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Bell Complaints 690

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E
6:39 am EST

Bell terrible service all around

I think their website should be hell.ca. There are so many examples of poor technical service, poor customer service and money grabbing behaviour from this company.

We have regular dial up service as we live in the country. They provide a dial up accelerator, supposedly to speed up the process of downloading. Well... That's when it works. It cuts in and out causing your connection to hang. Just great when you're in the middle of banking.

We had a problem connecting to our mail server and I was directed to someone overseas who couldn't speak english, his phone head set wasn't working and it sounded like a party going on in the background. Obviously no technical knowledge whatsoever. He advised me to buy a new computer. I told him it was one of their sympatico mail settings that had somehow been altered on my computer and needed to know which one to change. (I'm a computer programmer). He kept insisting it was my computer and to go buy a new one. I eventually figured out the setting by myself. Awful awful awful!

Last year, it took us 10 months to get them to disconnect an unused second phone outlet. Everytime I called they said it would be taken care of and every month it wasn't. Finally, I went to the top and had it taken care of... But only 4 months credit against a 10 month bill. Crooks.

Our satellite provide, (The bill is in my name), will not let me change our programming because my husband signed for the connection. Supposedly he was given a code 8 years ago, that he's supposed to remember in order to get my listed so I can change the programming myself. I bet if I stopped paying the bill, that would get their attention. They're charging us for another receiver, even though it's not hooked up. They don't seem to know how to remove it from the billing!

I'm investigating how to get rid of all of their awful service in my home. I don't even care if it costs me more in the long run, I just can't stand being associated with such a terrible company.

Eileen doran

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Jennylou
Pefferlaw, CA
Mar 10, 2011 2:47 pm EST

The Bell Canada website is indeed HELL.ca...I need to allocate at least 30-45 minutes to do a simple number change for one of my fab fives on my cell service. It is SLOW beyond words, antique in design, and could be way easier to use with less navigation between pages, which take eons to load. You would think with all the money they are raking in, they could hire a decent web designer. Often I give up while trying to do satellite programme changes and need to steel myself at my computer with a good book if I really need to do anything on that site...ARRRGGGHHH

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D
1:55 pm EST

Bell long distance phone charges

Attention all long distance phone users:

Please check your phone bill to see if you are paying exorbitant long distance phone charges. I recently uncovered the fact that my elderly in-laws were paying approximately $100 per month in long distance charges for calls that were made in ontario only. They were on bell's old first rate plan whereby long distance savings only kicked in after 6:00 p. M. And on weekends. Unfortunately, due to several illnesses in the family, my in-laws had to make calls prior to 6:00 p. M., which is why their bill was so high every month. Bell now has a new plan, which costs $14.95 per month for unlimited 24/7 calling in ontario. They also have another plan, which covers canada and the u. S. For only $19.95 per month.in addition, there is a monthly activation fee (Under $5.00) per month for either plan. This savings alone is huge for my in-laws, especially since they are on a fixed income.

Please check with your elderly parents, aunts and uncles etc. To make sure they are not paying too much for their long distance phone charges. Bell won't call them to explain the new plans, they have to call bell and make the change. We need to protect and respect our elders, so please pass this message on.

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Very unhappy Bell customer
Toronto, CA
Dec 14, 2009 5:25 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I think Bell Canada deliberately structures their plans to maximize their profits. When they do their telephone soliciting to change plans, they fail to make actual costs to many locations transparent. Even their bills sometimes fail to reflect per minute rates, when at times the per minute rate exceeds $2.00 per minute for overseas calls. In the absense of easy to contact bell personal who have the authority to resolve these types of issues easily, I recommend a long distant company like Yak a Lot that charges no monthly fees (Bell charges a monthly rate that varies according to the chosen plan), and makes call rates completely transparent. http://www.yak.ca/product/yak-long-distance/great-rates I'd suggest you programme your parent's phone handsets with the access code so they can pay 24/7 rates to the US and Canada of .3.5 cents.

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A
1:42 pm EDT

Bell harrasment not to cancel telephone service

September 22, 2008 I called Bell Canada to cancel my second telephone line. I was asked security questions such as account numbers, name, address, etc. which I answered all. While on the phone I was forwarded to another person where I was asked the same questions, and she kep asking more irrelevant questions which I could not answer precisely such as the exact date four years ago when I set-up the account. And then she kept asking why I was terminating the service, and that she could offer better packages. She then told me that she could not cancel the service because I could not answer security questions. I said I will hang up and find exact dates she needed, but she eventually gave up on me and agreed to cancel the service. I told her that she was trying her best tactics to discourage me from cancelling the service. Bell Canada hired people to harass subscribers not to cancel service. If you know where else can I complain, please let me know.

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Norry Kaler
Oct 06, 2008 2:43 pm EDT

Hello, I have had the same problems with Bell, they recenlty changed my plan (mobile) telling me that I had the exact same features as I did when I moved from Calgary to Halifax with Bell. I found out they cancelled everything, took all my features and have created so many problems for me, I've spent over 6 hours on the phone, and the worst thing is I'm not exaggerating. They said I can't talk to a supervisor, etc.etc..

It is the worst service I have ever seen or heard of, problem is they are all the same, now I dont' know how to get out of my contract!
Good luck to all o f you, I don't think Bell cares, this is why monopolies and big corporate giants should be open to competition.

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Joeanne Maracle
Sep 25, 2008 8:24 am EDT

I am a very upset customer at this point... I just hung up my phone from a Bell agent...
My complaint is that Bell Canada has entered my bank account AGAIN illegally and withdrew
my telephone bill. This is not the first time this has happened.
My sympatico internet service is automatically withdrawn on a monthly basis BUT my phone
bill, I pay through web banking... Yet there was no authorization on my part to withdraw this
payment, it happened in the amount of $90.41. It was quite a shock this morning when I went into my
bank account to find this withdrawal...
We have been customers for the past 24 years and if this is the way that you do business, well maybe I should be shopping around for someone else.
This man that I was talking to this morning said that myself or my husband had made the request...
My husband DOES NOT USE the internet and he DOES NOT PAY THE BILLS... I do.
He told me to contact my bank because this was their mistake BUT my bank is going to tell me that the authorization came from you people... I DID NOT GIVE AUTHORIZATION TO WITHDRAW THIS BILL!
As you can tell, I am furious right now after spending 20 minutes on the phone about this matter and he would not give me a head office number but after telling him that I would go on the internet and retrieve it, he came back after leaving me on hold for 3 or 4 minutes and gave me an e-mail address... I will also be sending this letter to that one too.. Making sure that I get to the proper people... I am soooo upset right now...

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K
7:50 pm EDT
Featured review
This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

I've just gotten off the phone with Bell and am shocked at how bad the customer service was...even in this day of poor customer service. I've been a Bell customer for two years and my husband and I each had a cell phone with them. Recently both our employers have issued us Blackberrys and the cell phones fell out of regular use. Our contract expired in the...

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V
2:44 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Bell bad service

I was a customer of bell's sympatico internet service from december 2006 to april 2008. Had a one year contract originally and never renewed it, so my contract expired in december 2007, right?

In february 2008, I got my bill and it was DOUBLE the usual amount! (Well, got my bill is probably wrong seeing as bell canada refused to ever send me a bill, until march 2008 they said it was not possible to send me a bill since i only had the internet with them, insetead they took the money off my credit card)

When I called to find out why, I was made to wait for over half an hour, to find out that the plan I was on no longer existed, and that they had switched me automatically to a plan with 3gig of download for the price that I had been paying for unlimited, when I had gone over my new limit every month that I had the service!

The fee for the extra download was what changedmy bill. After calling several times, I was able to get one customer service agent to remove the extra fees, give me a comparable plan that I had before and some compensation money. At that point I decided to accept it, and that when I moved in april I would change providers.

When I contacted them on the internet in march 2008 to have my service cancelled, they wanted to charge me a 25$ DISACTIVATION fee! And, they said that it took 30 days to disactivate my service and that I would have to pay for the service during that time. I calmly told them that it wasnt happening, and that my service was to be cancelled the next day, and the reasons again why I was cancelling. I also told them that I was calling my bank and telling my bank to withhold all payments to them on my credit card pending my approuval. The charges were dropped and my account closed the very next day! :)

The following month, I got a bill for 100$, a cancellation fee. Even though I had no contract they tried that. In the end, I was able to get a check from them in the amount of 126.75$, how htey came to that I have no idea, but since it is money that they gave me, I call it a mental duress fee that I charged them!

Bell canada is one of the most fraudulent companies I have ever delt with. To get my check, I had to wait 6 weeks, or talk to the refunds dept. When I asked to be talk to a manager or a supervisor, I was told that they had none working that day, and when I asked to be tranfered to the refund dept, they told me that that dept had no phone extention! A phone company htat has no managers, no supervisors and a dept with no phone service... What kind of idiots do they think their customers are to believe that!?

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stepdance
Ottawa, CA
Sep 28, 2009 6:34 pm EDT

they are just plain aweful!

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L
9:30 pm EDT

Bell not honouring contract - to affliliate

In August of 07 our family was transferred from Saskatoon to Calgary. We had one cell phone 3-yr contract with Sask Tel Mobility at the time. It was no trouble to cancel the contract as long as we transferred to an affiliate - which in this case was Bell Mobility.
So we did, but not only did we transfer, we added 3 more phones for a total of 4 and signed-on for another 3 yr contract.
At the time, and apparently up until about July 08 - (not sure because to my knowledge I had received no notice of any change in that regard), Bell reciprocated the same affiliation with Sask Tel.
In late August of 08 our family was unexpectedly transferred back to Saskatoon from Calgary. When we enquired and attempted to change plans, after many confused conversations both on my part and that of Bell Client Service staff; we were finally told that Sask Tel was no longer an affiliate of Bell Mobility. And thus we would be required to pay a cancellation charge of $800 per phone. When I pursued the issue, after several explanations and attempts to understand- through various levels of staff, I was told that they would (so honourably) reduce that charge to half. And to add insult to injury, I was told that I could not cancel, as of that time, I had to give 30 days notice, essentially meaning I had to pay yet another month's fee. Is it just my naivety or does this translate into a serious lack of integrity on the part of a well known and established company?

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Update by lkelly
Sep 09, 2008 9:37 pm EDT

My apology. . . The cancellation fee was $400 per phone. The (so honourably) reduced charge to me would be $800 (1/2 the original).

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wjkish
CA
May 06, 2010 2:57 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have been a very long time customer at Bell and a very strong proponent of their service(s). Today however, that has changed to the point where Bell is the last company in the world I would do business with. Liars and cheaters - that has been my experience with this company.
Disclosure is a vulgar concept to Bell - just to get the terms of my contract has been a horrific experience, so much so, I have had to make a complaint to the Complaints commission to get someone to address my concerns.
For the life of me, I cannot understand why it is so difficult to get a coherent, consistent, and reasonable response to my question(s) like among others - what are the terms of my contract!
They tell you on the phone what they think you want to hear and then absolutely refuse to give you anything in writing (other than your bill) and hide behind what they call privacy. Well I am the CUSTOMER and do I not have a right to know what my contract is how they arrive at the charges, they do, and how they can change my contract terms – like its length without disclosing any of it to me!
How they can get away with the things they do is beyond me but this much I can say. I take every opportunity to tell friends, relatives, coworkers, and customers to stay away from that company. Proudly I can say that I have personally influenced many people to switch from Bell to other companies for service. Maybe in their infinite wisdom Bell will eventually figure out that cheating people out of their money will only last so long. My guess though – considering their arrogance they will bleed a slow death to bankruptcy before that realization occurs to them.
Never again will this [censored]hole company get my confidence or my money.

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Charla
Nov 26, 2008 10:10 pm EST

I have never dealt with such rude people in all my life. My husband and I purchased the phones so that we could stay in contact while he was out West working. Well at first the bills were fine I received a bill for $900.00 dollars and couldn't make heads or tails out of it. I called about 6 times until someone called me back, it took them a week to figure out they over charged me by about 550.00. The best part was it took me to explain to two different people that there was something wrong and someone needed to look into it. We are looking to close out the accounts but it will cost 700.00 to close out both phones but the last bill I received was "oh yes 1200.00" Customer service my ###

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EW
Sep 10, 2008 10:53 pm EDT

I sympathize with you and how angry you must feel. I just absolutely hate dealing with this company and swear never to go back to them again regardless. Initially I didn't leave them because of any bad experience but after leaving they charged me a huge fee (although not as bad as yours) which they never told me about when I asked before leaving. They are totally unprofessional, unscrupulous, and very dishonest in the way they conduct business i.e. they'll tell you one thing, then another person would renege on it or give you a total new line of BS. I just hate those as*holes, every single one of those low lives. So, what are you going to do? Are you going to actually pay them to save your sanity or fight it? In the end, unfortunately, you are at their mercy otherwise they'll screw with your credit rating. Canadians would be better served if they just go bankrupt.

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V
5:43 pm EDT

Bell final bill

Some many, many, many months ago, I returned Bell Canada's Tv/Cable receiver thru Purolator. Employees at the cable/tv department confirmed that they have received the receiver but still was billed for the receiver for the amount of $ 191.something which represents the amount of the receiver. I called them many many times about it. They said that every thing's Okay and that they will send me thru mail the final bill which is $0.00 balance. I told them that I need it to clear my name in the credit bureau. They said yes. It will be ready in 4 weeks time. After 4 weeks had elapsed, I called Bell Canada again but this time, I called the customer service. Again, they assured me that they will mail the final bill. I told them to check the final bill and the guy at the customer service said " nothing to worry as everything is $ 0.00 balance ". I asked them " how long will it take them to mail it to me. They said 4 weeks. Again, I waited for another 4 weeks but nothing came up. I e-mailed them a couple of times and a guy named Roy Aditi answered me indirectly. I told this guy " Is it the policy of Bell to Delay sending final bill if you opted out of Bell? Just imagine a bill is all I need. Is it hard for an organization like Bell Canada to send out a final bill to one of it's former client? Or they want me back again. Are they so desperate enough to use this kind of strategy. Is Bell Canada using lazy, incompetent, indifferent and do nothing guys as employees? All I need is my FINAL BILL, that's all.

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outraged
Brampton, CA
May 15, 2009 6:17 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

you know what I am glad that it is not only me has a complain about bell canada.
I really regret going back to them.It is easy for them to forward your name to collection agency and screw up your name.
I just wished that there is someone that can bring this issue with bell to the politicians or someone who can help us as a customer so that they will start to change there system.

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M
9:23 pm EDT

Bell home connection and plus

In May 2008, we talked to a bell representative. because were moving from Ottawa to frankford ontario. He gave us a packaged for the new home phone + the express vue + internet "wireless with the antivirus" 3 months or 12.00$ and 119.00$ for 1 year and 129.00 for the second year. We agree with the plan and made arrangement for the connection to new house on the 31 July 2008. A week prior of the moving date, I contacted bell canada to make a change for the connection on the 1 of August 08 with a confirmation#... that I guess so they told me is no good for a reference. Anyway on the 31 of July, the Internet rep. came to the house since we were not ready for him we turn him down because first we did not have a phone and we were getting our furniture. On the 1 st of August we spent about 2and half hour on the cell phone in regards of getting our home phone connection + transferring to about 7 agent when my cell phone connection hang-up . Anyway they told us: No... this will not be possible because they are too busy... they will be there on the 6th of august. We waited all day on the 6th... nobody came. We call again... there is a problem with your phone lines, we have to send engineer because there is not enough phone lines for your area... How long this will take? It will be done by the 20th of Aug 08. OK! not to impress but I will wait. 20 of August, nothing. Call Bell Canada again... 2 hour later of fighting with the rep. we ask to talk with a Technical Rep. Which she told us the work as been done and someone would be at my house tomorrow to connect my home phone ligne up. 21 of august, finally someone showed up and it took him about 30 minutes... not even... and he told us that the connection were there but they were so bad that they had to change them. OK... this is not what we were told at the beginning of this... We were told that there was not enough connection in our sub-division because someone had 8 lines in there house and someone else had 5 connections and thats why we did not have one but now the story change! UMM! Anyway I got the phone today but I got an other issue with Bell. They had promise me with a wireless router + antivirus in my package. Well... I did not get it and I guess I will not get it anyway... We spent an other 2 hour and half with them..up to some manager... and they were not willing to help us out.. I just which it will happen to them and make them realize how frustrating this is. My dad is far away from me and he is very sick and the only thing I need from him is a phone call so When you don't have phone and even your cell phone doesn't work well it is very painful. I would like to suggest a better way of providing service so no one will be stock like it happen to us. Before heyou agree or any company offer you something to ensure you have it on paper or by e-mail that you are able to go back of what was offer to you... Also this miss representation from bell and I'm very disappointed by the way I was threaten. I was told that I was lying about the package... I would not spent 2 hour and half on the phone arguing if I was! They are the one that lie to me and in about 2 year from now because I'm stock! They will not see me again in there customer list for sure... They are the worse company that ever dealt with in my life. HO! I was forgetting they were going to bill me from the 21 of July 08. Which on that date, I did not own a house yet, so go figure how mix up they are! Anyway I which someone up there will understand why I'm writing this and understand. It has been hell and its not finished I still have an issue with my cell phone but this will not last long as I'm done in September and I'm not going with bell again. I have friends in the same boat then us but it is worse for them. They are still waiting for there phone line and I guess as they were told it just need from someone to push the button at the main office at 54 kings St. Isn't that terrible when you have been waiting for over 3 weeks that the only thing they need to do is this and they will not do it... It just piss me off. I'm done with Bell.

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Michelle B
Nov 10, 2008 8:00 am EST

The exact same situation is currently happening to me. Except the home had a phoneline a week before we moved in. Now we are getting this story.

I have had it with this company!

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Radhika
Aug 23, 2008 10:59 am EDT

hi
our landline no is [protected]
and our problem is dialtone is not activated from morning, i can only recieve calls but cannot make any calls
will u please solve our problem

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B
6:57 pm EDT

Bell no customer service

I purchased a HTC phone because of its features. My first phone had problems within the first week of purchase and was replaced. This was the same for the next 4 replacements I received within 3 months. I contacted cust serv inquiring about replacing the HTC with a diff phone; the rep told me that other customers had the same problems and i was able to get a new phone in the store. at the store, the rep told me that i was unable to receive a diff phone and that i would have to contact cust serv on my own time. The next day i contacted them and was told the rep i had spoken to had no knowledge of procedures and had given me the wrong information, and were unable to honor their word into giving me a new phone. I filed a formal complaint, as their policy would require for them to send me a HTC phone monthly during a 3-year period, because of the technical problems that the HTC had. I was contacted by a rep at the executive office named Noushin Tuncer, and was assured that she would solve my problem and send me a new diff phone within a week. A week later, I was contacted by another rep from BELL asking if i had received the phone, after I told him I had not, he realized that they had not in fact sent the phone to me. He assured me that it would be sent the same day. Next day i received a package with a phone and spent 10 hrs trying to activate the new phone; and realized that all the features i had paid for were not available to me. I called cust serv to contact with Ms. Tuncer and the rep was rude and offered to transfer me to Bell Canada. I asked to talk with her manager and she transferred me to a closed bell Canada office, after being on hold for 20 minutes. The next day I called Ms. Tuncer directly and left her a voicemail explaining that i had received the phone but that i was not content with it as it was not what i had paid for and signed up for with BELL, I also asked her to contact me ASAP. 2 weeks later, the voicemail now said that she would be away from her office, with the incorrect date and it was full. Its now a month since i have received the phone, the contact # only informs me that the voicemail is full, and then hangs up. The CSR directly emailed Ms. Tuncer requesting her to contact me. The problems with this new phone extend from not being able to receive calls to the lack of applications and features that i had purchased and signed a contract for. I have contacted the cancellations dept spoke to Abe empl #6021230 and explained me that the cancellation fee cannot be waved when i personally know of other customers who have in fact done it. As a 3-year old BELL customer, I am unsatisfied with the answers provided by bell Canada. Their lack of commitment to loyal customers who just want a decent service to be provided to them. I have spent most of my time trying to reach someone who can help me and restore the agreed contract as they refuse to take responsibility for the changes that the new phone makes to the agreement. Under their own terms and conditions i should have been notified if any changes would be made to my bell contract or the features of the device provided. This has not been the case; BELL has continuously avoided to follow through with their contract terms.

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grantfromBC
CA
Jan 29, 2009 12:20 am EST

Exact same problem with the HTC Touch, its so damn frustrating I can't even express it, I just wanna snap! Been dealing with this non sense since august, on my 3rd phone, and its now been 4 months without another replacement, stuck with a cheap loner phone, I feel like a damn fool for believing them the 15 times they told me my new phone was on its way, I don't even know what the hell I can do, I feel so helpless its not even funny! I had to move since I filed the warrenty claim, since I lost my job, theres a Bell where I live now too, but they told me I have to fly back to the Bell where I purchased the phone to deal with it in person, WTF, $800 flight return? Ya f*uckin right! What the hell planet am I on Seriously! Arghhh!

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Robert Morvan
Nov 21, 2008 12:19 pm EST

I read all these stories, which are similar to mine. What is the outcome of thse stories? Surely someone can tell me what can be done. Why is the Consumer Protection Agency not going after Bell?

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kimberly Doiron
Nov 11, 2008 6:30 pm EST

I understand your issue. I have been dealing with Bell for 3-4 months now regarding the HTC touch phone. There has been poor customer service throughout the entire issue. I have little to no reception with my phone. They have sent me a new phone with NO difference . I am paying for a phone that DOESN"T WORK. I have no home phone and feel unsafe without a working phone. I AM EXTREMELY DISPLEASED with this service/phone.

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Valerie Schneider
Oct 05, 2008 11:00 pm EDT

I agree with the fact that there is NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. We have been "dealing" with Bell for 6 months with a phone that my daughter purchased for a large amount of money, but has not worked since day one. Because of school exams she did not go back with the first 15 hours and so we are stuck with this piece of junk that has had to go in for repair 3 times and be reset by calling into Bell who knows how many times. You are lucky that you were able to get a new phone. We keep getting told: "We don't give out new phones." "We don't sell phones - they belong to Motorola" . I have asked to speak to a supervisor and have yet to speak to one. We were told we could get a new phone if we sign another 36 month contact. I have, in the end and out of frustration, threatened them and yelled at what a crappy company they are, but these people are like zombies (probably having heard this so many times) and know that there is nothing that we can do if they don't want to provide customer service. Three other people came into the store with similar stories while I was standing there trying to get them to listen to what I have to say and not repeating gibberish to me.

I hate this company - don't sign up with them - you will be sorry. Will someone let me know if they were successful at all with this company in either a) not paying your bill b)getting better customer service.

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A
6:29 am EDT

Bell wrongfully billed

I moved in Feb. 2007 and moved my Bell services with me, up to that time I had no complaint. The first bill in my new house was wrong! Each subsequent bill has also been wrong, numerous phone calls later we have had some credits issued but still haven't received all credits due nor have we been billed correctly. We finally decided to cancel all services with Bell, to our dismay we discovered a 2 year contract for Express View of which we were unaware. Since there is a $300.00 cancelation fee, we decided to stick it out, actually spoke to someone who gave us a credit long overdue and we cleared our account to $0, this was in June of 2008. Yesterday (1 month later) we discovered our channels were disconnected and we called Bell only to be told we owe $456.00, how this is possible I have no idea! I am also fresh out of ideas on how to fix this issue. I will never have any doings with Bell after my contract runs out.

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Chris Smith
Sep 20, 2008 10:25 am EDT

I had exactly the same experiences with Bell in all services... I hear the same stories from everybody I know...
Their customer service sucks... I had the problem of phone numbers of people I don't even know showing up on my cell phone bill. When I called these numbers, the people had no idea who I was or anybody I know. I called Bell about this problem and told them that I don't think I should be paying for calls that I know there is no possible way I made those calls, I got the run around and was kept on the phone for over an hour while they tried to convince me that I or some one I know must have called those numbers... I got absolutely no where and this continued to happen, with more and more unrecognisable numbers showing up on bill, until my bill was up to over $800. When I called them and told them that I refuse to pay the bill they sent me another bill of $1200 to close the contract. I cancelled my contract and got rid of all my Bell services and I will never deal with Bell again.

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A
5:49 pm EDT

Bell calling cards

My parents have recently returned to Bell after a short association with another company. Bell was very happy to have them and their $100+ per month back. Everything was just as it was, with one big exception. When I call them using a prepaid long distance calling card (purchased from a reputable company) my call goes directly to a voice mail box that DOES quote their area code and number but ISN'T their v-mail box. My sister tried for days to get through to them from overseas and got the same phantom voice mail. Needless to say, if I dial directly the call goes through no problem. If I use the same LD calling card to call someone else, the calls go through fine, so it's not the card.

And we aren't the only ones that this is happening to. Friends and relatives have called and left messages, in some cases important messages, on the phantom v-mail. There's no indication from Bell that calls have been diverted and
Mum & Dad don't have access to that v-mail box so the calls are missed.

Bell keeps insisting that there is something wrong with my parents' lines or phones and have sent 3 separate repair people out to have a look. They didn't find any problem and reported such to their masters. Bell then informs my parents that their problem is fixed. It's still happening of course. When my parents called again today, Bell offered to send yet another repair person out, refusing to accept their that the problem is not in the house or admit they are blocking or diverting calls from pre-paid calling cards.

Has anybody else experenced anything like this? Can anybody suggest a solution?

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jgill
Ottawa, CA
Oct 26, 2009 8:17 pm EDT

I have a somewhat similar problem. My son, who is Canadian, was arrested on a misdemeanour charge in the U.S. He regularly calls collect - up until last Sat. Oct. 24, I was able to accept his calls. But lo and behold as of Sunday when he tried to call, he got a voice recording "collect calls are restricted on this phone". I placed a repair call to Bell last evening and this a.m. was advised by Bell in India, that the problem had been fixed - it hasn't been. I spent all day today on the phone with Bell customer service reps and all were either in India or Manilla (Phillipines) and hard to understand. Another repair was requested as the first one had been closed, since the problem had apparently been fixed. I even called the Executive Offices of Bell and left 3 messages at different times throughout the day - no response. As a last resort, I dialed O for the operator and got to speak to someone in Montreal (at least I could understand him), all he could tell me was that there was no block evident on my home phone line and he could see the repair request on his computer and all I could do was wait until 10:00 p.m. tomorrow to see if the problem had been fixed.
My brother had the same problem last week and after 18 phone calls to Bell, they finally were able to fix it. Apparently, when he signed up for the Bell bundle service, he was issued an identical phone line with a different phone # which could be used as an office phone to fax, etc. My son is able to call him on that phone line. When my brother complained last week that I was able to accept collect calls on my home phone line and he wasn't, Bell asked for my phone #, which my brother gave. Makes you wonder if they removed the service off my phone and transferred the service to him? Who knows. I totally share your frustration.

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11:19 am EDT
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My Phone blew to pieces in an accident. I was already finished my contract and on a month to month basis. I asked for a replacement and bell told me that the only way i would be able to use my credit (255$) is if I would re-sign a 2 year contract. I wasn't interested in a yearly contract, customer for 6 years and have credit... please give me a new phone...

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5:20 pm EDT

Bell cannot get service to my land line

I have phoned Bell Canada Repair, and was told that someone
would come to my home and check for the problem, nobody came. (1st request)

Phoned a second time and was told repair would be dropping in.
Nobody came(2nd request)

Went to Bell store and Eastgate Mall in Hamilton On Canada and was treated by a very rude young man who said he could not help me. He dismissed me as if I was a bother,

I am a Senior Citizen and I thought your service was considered essential. I guess I was wrong.

For years I have been a Bell customer, I have your Inter Net & Dish, and land line.

I am now going to have to cancel my service because I am without my land line, and I am in poor health and need to be able to contact my Doctor.

Regards

Agnes Niziol
[protected]

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6:41 am EDT

Bell misreprestation

On April 8, 2008 a Bell telemarketer called me at home to offer me 3 months of free phone service and 5 cents long distant any time minute to North America and Hong Kong. After 3 months my phone bill would be $17.95 per month, after one year my phone bill would be $22.95 per month if I agreed to return to Bell. I accepted his offer and agreed to have the Bell technician to come in on April 17, 2008 to reconnect to the Bell line in my home. He assigned a confirmation #[protected] to this conversation.
My first phone bill received on May 12 was $126.21, with $ 65.51 for 302 long distant minutes. After numerous phone calls to Bell and talked to five different staff in two occasions, finally on June 5 someone by the name of Marg agreed to assign an investigation into this issue and provided me with an investigation #5493893 and promised a report in five days. On June16, a message left on my home phone to inform me that I was not qualify for the three months free service because I only have one feature on my phone, I need to have at least three features to qualify for the three months free service. I am really disappointed to hear this message and admired Bell's inovative way to trick customers into their trap. At this moment I feel helplless in terms of getting Bell to honour their offer and committment. Any suggestions is appreciated.

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Shiyam
Oct 18, 2008 1:56 pm EDT

Hi,

Bell is horrible in this area. I am not a Rogers fan. But they offer exactly what they promise. In Bell, the person who talk to you will have no idea what was promised to you. In rogers, if you call them any time, they will know what promotion you are under, so it is easy to solve an issue if there is one. Also, if you dont like rogers you can break the deal as there is no contract.

I made a hugs mistake by signing a contract with Bell. Every week I fight with them to get some thing solved and it never happens.

I am sorry, there is no solution to it. I am thinking of taking mine to my local MP, if nothing is solved in teh end of the month.

That's all I can think of.

Regards,

Shiyam Sundarananda

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B
4:27 pm EDT

Bell charging for services not rendered

Since Bell Canada Sympatico could not provide me in my rural area with high speed internet service as the CRTC mandated them to do I jumped at the first chance to sign up with a new company that could. using radio tower technology. I got it up and running and phoned Sympatico to cancel my ancient slow dial up service. They informed me that it would take a month... A MONTH to meet my request and that I would be charged for that month.

I now must pay for a month of service that I cannot physically access and dont want to use. Talking to the supervisor was to no avail. They justssay
"it is their policy". I call it theft and fraud. Perhaps a class action suit would change their policy.

It has inspired me to investigate Vonage, now that I have the high speed that Bell could not provide and I will be free of bell once and for all.

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11:05 pm EDT

Bell mystery charges

My own Bell tale (apparently everyone in Canada has at least one.) I had a $95 (approx.) long distance call one month, back when I had Bell because there was no other choice! to a place I'd never heard of. So I called, and immediately get some comment like "oh ya, that's a big problem right now. You dialed something through your internet and got charged through a 3rd party billing." Then I was informed that regardless of the nature, nor the fact that they were obviously aware of this 'scam' or problem, that I was responsible for all charges on my bill. I'm fairly computer savvy, and take reasonable security precautions. After many back and forth arguments, I was offered a $20 credit, not as an admission of guilt on Bell's behalf, but (I quote the rep verbatim) because "I'm being nice to you, and you obviously can't afford the charges, but you are responsible for your bill." I said I wanted full credit; smart guy then says "Well, we won't do it, and if you don't want at least the $20 credit, then that's your loss." Probably not even a month after that, another local provider went active in my area, and I switched phone service right away. I never did pay the disputed amount, and it has been dragging through collections limbo for years. It hopefully has cost them far more than it' worth, and I'll maybe settle it with a 3rd party, as long as I know Bell won't get squat. They still continually call and write me with promos they are offering though!

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1:15 pm EDT

Bell bell canada's automated messaging

On May 28, 2008 I received a call from the automated service from Bell, asking me to hold the line and that a french message would follow, after listening to their message for ten minutes I tried to hang up the phone to call them back to find out what seemed to be the problem. No luck. When I tried to dial out I still was listening to Bell Canada is trying to reach you... a french message will follow. How long does it take Bell Canada reps to contact me? I have been on hold with their techs for less time. I am finishing this to call an emergency outgoing number, from my pharmacy five minutes away. Thanks to Bell Canada. My money working hard for them. Hello Bell? What if it were your children who needed the emergency help? And please, no apology will EVER make up for this one.

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charity
Brampton, CA
Feb 06, 2009 9:22 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Bell Canada sucks!

They are rude, unhelpful, I am appaulled with them.
Quick true story! My phone wasn't working at all I call bell they tell me they will send someone out to fix it. They never did.Next!

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4:16 am EDT
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On October 27, 2007, I received a call from a representative from Bell Canada. A bell representative asked me if I would like to receive a new 'wireless' modem, no charge for this. It would increase speed of my computer by 20%. (Guess what, no increase in speed) I accepted the offer. But wait, bell Canada had an exceptional 'promotional offer' if I wa...

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6:51 am EDT
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Bell bell. ca withdrew pre-authorized payment, when never authorized

In Early March, 2008, I had made a complete payment for my current balance and notified Bell of the transaction. On April 2nd, Bell withdrew the exact funds from my account through a preauthorized payment setup.

At no point have I signed up for preauthorized payments. I never consented to funds being withdrawn automatically from my account under any circumstances.

The withdrawal took place minutes before my rent payment (which IS preauthorized) was to come out; putting my account into overdraft.

If my account balance was zero, why did they withdraw the same amount as my last payment which had already been received? How were they able to access my account to withdraw the funds without my permission? If a signature was used, what signature was it (as it was certainly not mine; and preauthorize actions on this account require my signature)?

Bell claims that it is impossible that I did not agree to a preauthorize payment. They refuse to take responsibility for this action. They would not even admit fault at withdrawing an amount which has already been paid in full 3 weeks earlier.

Bell should additionally cover my overdraft fees, or provide some sort of apology for obviously violating my rights.

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nathalie
Sep 18, 2008 8:55 am EDT

Hi, I just myself was looking at my husband's bank account and realized that there was a charge, an authorized payment that had gone through from bell canada as opposed to bell sympatico which is the only service we have ever authorized them for. So I proceeded to call them and all they could tell me is that someone (my husband) would have had to authorize this with his signature. I know he never did this because I was always the one to pay the home phone bill manually through my account not his. And that suited him fine. He only had to worry about the internet. Could this be a ploy for bell to make sure all the bills are paid? Totally illegal... without autorization. Now that they have done this are they also going to automatically withdraw for the cell phone too. I am still dealing with this, have to go see the bank. They seem to think they can do whatever they want once they have your bank account number. There has to be a lot of other people dealing with this?/

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D.H. Smith
May 16, 2008 7:34 pm EDT

For preauthorized debit problems, see the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada information at: http://www.acfc.gc.ca/eng/consumers/FAQs/QAView.asp?id=249

It may be helpful...

Dave

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C
10:40 pm EDT

Bell the worst Customer service I EVER DEALT with!

This is the worst Customer service I EVER DEALT with.

Problem: 3 yrs ago, Bell replaced their smart cards with new ones. They were supposed to be sent to all subscribers free of charge, so they could replace their old ones. We were never sent new smartcards for our receivers, the only reason we had satellite was that we purchased a PVR model, just prior to the change so it was already equipped with the new version of their smart card.

After many requests, I was promised they would send my cards out... they never came. Now I am told that being that it's been 3 yrs I will have to pay $70 each for the smart cards

Bells argument:

- they have no record of me calling to request them, and why do I wait 3 years?

My reply:

- I have requested them and have been promised they were coming, it's not my fault this was never recorded. Bell Express employees get paid to take my calls, I DON'T get paid to sit on hold, beg, argue or plead for my smart cards. That's why I did it only every few months, that and I was patiently waiting for them to be mailed as promised.

Bells Argument:

- The receivers in question are 8 yrs old. Be happy you got that time out of them and purchase new equipment

My reply:

-They weren't 8 yrs old when I first requested my smart cards. On top of that why should we be punished for taking care of our equipment. I just want the smart cards so we have satellite in our bedroom. We don't need anything fancy as we have our PVR upstairs. Plus we will replace our equipment when we decide to, Bell should have no right to try and force that on thier customers.
If we want to be cheap that is our prerogative! We pay our $100 monthly programming bill so they should be happy.

In Closing:
I emailed them through their site in Dec never got a reply. Now it's Feb 2008, still no smart cards.
You can't complain to anyone, because everyone seems to be a manager there, but yet no one can do anything. As far as getting a hold of anyone that is really incharge it's impossible.
I swear if you complain they pass you around the call center, laughing.
We've been long standing customers since 2000, all I asked for is my Smart Cards that I should have been sent 3 yrs ago... nothing more... nothing less. The fact that they are willing to loss our business over this, shows their dedication to customer service.

Thanks for listening everyone :)

P.S
We called Star Choice about their programming, ( because we felt if we are being forced to buy new equipment and get crappy customer service, we might as well change providers) Anyways, with Star choice you DON'T have to wait on hold, you leave your number and it calls you back when you are next in line for a customer service representative... what an awesome idea and a real time saver!

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Gerry Roy
Swastika, CA
Mar 12, 2011 10:32 pm EST

I am being overcharged for crappy t.v. that promises over 100 channels, but in reality 99 of them are the exact same. I want my money back!

Gerry Roy

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Dawn Sihlis
Nov 13, 2008 10:38 am EST

I currently haven't got any channels. The pop up reagrding the smart card expiration kept on popping up every 10 minutes. I phoned regarding this and they said they sent me a new smart card in the mail. I have been waiting for this card for 2 months. My husband phoned last week to complain as we kept losing channels daily. They said the smart card is in the mail. Well now we have discovered a problem, they sent it to an invalid address. How insane is that? Seems strange that they can send us our monthly bill, but the smart card they decided to send it to our physical rural address, which doesn't exist through postage. Why the heck is it so difficult to read our mailing address and f***ing send it there? So after a promise of 5 business days, it is still not here. I phoned yesterday. The trouble is I only have cell service where I live. I spend 27 minutes of my phone time between language barriers and holding to find out that they sent my card out 51 days ago. I guess they didn't get that call from my husband the week before. Now another 7 business days to wait and for what, I aint holding my breath. After all this and I explain to the guy that I am on a cell phone costing me a great deal of money although I have free incoming calls, he can't call me back. He then has the nerve to ask me to answer a few customer service questions and actually expects me to use more of my precious cell phone minutes for their companies benefit. I guess he didn't hear me as I said I haven't got time for this, he asked me if I wanted to purchase 5 new channels for only $1, I haven't got any channels right now, so what the hell good is 5 more I won't see, just another dollar gone, I said no and good-bye. I want to switch to star choice or something like that, but my husband wants to have the PVR to record, he's patient, but I am just pissed off!

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Scott
Oct 07, 2008 8:21 am EDT

I agree with you wholeheartedly. My "Smartcard" went down on Thursday night and when I got a hold of someone they told me they were going to issue a new card and that it will take 5-7 business days. I asked if I could speak to a manager and they put me on hold with someone who couldn't help me. I went round and round in circles for 3 hours. I can't wait to cancel this service. It is the pits.

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roy hunter
Sep 13, 2008 7:21 am EDT

I'm going to Star Choice! I don't have time for Bell's run around. My system's cable went bad the monent I put the smart card in. Huh! The last time Bell advised me to change my cable I just had align my dish.

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Frida
Sep 12, 2008 10:06 pm EDT

Like most big utility corporations (phone, satellite, tv providers), I have found customer service has become so poor that it is almost impossible to do business with them on a normal basis. I learned that the best way to get what you want is to just call to cancel the service. Then, you magically get the best, most articulate people, who speak perfect English, and are ready to offer to remedy whatever your problem is, and frequently will lower your rates, because, of course, they value you and want to keep you as a customer. It is both astonishing & sad that customer service has degraded to this point, but as smart consumers we must know how to navigate successfully in this new world, just as our ancestors did. Happy Sailing!

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M. Jones
Sep 11, 2008 5:47 pm EDT

UPDATE

Now in my 23rd hour - we finally reached someone who could give us some answsers - of course, still located in India. She explained to us that they have been having difficulty with the "smarcards" and there has been a system problem since Monday - September 8th. She also said for and additional $100.00, they will send me a new smartcard within 7 working days. Apparently we are not the only people with this problem. I am really sorry we signed up with Bell Express View. For anyone out there reading this - it might be wise to go with someone else if possible.

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M. Jones
Sep 11, 2008 10:41 am EDT

I was able to visit India 3 times and Milan once without even buying a plane ticket. Over the space of 15 hours I have had discussions with 5 different representatives who assured me that they can fix my problem. My Smartcard indicates that it cannot currently authorize to view or purchase any of the channels I am already paying for. Prior to this problem (now 15 hours ago) the system was working fine. With each call I am getting more and more frustrated.

The last representative said he would put in a service call that would cost me $75.00. He indicated that my warranty had expired. The problem is with my so called smartcard but due to the language barriers, they seem to have a problem understanding that. I requested a new smartcard but they didn't respond to that request. I was able to get names, but I am pretty sure that won't help when I want to lodge a complaint - wherever that might be. At the end of all my conversations with these representatives, they all wanted to take a minute of my time to get me to buy other products, more movies, etc. Wow! what nerve.

I have to say that I am not at all pleased with Bell Express View. I agree with person who said they should re-name them from Smart Card to Stupid card.

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Barb Williams
Aug 29, 2008 6:10 pm EDT

Absolutely unreal! The whole system is messed up. For a week now I have had no HD reception, finally had time to call the centre. We all know that u need to put aside atleast one hour for the call. First off the person to whom I was speaking could barely speak English which made it very difficult to work with. After messing around with the system for atleast 1/2 an hour I was told I did not have the upgraded channels ''Did I want them?' My reply was 'fix this problem first and then we will talk"
Long story short Bell wants to charge me 75.00 to come and fix my satellite that might or might not have been hit by a storm. I freaked. He knocked 25.00 off and booked an appointment. Needless to say the problem was not fixed! Then I hear about these smart cards?! Knew nothing about them but soon got on the phone to find out. The girl was pleasant enough but u could tell she was fed up with ?'s about these cards. Turns out I don't need a card because of the system I have. And she now has reversed the payment of 75.00 to nothing! How could that be?! So what is going on with this whole system smart cards, storms and the sunshine. I hate Bell Express View! I only got it because of the HD PVR and that I do love! So I have no idea why this guy is coming, strikes me as odd that my HD programming went down the same time that all this smart card stuff started. Before this I was a Star Choice subscriber and if I can get out of this contract I will be again!

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CHRIS MITCHELL
Jul 22, 2008 3:42 pm EDT

I agree with you they are the worst company ever, customer help is abismal, they have tried to charge me for non activation of system and then a deactivation of system I DON'T EVEN HAVE A BELL SATELITE SYSTEM this has been on going for 7 months they are just one big jike

Good luck sorting it you will neeed it.

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Tracy13
Golden Lake, CA
Jul 07, 2008 5:50 pm EDT

I HATE BELL TOO. I can't stand their automatic telephone service and if you actually get to talk to a live person, you can't even understand them because no one speaks English without a strong accent.

Smart cards should be renamed Stupid cards. We had our satelite for just 7 months and we have to have them replaced.

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Bell reviews first appeared on Complaints Board on Oct 18, 2006. The latest review Beyond abysmal was posted on Apr 24, 2024. The latest complaint bell mobility upgraded device was resolved on Apr 09, 2018. Bell has an average consumer rating of 2 stars from 692 reviews. Bell has resolved 154 complaints.
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