 raylee67
join:2006-06-25
| Is Sympatico limiting bandwidth/usage again at 30GB/mth?
I am considering signing up with Sympatico High Speed but Bell's home page suggests that "30GB of usage per month plus an additional 30GB of usage (total 60 GB) for a limited time; 30GB bonus applies during the initial agreement term. Charges apply for any extra activity: $1.50/additional GB, rounded up to the next GB up to $30/month."
(click on the orange "Certain Conditions Apply" link near the bottom of the page at »www.bell.ca/shopping/PrsShpInt_Hsp.page)
It seems that it only affect new customers and existing Sympatico customers still have unlimited usage.
Can anyone confirm this? Is there really a cap on usage imposed by Sympatico again? If so, 30GB/mth is pathetic. |
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  sbrook Premium,Mod join:2001-12-14 H0H 0H0 | This is correct. And in fact, they are trying to foist the 30GB onto existing customers if you do ANYTHING to change your service. |
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  pwn2009 Powdered Toast Man Premium join:2004-03-20 ComeByChance | reply to raylee67 its just for contract offers right? if you just go month to month 46.95, no limit?
but if you've been with them for a while, shouldn't be hard to get the 34.95 contract/no limit. |
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 DomZ
join:2003-08-03 Saint-Laurent, QC
1 edit | reply to raylee67 Actually, I just got called from Sympatico and they said they are inforcing this 30gb limit per month to existing customers. I've never called them or anything to change anything. They said 60days after the call, so I say something like everybody should have it enforced by the end of june, beginning of july
They said they are offering 3 options: 1 - 30gb additional for 10$ extra a month 2 - Unlimited Downloading between friday night and sunday night (week-end unlimited) for 10$ extra a month 3 - 20$ extra a month for unlimited
I wanna keep unlimited downloading.. I'm already paying 44.95 a month with the modem.. for 20$ more a month I should just go to videotron and have 10mbps speed (compared to barely 5mbps with bell) and unlimited downloading/uploading |
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  matradley Premium join:2003-07-03 Ontario
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Bell Sympatico
| said by DomZ :Actually, I just got called from Sympatico and they said they are inforcing this 30gb limit per month to existing customers. I've never called them or anything to change anything. They said 60days after the call, so I say something like everybody should have it enforced by the end of june, beginning of july They said they are offering 3 options: 1 - 30gb additional for 10$ extra a month 2 - Unlimited Downloading between friday night and sunday night (week-end unlimited) for 10$ extra a month 3 - 20$ extra a month for unlimited I wanna keep unlimited downloading.. I'm already paying 44.95 a month with the modem.. for 20$ more a month I should just go to videotron and have 10mbps speed (compared to barely 5mbps with bell) and unlimited downloading/uploading I am not sure where you are getting this information. I would not listen too much to what the CSRs have to say unless you see an official release. The rate for going over the cap is $1.50 per GB up to a maximum of $30.00. |
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  sbrook Premium,Mod join:2001-12-14 H0H 0H0 | No evidence of that. They have now offered so many possible deals like free for 3 months, or reduced for 3 months all with different conditions. The "Legal" pages look more like car sales talk it's so intense! |
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 mtlman
join:2007-04-05 Montreal, QC | reply to raylee67 If bell does introduce a bandwidth cap, will we be able to terminate our contract early with out a charge? |
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  matradley Premium join:2003-07-03 Ontario
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Bell Sympatico
| said by mtlman :If bell does introduce a bandwidth cap, will we be able to terminate our contract early with out a charge? I think those on contracts will not be affected by the cap. I think that the contract would be a way out of having to deal with the cap as it locks you in with Bell for 1 year. |
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  Discrimination
@bell.ca
| reply to mtlman When you look at it all, I don't see different packages, I see discrimination.
If i'm not mistaken, discrimination is the only clause where the CRTC can look at a complaint in regards to internet (I could be mistaken, going by memory of a huge telecom regulation, But i do think this to be correct).
So when you have people being given unlimited, others being refused to being given unlimited, and variations of this, this is called discrimination.
One would have to find the telecom clause on discrimination, service discrimination, and maybe price discrimination. |
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  PolicyChange
@bell.ca
| reply to mtlman said by mtlman :If bell does introduce a bandwidth cap, will we be able to terminate our contract early with out a charge? Bell said they would give people a 30-day notice on change of BandWidth Policy. This normaly includes an opt-out.
They just can't change your agreement (bandwidth policy) and say too bad for you. Not legal. Not what you bought and paid for. |
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  sbrook Premium,Mod join:2001-12-14 H0H 0H0
·Rogers Hi-Speed
Host: Rogers Bell Canada
| reply to Discrimination We've been through this with Rogers. That anti-discrimination clause does not apply here. And if you look closely at it, it actually states "unjust discrimination" ... i.e. some discrimination may be justifiable.
Until now the only successful application of this clause has been to ensure that a telecommunications carrier cannot unjustly deny access to a 3rd party telecommunications company. In other words, Bell Canada could not deny access to their wires to companies like TekSavvy or charge them an unreasonable amount so as to deny competition.
Residential ISPs thus far have not fallen under the umbrella of being considered telecommunications carriers. They are companies providing you with access to a telecommunications carrier, without being one! This is why the CRTC does NOT regulate the day to day operations of an ISP. |
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  sbrook Premium,Mod join:2001-12-14 H0H 0H0
·Rogers Hi-Speed
Host: Rogers Bell Canada
1 edit | reply to PolicyChange
said by PolicyChange :said by mtlman :If bell does introduce a bandwidth cap, will we be able to terminate our contract early with out a charge? Bell said they would give people a 30-day notice on change of BandWidth Policy. This normaly includes an opt-out. They just can't change your agreement (bandwidth policy) and say too bad for you. Not legal. Not what you bought and paid for. You need to read the terms of service ...
10. Changes; Amendments. To the extent permitted by applicable law, Your Service Provider may modify the Service, this Service Agreement, including any other document that forms part thereof, at any time and from time to time, with or without your consent or authorization, including but not limited to modification or amendment of Service Fees or modification, amendment or termination of any Service feature. Your Service Provider will notify you of any amendment or change to this Service Agreement or of any material change to the Service in advance by posting notice of such change at www.agreements.sympatico.ca, by sending you notice via email to your Sympatico parent email address or to another email address provided by you to Your Service Provider (in which case it is your responsibility to ensure that such email address remains current at all times) or by using any other notice method that will likely come to your attention.
... They don't say when they will provide you with notice, they don't say that they'll give you 30 days notice.
If you read further, you'll see that even if they change the service and you want to quit, they insist that you can still be subject to termination fees.
And they also say that your continued use of the service constitutes acceptance of any changes.
So short of taking them before a court and convincing a judge that these are unconscionable contract terms, there is NOTHING you can do.
There is NO law which states that they have to give you notice, let alone 30 days notice, so it's absolutely NOT illegal. Remember that Internet Service is NOT a regulated service at a Federal or Provincial level. |
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  EC
join:2006-10-20 York, ON
·Bell Sympatico
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| I recently called them regarding the bandwith charges that started appearing 2 months ago on my bill and told them that when i signed up for the 2yr contract, I was told it was unlimited. So after i got that fixed i recieved this email.
==========================================================
Dear xxxxxxxx
Thank you for calling Sympatico Member Services. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to assist you and hope I was able to meet your needs.
You expressed interest in receiving additional information as a follow up to our phone conversation. We recommend that you save this information for your future reference.
The Bandwidth Activity Tracker allows Bell SympaticoTM High Speed Internet members to maintain control over their Internet use. The monitor displays how many Gigabytes (GB) you have downloaded and uploaded within a specified billing period.
The Sympatico Customer Service Web site has been upgraded to assist customers to closely monitor their usage. To access the new Bandwidth Activity Tracker, follow these steps:
1. Click the link for Self Care on any page on the Bell Sympatico Customer Service site. 2. If you have not done so already, login to Sympatico Customer Self Care with your Sympatico User ID and password. 3. After logging in, click the link for View Bandwidth Activity. 4. Follow the directions.
The Bandwidth Activity Tracker allows members to maintain control over their Internet use. The monitor displays how much you have downloaded and uploaded.
Bell Sympatico is always striving to provide our members with a quality experience on the Internet - we understand that waiting for your favourite sites to load is never fun! The Bandwidth Activity Tracker is just one way Sympatico ensures that all our members can continue to enjoy their high speed connection to the Internet.
Sympatico High Speed and High Speed Ultra members have unlimited bandwidth usage allowance.
DSL Basic members have 2 GB allowance. Usage beyond this is subject to an additional charge. (2 GB is equal to about 400 MP3 songs (average 5 MB per song) or about 200 three minute MPEG videos a month and thousands of text based emails or web site visits. That's a lot of surfing!)
We appreciate your continued loyalty to Bell Canada and look forward to continuing to serve your communication needs in the future.
For service bulletins, technical, billing or general inquiries related to your Sympatico service, .
Please do not reply to this email, as we are not able to respond to messages sent to this address. If you have any questions or comments regarding this message or your Sympatico service, please visit: »service.sympatico.ca/response
Sympatico and Sympatico.ca are trade-marks of Bell Canada.
Regards xxxxx
=========================================================
So is sympatico still unlimited? |
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  matradley Premium join:2003-07-03 Ontario | Only if you have this:
 |
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  mlerner Premium join:2000-11-25 Nepean, ON | reply to raylee67 Mine is still unlimited, if they start capping me I'm switching right over to Teksavvy.  |
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 decx Premium join:2002-06-07 Vancouver, BC
·Bell Sympatico
| reply to DomZ Information given by CSRs over the phone are often not reliable. Personally I wouldn't put any weight on their claims about caps being added to older accounts until there's an official email from Bell or the "Bandwidth usage included with your plan" line in the bandwidth monitor changes from "unlimited". |
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 mugabeo
join:2006-01-30 canada
| When I renewed last month I specifically asked that I wanted to remain unlimited and the agent assured me I would. But when he emailed me the contract, the term "unlimited" was not included like it was last year. So I told him again that I only want unlimited. He put me on hold for like 10 minutes to "verify", and assured me again that it will be so. I took down his name, agent ID, and a confirmation number for our conversation
So far my profile at mybell.ca still shows as unlimited.
But others, even long-time customers renewing, have been told that "unlimited" doesn't even exist anymore. I wish we knew the logic they use to determine who they give it to and who they won't. |
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 decx Premium join:2002-06-07 Vancouver, BC
·Bell Sympatico
| Well, if the customer is renewing or changing account features, there's is a good chance that the cap will be placed on the account, unless explicitly stated otherwise. The group that should remain unlimited until officially notified, I was referring to grandfathered accounts that are not on contracts. |
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  matradley Premium join:2003-07-03 Ontario | reply to raylee67 If you want a contract that says "unlimited," here's one you can use - »contracts.sympatico.ca/3495hr/?l=en . |
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 elwoodblues Elwood Blues
join:2006-08-30 Toronto, ON
| reply to PolicyChange said by PolicyChange :said by mtlman :If bell does introduce a bandwidth cap, will we be able to terminate our contract early with out a charge? Bell said they would give people a 30-day notice on change of BandWidth Policy. This normaly includes an opt-out. They just can't change your agreement (bandwidth policy) and say too bad for you. Not legal. Not what you bought and paid for. Rogers does this all the time. I signed up for unlimited, then there were "soft"or undocumented caps, then there will hard published caps.
You just need to read the TOS which (most of them anwyays) say they can change the terms with little or no notice, only with cable do they need to provide you with X number of days or months notice of a change.
I'll be curious how long before they decide to jack up the system access fee on Cell phones to match Bell. |
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