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Review by bitablespore 
member for 2.6 years, 74 visits, last login: 339 days ago
lodged 1.7 years ago
 Mississauga,ON
 $54 per month- (12 month contract)
 about 8 days "Consistent, fast speed, upload speed" "installation was a nightmare, tech did not show up, etc" "great service once up and running."
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Took time off of work for installation, and twice the installer did not show. Installer arrived with the wrong equipment twice as well. Took 5 trips in total to be setup correctly. The service however once up and running was great and did not drop in the one year I had it.
Comments:
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Review by ZZink
member for 11 years, 993 visits, last login: 17 days ago
updated 1.8 years ago
- Etobicoke
- $150 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 8 days
- "Good speeds when its working properly."
- "Caps, Throttling, sorry excuse for costumer services, over billing, over priced, liers, scammers, fruadsters!"
- "Stay away from Hell at all cost! Spread the word!"
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UPDATE JULY 2011**
From a professional stand Bhell is currently overpriced, has poor customer service, cripples and limits its services(UBB/strict TV packages/10$ for home caller display, cant own your own modem..etc...), rude CSRs, lack of upgrades, billing and accounting errors, clueless technical specialists, horrid equipment selection, lack of internal communication between branches.. I can keep going.
From a personal stand this company is like a greedy teenager, It is attempting to limit people's ability to access the information highway. Everybody knows bandwidth is getting cheaper... bell complains about congestion but makes billions annually but can't spend some money upgrading so called congested areas... This is all a lie, backroom deal government bribery style.
Back in November 2009 I was looking for a new ISP, as I was unhappy with the grandfather accounts price increase. Bell's retention department offered me a great deal that I thought would save me up to $150 a year. Ever since then its been nothing but a nightmare. Here is a list of just some of the issues that have been transpiring in the last 3 months. ( note the deal was that I was going to be switched over to Max 10 saving 15$ for 12 months and get a 10$ discount on my home phone all for 12 months)
- Back in Sept I threatened to leave bell if they did not remove the rising price on the grandfather. I was told that I would be credited $5 each month for 6 months. That never happened and only after many phone calls after agreeing to the new 'deal', months later got those actual credits. ( I think, as the credit system confuses me )
- After the 'deal' with the retention department, I had called to verify the actual deal and on all the occasions I had called I was getting 3 separate conditions. After many hours on the phone the original 'deal' was finally official and verified by more then one CSR. In other words, had I agreed to the original 'deal' I was not going to get what I agreed on with the retention department.
- Bell screwed up my billing periods and ended up combining my grandfather account usage with my Max 10 usage and charging me for extra bandwidth. Again, after much lengthy phone periods with them I finally got it sorted out. I was later credited or not... this whole credit system on my bill is confusing.
- Despite repeatedly telling Bell I did not need or want a new modem/router to be sent out to me, they did anyway. This forced me to waste yet more time out of my day sending the damn modem/router back to them.
- My new max 10 bill arrived and I was over-charged from the original deal with the retention department. Again after hours on the phone I was 'credited', again i'm confused how this credit system works.
- In December bell's bandwidth meter was out of order. I called in logically explained that if I go over the limit it is bells responsibility as their bandwidth meter is out of order. I was informed that it is my responsibility to waste 20 minutes out of my day to call in and find out my usage. The bandwidth meter was out of order for 3 weeks before it finally got fixed.
- December's home phone bill was over charged, not to what I had agreed on.
- In December I ordered HD receiver from bell only to to realize that I cannot get the HD channels I wanted without paying extra and getting channels I didn't want. Bell also did not deactivate my old receiver and I have been getting charged $3 per month since December.
- Starting the end of December I had frequent disconnections... after I had already spent more then half a day on the phone with bell I simply had no desire to call them again and decided to see if the problem would blow over, it didn't.
- My January phone bill once again was over charged not according to my agreement. Upon calling bell home phone I was told there is 'hidden' fees I wasn't aware of... in short I got screwed by the retention department. Even with those hidden fees i'm still over paying. I was told this would be fixed by next bill.
- My online billing is completely broken for months now and no one has been able to help me set it straight.
- Finally at the end of January I called Bell with regards to my frequent disconnections and my inability to access bell.ca to check my usage. The tech support told me the issue was going to be looked at and I would get a call back.
- No call back within a few days. I had called Bell again while being forced to follow the same script driven error proofing as I had before my issue was escalated. To make this short after many more hours on the phone Bell finally dropped the idea that the issue is my computer/browser and decided to send a technician to investigate my line ( btw this took place about 2 weeks after the original call but not without more then 6 hours of the phone ). The issue somehow fixed itself 2 days before the tech was due to arrive and then malfunctioned again a few days after.
- Bell recently raised prices on its ExpressVu in order to stay 'competitive' with rogers. What a freaking joke.
- Previously I had mentioned that bell never deactivated my standard definition and was charging me an extra $3 every month for 3 months. Upon calling them I had again been "credited" money for those 3 months.
- Bell's return package for my standard receiver had arrived and I immediately sent it out. I was having issues with my internet and finally after many months of nagging over the phone a technician fixed it outside my house.
- The bill came and I was charged $160 extra for TWO standard definition receivers. I called in once again and had to explain that not only did I ship the receiver weeks ago but I only had one receiver to begin with. The CSR refused to believe me at this point I was ready to tell her where to go but I remained calm and asked her to look at my previous bills and tell me when was there ever more then one receiver activated.. she was corrected and said that yet more credits for a billing screw up will be applied to my account. UPDATE: these credits only arrived months after I spoke to that CSR which made each coming bill more and more confusing with all the extra charges and the credits ... takes an accountent or a lawyer to decode this, should of never agreed to one bill.
- This is about August 2009 now and my bills are as confusing as ever, with ridiculous claims and outstanding credits owed to me is yet to be seen.
- During August I had a sales representative call me explaining to me that Max 10 is now considered an grandfather account and asked me if I wanted to switch over to 12Mbps connection. I explained to the sales rep that I'm on contract. The sales rep assured me over and over again that it will not affect my contract and that I would no longer be on a contract. Silly me I agreed considering i'v been iching to leave bell early!
- September comes and what do you know? I got smacked with $150 cancellation fee plus I got charged for 1 month of max 10 and max 12 all in the same bill.. oh and by the way my bell expressVU credits from 4 months ago are no where to be seen either. Conveniently bell sends out bills on Sundays when they do not operate so enraged ppl wouldn't be calling in to complain. It all works out ppl just go about their busy week and before they notice they are also paying late fees. To make this short I got passed around the CSRs like a 2 cent prostitute before being hung up on... I was so angry I started laughing to save myself from buying a rocket launcher and blowing up every bell building i could find.
- I had called the following week to resolve my grossly over bloated bill. I did have luck in reversing both charges and the retarded cancellation fee. Who ever reads this must realize I WAS FULLY LIED TO BY THE SALES REP! because of her I had to spend yet more of my time sorting things out.
- To my horror another problem came to be. I was very eager to give bell the finger and switch to another company. Out of curiosity I called bell phone to find out what was up with my contract. Back in November when this whole nightmare started my contract stated that I would have bell max 10 for 12 months @ the rate of 41$ for the first 6 months and $47 for the rest of the contract term. I originally was most interested because they also said that my internet would be tied with my homephone, I was informed that I would be paying $21 for my homephone. That is down $10 a month and a savings of $120 over a period of 12months. Back to September.. I called in and again to my horror to find out that I'm not on a 12 month homephone contract but instead on a 24 month. I was boiling angry I have been done by bell on all sides! After almost screaming on the phone saying that I was lied to a year ago only to sucker me into this mess. A bell phone supervisor told me I was saving money... and that they would reduce the cancellation charge by pro-rating what i supposedly saved during the 9 months of this so called "promotion". DO NOTE that I did not at any point ever pay the $21 I had agreed to with the retention department back in November of 2008. I had continued to pay the same $31 for my basic homephone package as i did before. Out of desperation I agreed to the bill modifications. At this point I would do anything to leave this sorry excuse for a company!
- This is November 10th my final day with bell for internet and phone! I happily join Primus who offered a much better service at a cheaper price.
- November 15th my last bill from bell phone and internet? you guessed it! NO! Bell had to go and over charge me twice for for internet for the same month. Once again I got on the phone on a Sunday night and oh wait they don't work sunday night HOW FREAKING CONVENIENT! I spoke to a CSR on live chat and he flat out lied to me and told me to "kindly pay the bill" I actually have this sad excuse for lying CSR conversion saved. TAKE A LOOK! The CSR wanted to get me off the line and simply lied to me and once I confronted him about the issue he simply disconnected the conversation
System Welcome Dan
System Connecting to server. Please wait...
System Connection with server established. Please wait...
System Fanix (SCI-9029) has joined this session!
System Connected with Fanix (SCI-9029)
Fanix (SCI-9029) Hi Dan, welcome to Bell Internet Services, my name is Fanix (SCI-9029). By looking at the option you have selected, I see that you have questions regarding your account, how may I assist you with this?
You Hi
You Can you please tell me what are the extra charges on my current bill?
You Hello?
You anybody there?
Fanix (SCI-9029) I certainly can help you with that.
Fanix (SCI-9029) Are you inquring the charges for Internet?
You yes
You my current internet bill has 33.38$ in other charges
You i'd like to know what they are
Fanix (SCI-9029) Can I have a moment? Let me check with my records with regards to your queries and get back to you.
You $33.38
Fanix (SCI-9029) Dan, it seems that your account has been cancelled already.
Fanix (SCI-9029) The charges are:
from Oct 17 to Nov 03.
You yes
Fanix (SCI-9029) So, you had 17 days charges from Oct 17 to Nov 03 with modem rental is $33.38
You wait, what?
You what are the charges?
Fanix (SCI-9029) The charges for $33.38 is 17 days charges from Oct 17 to Nov 03
You But i'm already paying from the month of october
You 58.90$ plus modem...
Fanix (SCI-9029) Your previous bills were paid ill Oct 16.
The current charges are after Oct 17.
You my billing cicle is on 10th of every month
Fanix (SCI-9029) Yes, I understand.
Fanix (SCI-9029) But the charges for every cycle are:
Last month 4 to current month 3.
The bills are just generated on 10.
You It says on my last bill
You Oct 4th to Oct 16th in the amount of $25.53
Fanix (SCI-9029) yes.
Fanix (SCI-9029) That's right.
Fanix (SCI-9029) So the bills are charges are only after October 17 of this month.
You The current bill has Monthly charges of $58.90
You plus
You 33.38
Fanix (SCI-9029) Yes. The charges are from Oct 17 to Nov 03 and then Nov 4 to Dec 03.
You why am I paying for Nov 4th to Dec 03?
Fanix (SCI-9029) Kindly pay the charges.
If you will be sent back the return cheque in the next 3 to 5 business days .
You A return cheque?
You for what?
Fanix (SCI-9029) There is a mess up.
Let me check with my supervisor. One moment please.
Fanix (SCI-9029) Dan, unfortunately we may not be able to adjust charges on cancelled account.
Kindly have some words with our business office at 310-2355. They will adjust the charges on your account, if any.
I regret the inconvenience.
You Have them call me tomorrow @ 4pm
You what was the deal with that return cheque anyway?
Fanix (SCI-9029) I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
I'll not be able to arrange call back for you, since your account has been cancelled.
I would really appreciate if you can call directly.
You they are closed right now
Fanix (SCI-9029) yes, kindly reach them tomorrow.
You Can you possibly open them a ticket
You have them look into my account
Fanix (SCI-9029) Dan, I perfectly understand your concern.
I would have opened a ticket, if your account is active.
Since it's cancelled, we are requesting you to contact our business office. They have higher access and right people to resolve this.
Fanix (SCI-9029) My apologies.
You I understand its not your fault
You the thing is, i'm not with bell anymore and i'm not really willing to spend anymore time resolving billing issues.
You speak to your supervisor i'm sure he can arrange a ticket
You i'v spent what feels like enternity with bell on the phone, as you may notice in the notes on the account.
Fanix (SCI-9029) I perfectly understand this means to you.
However my supervisor will be able to arrange call back, if only your account is active.
Kindly have the b1 number handy, when you speak to them, This chat session is recorded.
I'm pretty much sure they'll resolve your issue in few minutes.
You lol bell is like the borg from star trek, "resistence is futile"
You k i'll call them tomorrow
You before I leave u to ur next chat
Fanix (SCI-9029) I appreciate your understanding.
You what was that whole return cheque thing?
Fanix (SCI-9029) Thank you for choosing Bell.
Have a good evening.
System Fanix (SCI-9029) has left this session!
System The session has ended!
- I called in the next day and resolved the issue quickly with a clear English speaking woman. There is a first time for everything... In any case I would get my hopes up until
I get yet another months bill
- BELL EXPRESSVU UR NEXT TO GO!
My conclusion is that bell is an absolute mess when it comes to costumer care. Everything from raising prices, throttling, implementing caps without a proper metering system, screwing up billing, screwing up orders, slow technical response, not honoring agreements to a complete lack of communications between departments.
I'm currently working on all my alternatives, as soon as my contract ends I will be switching my TV, Internet and home phone to any company but Bell.
Please note that I had not had any problems what so over with bell in the previous 8 years on and off, but this is only due to not having to call in regarding issues.
STAY AWAY, BIG RED TAPE!
Comments:
 | | bell service - or what ever I agree on the post of the problems with bell - I had a nightmare when I had a cell with them and also the internet. I have been told though la source (bell) things have changed, they are much better now.. BETTER at what?? Would I ever go back to bell? Not a F...kin chance. | |
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 Review by TwentyMBPS
member for 7.6 years, 120 visits, last login: 1.7 years ago
updated 1.8 years ago
- Toronto,ON
- $62 per month
- about 7 days
 Bell Canada- "Stability"
- "Tech support, billing department, billing issues, cost per Mb"
- "If you can get Sympatico, you can probably get TekSavvy, go with TekSavvy instead."
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UPDATE: We ordered TekSavvy DSL unlimited, same speed, half the price, no cap, no throttling, no port blocking.
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 Review by weaslenes
member for 10.5 years, 464 visits, last login: 242 days ago
updated 1.8 years ago
- Brantford,ON
- $44 per month
- Bell Canada
- "Reliable Connection"
- "25 GIG Cap"
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 Review by RexRonso
member for 2.9 years, 186 visits, last login: 225 days ago
updated 1.8 years ago
- Grimsby,ON
- $60 per month
- (24 month contract)
- about 3 days
- Bell Canada
- "Usage meter doesn't work (uncapped)"
- "Packet loss, Insane latency spikes, Rarely see speeds, voip and games fail."
- "Good for very basic web browsing, uncapped, folks who travel canada often and use laptops."
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Service: Sympatico Unplugged
The pre sales was rated poor due to the rep assuring me that I'd have a reliable, fast, stable internet connection that i'd be able to game and voip with, and the fact that he claimed i was right by a tower and later discovering i was in what they called a dead zone and that I should have not been sold the service.
Install co-ordination was simple to do with the manual, however the modem messed up somehow requiring me to re enter my info 2 more times causing billing issues and multiple bills that didn't get sorted out till 4 months later.
It runs most of the time providing roughly half the speeds promised, laggy and lossy. Signal reception is a pain and i cant connect to the closest tower to me in summer because they figured building off the escarpment within urban areas where much more competitive and vibrant services already existed was a better idea, Forcing me, one of the many under serviced rural folks who require better access to connect to a tower 12 kms away until winter. In winter Voip and games work better but still can't get promised speeds most of the time. *Height and windows are key*
(*1.5 - 2.0 mbps down, 10 - 0.25 mbps up* on a 3 mbps 0.50 package.)
I sometimes see advertised speeds, not often.
$60+modem rental a month without the promo, with it was $45 a month *with* the purchase of a modem for $100 for 24 months. With the other options i saw on the market for other ppl and how limited i was I didn't feel it was a very good value.
Tech support has not been pleasant for me...they have some ppl who really try to do well and help out, unfortunately majority of them don't know much of anything when it comes to networking making their troubleshooting rather limited and often unhelpful, I'd like tech support, not plug into the wall support. I have also encountered some very rude ones as well, one in particular in the Bell Portable department.
the best exp i have had with this service is that its better than dial up, and its uncapped. I imagine it'd be good for ppl who travel often within Canada and areas it provides service to, where a power outlets available.
I considered fiber but it seems the pole carrying the line beside my house is too far to be installed, tho i was told it could be easily done by a tech who was at the time installing it on the pole. I called and had an on site and was later denied, I Called cogeco.
Comments:
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Review by smallj53
member for 10.8 years, 1059 visits, last login: 71 days ago
lodged 1.8 years ago
- Niagara Falls,ON
- $50 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 3 days
- Bell Canada
- "They are the DSL people in Canada"
- "Clueless, the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing"
- "Avoid unless you need your dsl line fixed"
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I knew my line was a mess so rather than going with Teksavvy I went with Bell to get it fixed. I got it fixed but only after spending hours on the phone and threatening to terminate service. Only then did they dig up the line and replace it.
Now there are only occasional bursts of line noise that make my Speedtouch 780wl reboot and I have been taken off interleaving and put on fast line again. Bell's own 2wire modem actually does better at coping with this line than either of the modems I have tried besides the Speedtouch. At least it doesn't reboot. A TP-Link 8816 is ok but not great. It seems that the 2wire does better because it syncs lower than the other modems.
I will say that everyone I dealt with at Bell was trained to be polite. It was hit and miss whether you got someone who really was knowledgeable enough to help though. The trick was to get the people you dealt with to get off their scripts and escalate the problem. Keep doing it until you get what you need because aside from the notes they would put on the file, no one would coordinate anything and every time you called you were starting over again. I can't count the number of times my call was dropped transferring from one tech to another for example.
So would I go with Bell again? Sure. If you want your line fixed, you have to do this. Will I stay with them? Not in your life!
Comments:
| | I test all types of modems I've tested just about every modem ever made. Without shelling out thousands of dollars for cisco brand modems this is my modem of choice for dsl. You want to be the big man there it is?
Motorola ADSL2+ 11G Wireless Gateway 400MW 4PORT Managed Switch | |
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 Review by navros
member for 5.6 years, 878 visits, last login: 1.2 years ago
updated 1.9 years ago
- Orleans,ON
- $20 per month
- Bell Canada
- "Got a killer monthly price for HS Ultra"
- "Throttling, tech support"
- "Depends on the deal you get."
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- High Speed Ultra
- 7mb profile
- Unlocked Speedstream 5200
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Review by misternox
member for 3.5 years, 16 visits, last login: 173 days ago
updated 1.9 years ago
- Montreal,QC
- $43 per month
- about 10 days
- "Reliable connection"
- "Low caps, throttling"
- "Cheaper than cable"
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I got fibe 7 (syncing at 8.5 mbps) on a dry-loop with a low 60GB monthly download cap. Not digging the low data cap or the throttling (I haven't experienced throttling yet) but I felt it was more tolerable than a lower sync speed (5M/3M) that wholesalers are limited to or a lower data cap at videotron for an extra $10/mo. The bell service comes with a 2wire modem which I keep in it's box and instead use a tp-link 8816 and an asus rt-n16 running ddwrt.
Comments:
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Review by Timekiller11
member for 1.9 years, 0 visits, last login: 1.9 years ago
lodged 1.9 years ago
- Boucherville,QC
- $50 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 10 days
- Bell Canada
- "offer's fast internet"
- "WORST costumer support i've seen, you pay high price for cheap service, impossible to get an easy fix for your problems....."
- "do not get... you will regret it"
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I personnally think that a good provider should at least offers a decent costumer support but they only goes to the unplug-replug your modem and send you on a huge waiting line for tech support (wich isn't more helpfull)
closing-opening hours of their costumer support are business hours so you cannot reach them unless you take some time at work.
Installation was suppose to be "plug and play", ended with a 3 hours phonecall because they had mistyped my password.
i was using the Gateway 2Wire wich didn't allowed me to block a single user unless i get every single MAC-IP from my 7 computers and my 2 cellphones to allow them individually because someone was cracking my SSID
The tech guy didn't told me before i started to complain that it was possible to swich from a old WEP key to a WPA-PSK / WPA-2 (he told me WPA2 was bad compare to WPA... kinda proove how good they are)
Worst experience is when they started cutting my line after midnight without telling me, had to call them every week and they always denied it was their fault (untill about a month later they finally said they were sorry and fixed it)
Comments:
| | For extra terabytes I've found it's easier to download from the local hospital rather then bum a wireless signal elsewhere... much more download speed. | |
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Review by WEBnut
member for 6.6 years, 206 visits, last login: 349 days ago
lodged 1.9 years ago
- Belmont,ON
- $3390 per month
- about 4 days
- Bell Canada
- "6000/800, installation and setup, solid performance, support"
- "modem rental"
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Moved from another ISP. Ordered 6000/800 speed package and current tests show just under 6000. Monthly cost of this package is $33.90 after bundle discounts. I ordered this service on a Thursday and was installed the following Monday about 9:00 AM. Installation of the 2wire 2701HG-G modem, by a very knowledgeable installer, including setup of home network, went well and took just over one hour. Had one minor problem that was looked after by support on first try. The whole experience, from order to being fully operational, was, in my opinion, first rate.
Comments:
Gorz
join:2008-11-23
Lachine, QC | Be careful For this price, your bandwidth limit is 25G. If you use lot of P2P or watch lots of online movies like Netflix, Bell could send you three digits bills.
For the same price, Teksavvy gives you 300G and the same speed, plus better customer service.... | |
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