November 2, 2012
###### ####
President & Chief Executive Officer
BCE and Bell Canada
# Carrefour Alexander Graham Bell
#######, Quebec
### ###
Dear Mr. ####:
Re: My
Experience with Bell Canada
As a customer with Bell Canada
for over 20 years, it is with great disappointment that I must write this
letter. I think it is important
that you understand what the “Bell Customer Experience” has become, so that significant
improvements can be made, and believe me when I tell you, there is much room
for improvement. With this letter,
I am not asking for special treatment, or even a response, as by the time you
read this it is very likely that I will no longer even be a customer of Bell
Canada. My request is simply this: Please read this letter. I have given you over 20 years of my
time and money; therefore I trust my request for five minutes of your time is
not unreasonable.
Over the course of my time as a Bell
Canada customer, there has been frustration all along the way, yet I have
remained loyal. Whether it be
calling customer service and speaking with someone whose accent I struggle to understand,
the fact that EVERY time I call Bell Canada with an issue, I must dedicate well
over an hour of my time and in many cases speak to three or more
representatives in order to resolve an issue, I have remained loyal. Telephone, internet, and satellite
television, I have gone “all in” with the services offered by Bell Canada.
After stumbling upon some
information that I could obtain a better deal through one of your competitors, and
then calling them to verify that I was not reading that information
incorrectly, I contacted Bell Canada on October 7, 2011. I explained that where I was currently
paying over $240 per month for Bell Canada’s services, your competition was
offering me the same services at $140 per month. As any reasonable person would, I called to ask what Bell
Canada could do for me, and whether I should remain a Bell Canada customer. After nearly two hours of aggravation
on the phone, and after speaking with four different representatives, we
finally reached an agreement. We
agreed that for the next 12 months, my monthly rate would be $136. No more. No less.
Over the course of the next 12
months, the price slowly started to creep up again, and as of my last bill, the
charge was over $180. Not wanting
to deal with the stress and anger that takes control of me every time I contact
Bell Canada, I foolishly chose to just stay quiet and pay my bills throughout
this 12 month period without raising a complaint.
On October 6, 2012, I woke up
knowing it was once again time to reach out to Bell Canada to renegotiate my
new rate for the coming 12 months.
Before doing so however, I decided to visit my local Bell Store as I was
very interested in switching to Fibe TV, and the big sign outside the store
stating “FIBE TV IS HERE!!” was an encouraging indicator that I had come to the
right place. So I went inside the
store and got in line to speak with a Bell representative.
After waiting in line for half an
hour, I finally reached the front.
I explained that I was interested in finding out more about Fibe TV, and
that if the price was right, I’d like to sign up for it. I was subsequently quoted a price which
I suppose seemed reasonable, then advised the representative that I am an
existing customer, and asked whether there were any discounts or promotions
available. The response I received
was shocking. I was told that he
was unaware that I was an existing customer, and therefore the price he just
gave me is not available to me.
The price for existing customers is nearly THREE TIMES more expensive!! Not only that, as an existing customer,
I cannot make this type of change through the Bell Store, I need to contact
Customer Service and make the arrangements through them. I was essentially turned away. I questioned why Bell Canada is
punishing existing customers, to which the representative replied “That’s just
the way it is.”
Upon returning home that
afternoon, I contacted Bell Canada as instructed to once again negotiate a new
12 month rate, and ask them about the possibility of switching to Fibe TV. Upon speaking with a Bell Canada
representative, it quickly became obvious that it made absolutely no financial
sense for me to switch to Fibe TV, as I would have ended up paying MORE money
for LESS channels than I currently have.
Why would any reasonable person agree to that? Putting the Fibe TV scam behind me and choosing to focus
instead on maintaining my current services, I spent nearly two more hours of
aggravation on the phone. After
speaking with just three representatives this time, I was able to negotiate a
new rate of $144 per month. I
explained the concern I had about the increasing rates throughout the previous
12 month period, and was assured that no, we are agreeing on $144 per month for
12 months, therefore there will be no increases over the next year. I specifically asked when this new rate
would take affect, and was told that this new rate is effective immediately,
and would be reflected on my very next bill. You record all these telephone calls, so please, feel free
to listen to the recording and verify this for yourself.
I assumed everything was fine,
and that I could live the next 12 months of my life stress-free, not having to
deal with Bell Canada. That was
until yesterday, November 1st, just 26 days since I had reached a
new agreement with Bell Canada, when I received my latest bill. Not only was the price not what we
agreed on, it was actually HIGHER than what I had previously been paying. I didn’t want to do it, I didn’t want
the aggravation, but I had no choice, I had to contact Bell Canada.
Last night I called Bell Canada
Customer Service and explained the discrepancy in the bill. The first person I spoke with
immediately agreed that an error was made, and that my new agreement was not
reflected in this bill.
Unfortunately there was nothing she could do to help me however, and
said I needed to speak with another representative. After 10 minutes on hold, I was finally transferred to
another representative. Upon
speaking with this second representative, I was shocked to learn that the
agreement I had reached with Bell Canada just 26 days earlier was no longer
available to me. An error was
apparently made by the Bell Canada representative I had spoken with on October
6th, therefore that agreement was null and void, and he could not or
would not respect that agreement.
He said the best he can do is offer me whatever promotions are currently
available, but that there was no possible way of getting me the $144 rate that
I had previously agreed to. I told
him that was unacceptable. An
agreement was reached on October 6th, you have the recorded
telephone conversation and notes in my file that verify this, yet Bell Canada
has chosen to back out of this agreement with no advance notice to me. I expressed my frustration, and do you
know how the Bell Canada representative responded? He laughed.
I immediately asked to speak with
his supervisor. Another 10 minutes
were spent on hold before I was finally able to speak with the “Senior
Manager”. She acknowledged that an
error was made by Bell Canada, but that they cannot give me the $144 price that
was previously agreed to. Instead,
she claimed that the best she can do given the current promotions that are
available is to give me a new price of $154 for the next 12 months. I told her that is unacceptable. I had an agreement with Bell Canada for
$144, and that is all I am prepared to pay. She confirmed that she has notes to that effect in her file,
yet maintained her position that $154 was the best she could do. She then proceeded to tell me that
“Quite frankly, it doesn’t matter what price we settle on, because we can
increase your rates whenever we want.”
I once again expressed my
frustration with the situation, and asked her if she is prepared to lose a 20+
year customer over $10 per month.
Her reply was that while they certainly do not want to lose me as a
customer, I am free to cancel my services whenever I want. She asked that I provide 30 days
notice. I asked if I could speak
with whoever is next on the chain of command, but was told she was as high as I
could go. I told her she was
wrong. After pressing the issue,
she finally agreed to pass my complaint along to a “Senior Executive”, who she
claims will call me at home this coming Saturday.
In the meantime I asked her what
I should do with this current bill for $182. Her reply, “Pay it”.
I told her that was unacceptable.
At the very least, she could give me the $154 rate and issue a
credit. She refused. After some back and forth, we did
ultimately agree to change my account to $154, however she would issue no
credit, and advised that it may take up to 2 months before this new rate
becomes effective. Again,
unacceptable. I made it very clear
that my agreeing to $154 now in no way ties me down to a 12 month term. If Bell Canada can change their mind
whenever they want, so can I. I
asked if this $154 rate would apply for the full 12 months with no increases,
to which she replied “Yes”, even though she had just moments ago told me it may
not come into effect for another 2 months, thereby effectively minimizing my 12
month agreement to a 10 month agreement.
I asked if she could email me confirmation of this, to which she replied
“Yes, I will email you within the hour.”
It has now been 15 hours, and I have yet to receive such confirmation,
leaving me with no confidence whatsoever that my account has been revised.
Quite frankly Mr. ####, I cannot
deal with this aggravation anymore.
It’s just not worth it. It
is clear to me that Bell Canada does not respect its customers, and after
decades of essentially having a monopoly over these services, does not feel
there is anything wrong with the way you do business. Luckily for me times have changed. Where I couldn’t necessarily say the same 20 years ago, I
now have options. I can choose to
stay with Bell Canada, or switch over to one of your competitors, who seem more
than eager to offer me their services.
For me, it’s not about whether I end up paying $144 or $154, the money
is no longer important. It’s the
principle. Do I stay with a
company like Bell Canada and continue to support them, or do I look elsewhere
and give someone else a chance?
With minimal effort, I have
already found several options with competitors of yours that can give me the
services I need at the same price or less than $144 per month. I don’t know why, but I feel that
before I make the switch, I should at least hear what the “Senior Executive”
has to say when/if he calls me on Saturday, even though I suspect it will be a
very short conversation. I am not
interested in hearing excuses or apologies, all I want to hear is that Bell
Canada will stand behind the agreement they made with me on October 6th,
and that effective that date, my monthly rate for the next 12 months is
$144. I’m not asking for a further
discount, or any other one time credits for the aggravation you have caused me,
I only want you to stand behind what we agreed to. Failure to do so will make my next move an easy one, and in
roughly 30 days from now, Bell Canada will be out of my life for good.
Thank you for reading this, and I
truly hope this motivates you to open your eyes and investigate further what is
really happening between Bell Canada and its customers.
Yours truly,
Dave XXXXXXX
Account# XXXXXXX---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: November 5, 2012
To their credit, the Executive Customer Service Department did respond within 4 hours of me sending this letter, and after looking into the matter further, did end up giving me a slightly better monthly rate than even the $144 I had previously agreed to. While I am reasonably satisfied with the outcome, it is a shame it took this much effort to get this resolved. Thankfully I now have 12 months before I need to worry about it again. If you are experiencing similar frustrations, I strongly recommend you do the same, and go well over the heads of the useless customer service staff. It shouldn't be this way.