told me otherwise... Ugh. Help please."
I have no idea how she got that into her head. This is the third fucking time she's done such a thing and I've warned her multiple times. It's the first time that we're a bit tight for money though, so I was wondering if there is anyone we can talk to to get this insane number reduced.
I have such a headache right now.
We're with Rogers Wireless. I'm going to punch a pillow right now or something.
Any help or even a "yeah, there's no way out of this one" is appreciated.
SilverWind on
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you could also ask them if you could get a long distance plan added and then back dated to when your sister started traveling.
personally, I'd just cut off her phone :P
I'm making sure she's paying for her own cell phone from this point on. She gets a monthly allowance plus various bills covered since she's 21 and still in school. She's not stupid, just... I don't know. I guess this is pretty fucking stupid of her, yes.
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(1) Be polite and nice, but firm. Smile when you're on the line even if you're really frustrated.
(2) Underscore how you've been a longtime customer and your bills are always paid and you really didn't expect this outsized expense. If this isn't an accurate description of the account holder it's not really going to help.
(3) You're going to have get concessions from the tier 1 billing support rep; escalation is probably not going to help for a genuine overage issue. If the 1st call in doesn't go well you can get off the line and try again a few times to see if you can get a more sympathetic rep; heck if the rep sounds bitchy, just hang up before you start.
(4) FWIW I've had better luck getting a female operator to do a credit, and my wife has had better success getting a male operator to do the same. Don't know if that means anything or is just chance.
(5) If all else fails go for sympathy "I'm really really sorry. I didn't expect a bill of this size. It won't ever happen again. Is there anything you can do cause I don't see how I can afford to pay it at this time."
She may not shape up til the account's in her name and she has to deal with a canceled line if she doesn't pay. Even that might not work, cause their child being incommunicado is unacceptable to a lot of parents and they might just keep eating the bill. Maybe they can move her to pre-paid?
She's 21? My god I'd tear her a new one. Hell, I wouldn't negotiate, I'd let her do it and when she failed I'd make her pay.
It's funny, because this kinda puts everything into perspective. Since she's the youngest, my parents and I tend to forgive her faults more easily, and help her out quite often. I guess she isn't that young anymore.
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I don't understand why this is causing you trouble, is there some sort of backstory I'm not aware of which explains why you're responsible for your adult sisters cell phone irresponsibility? I'd put her on her own plan and just let her figure it out, seems like she knew something was up since she asked you to check but she doesn't really care.
Anyway, if your contract is up I'd try to negotiate a new one with a long distance plan and get it back-dated to before the trip, other than that I don't think you have much leverage, but I hope you can figure it out, $360 is a lot of scratch just for some chatting.
Also, she's 21 man. She has a monthly allowance, make her pay. It won't happen again.
Edit: 3rd time?! She DEFINITELY needs to pay the bill. Once, it happens. Twice, shouldn't happen again. Third, she needs to grow up and learn a lesson about the real world. Stop covering for her.
At 21 I was living in my own apartment and working full time to afford my rent, expenses and tuition while going to school full time. When you baby someone, they will regress or mature at a much slower pace. I wouldn't accept her behavior from a 15 year old.
Well, she can't check by herself at the moment because she doesn't have internet access herself at the moment. Apparently she just realized there was possibly a problem with her phone usage today. Not a good excuse, I know.
(possibly TL;DR story, but since you asked...)
I've always been the person with a better head for finances/contracts/etc, and as the older sibling, working out this stuff was always my responsibility. Since my parents are no longer living in Canada, they've basically put me in charge of running the household, taking care of my sister, etc, etc. A few months ago I spoke out about this, as the stress of managing the bills plus buying the groceries plus cooking, cleaning and helping out her and my elderly relatives was kinda getting in the way of me being able to do my own things. Seems like I still have a few mental blockages to work out, though, in regards to what is my responsibility and what isn't.
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What does she contribute to the household exactly? You pay the bills, do all the shopping, cooking and cleaning? I'd move out if that was my situation.
ps what kind of phone/plan can't check the bill from the phone? I can check my minutes, our total minutes, bill amount, etc all from the phone for free, either via data or voice menu.
Ah, there should be a method to check the bill direct from the phone--I remember using that when I had a pay as you go plan, but we've never used it since getting a contract.
And she contributes absolutely nothing to the household. I've tried allocating her chores, but she shirks them. I've gotten on her case about it, but nothing works. Moving out/ditching her isn't an option for me, but she has stated that she wants to move out on her own fairly soon. My parents freaked out a little over this, and while I don't think it's a good idea (she wants to move in with a guy who has formerly cheated on her), I know she's old enough to make her own choices. That and.. well, it should be one heck of a learning experience for her.
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You're far more sympathetic than I, I probably would have put her out by now. Sounds like a good, cold smack in the face by reality will do her some good.
Shogun Streams Vidya
Letting your sister get away with this kind of behavior is setting her up for some serious failure later on down the road, like when she's stuck living with cheating boyfriends because she can't find any one else willing to put up with her shit. She's going to have to learn how to be responsible at some point or another, might as well start with you.
But, so saying that, now isn't the time. Leaving her possibly scared and incommunicado won't help. Wait until she's home ... <insert evil cackle>
It sounds like your parents will baby her, and there's nothing you can do to stop them. Try starting from the bottom with something like this
Treat her the age that she's acting! Tell her that monthly allowance is *everything*, and if she wants more (i.e. to pay her cell bill) make her earn it.
CHORES...
Cleaners here earn approx. $30 an hour (and they do a tidy job too). It's a stupidly large amount considering the circumstances, but it's one that she may actually do -- because it's $30.
Good luck, hope this helps
Seriously, 21 years old is not a freaking child. At 18 you're and adult and responsible for yourself, if your sister runs up a big cell phone bill, its her own problem. You should have zero involvement in managing your 21 year old sister's financial problems and complete lack of responsibility or forethought.
You're a brother, not a parent. Its not your job to take care of your sister when she is 21 years old. She's an adult, and she got herself into this situation, I say let her get out of it. She will never, ever, grow out of being an irresponsible person if she does not suffer the consequences of her mistakes.
Please tell me this cell phone is in her name and not yours?
Cancel her phone contract.
Give her less allowance.
If she is going to act like a child treat her like one.
Before you do this, explain to your parents, that they have placed responsibility on you, you in turn are going to discipline her as you see fit while you run the household.
Satans..... hints.....
As someone who actually is a call center rep (albeit for a cable company, not cellphones) I can tell you that as soon as I hear someone say "I'm a long time customer who always pays his bill" I shut right the fuck down. You're a long time customer cause we're the best provider, and of course you pay your bills, it's not a courtesy on your part, it's the legal agreement you entered into with us. fucker.
all the other advice is sound, be nice don't get mean, a supervisor is going to say no, almost guaranteed, and an opposite gender rep is more likely to be more sympathetic to your story.
yeah, don't go the "i always pay my bills ..." route, at least at first. save that as your nuclear option. any time i answer a call and the person leads with "i pay my bills on time blah blah blah" that tells me that they knew what they were doing / not doing.
your best best, as previously mentioned, is probably the sympathy route
Give a girl a pre-paid phone and she'll talk for day.
I've dealt with Rogers before, and the advice that I did manage to read is the right way to go about things.
Explain your situation, tell them it's ridiculous - stress your long-time service, offer to back-pay a long distance plan.
If it fails? Hang up, thank them for their time and call back. You'll speak to another representative. Either that, or request to speak to a manager.
I've had experiences where I've been shut down for credits, called back 5 minutes later, and not had a problem. The last time I had a larger long distance charge than I expected I had it reduced 50% (it was only $25 though). Rogers Customer Service is horrible to deal with, but if you have the patience and are kind to the person you're speaking to "I know it's not your fault, but... ... I think you can understand my frustration" they're happy to credit you.
Most companies make notes on accounts and know that you have just called and hung up when you didn't get the answer you want. Every company I've worked the phones for has done this, and doing this was the easiest way to fast track yourself to the shit bin. We hated when people pulled this crap as if we didn't know you were just shut down and are now trying to work around it.
Yeah, don't hang up and call back. I would suggest you tell them you would like to add long distance if you can get it retroactive and extend your contract a year. That is, if this were happening to you. Not your responsibiity, suggest she call and if she doesn't she can learn a (reasonably cheap) life lesson.
The contract extension is the sort of thing they get rewarded for, if you ask to talk to a supervisor depending on how understanding they are, a contract extension plus an added service for a year is better than a default on a payment.
This is all going on my card because, of course, she doesn't have the cash or the credit limit to pay for it at the moment. No worries on her not paying me back though, as I'm going to gradually deduct it from her allowance. And I won't go easy on her. :P
(She did try to weasel one by me because she claimed our mom had promised her $500 from the sale of a Vespa we did last month... I talk to my mom to confirm this, and she tells me the number was more like $200. Sister is the kind of person who will think up things and believe her fabrications, though, so I... don't want to think of this as some sort of vicious action. Anyway, whatever it is, her try didn't work.)
Thanks, everyone--I guess this issue is more or less over.
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