Rogers Removes One 'Unfee' Simply To Add Another Goodbye 'system access fee,' hello 'regulatory recovery fee' Just like in the States, carriers in Canada enjoy taking the cost of doing business and plastering at the end of your bill as a below the line fee, allowing them to advertise a lower monthly price. Facing a coming storm of cheaper competitors with no such fees, Rogers Wireless is finally ditching their controversial $6.95 "system access fee," and instead will simply be raising the price (a preferable move that offers better transparency to consumers). Unfortunately, users in our Canadian forum point to the news that Rogers will be adding a new government regulatory recovery fee ranging from $2.46 to $3.46 per month, depending on the province. The "regulatory recovery fee" is also used commonly here in the States, and is simply a rate hike disguised as an official sounding government fee.
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 | | Mumbo Jumbo It's not only communication providers that do this. I wish companies in the U.S. and Canada would do what many other countries are like, where the price you actually see is the price you pay (includes taxes and fees). When I book a hotel room in Paris, the price posted is what I pay. When I order a Big Mac in Tokyo, it's the same.
I'm getting tired of companies trying to fool us. Soon we might see 99 cent airfares advertised, but in the fine print it will probably say "plus $200 in recovery fees." When will it end? | |
|  |  lordfly
join:2000-10-12
Homestead, FL
 ·SkyNet360
 ·AT&T Southeast
| Re: Mumbo Jumbo So this is like the ebay seller that sells the item for $1.00, but the shipping is $25. Of course in this case the seller is trying not to pay fees to ebay.
I agree that prices displayed should include all fees and taxes. Then maybe we would have less people in debt. I should be able to go buy, say a car, for the sticker price and not be stuck with an extra $1000 worth of dealer charges. | |
| | | | | Re: Mumbo Jumbo Except with a car dealer you can negotiate a lot of those dealer charges. Try negotiating with the phone company on any of the fees. | |
| | | bn1221
join:2009-04-29
Cortland, NY | I agree that prices displayed should include all fees and taxes. Then maybe we would have less people in debt. I should be able to go buy, say a car, for the sticker price and not be stuck with an extra $1000 worth of dealer charges.
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Like 250 they charged me for FLOORMATS that I could get at Walmart for 25 bucks.
I dont care if care dealers go out of business.....does that make me unamerican? | |
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| patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
kudos:1 | said by burgerwars:I'm getting tired of companies trying to fool us. Soon we might see 99 cent airfares advertised, but in the fine print it will probably say "plus $200 in recovery fees." When will it end? When commercial code is changed to not let you unbundle taxes and fees from the listed price. In europe your not allowed to un-bundle VAT from the advertised price, so the population has no clue how much they pay in taxes  | |
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| |  Nice move Robbers
I know Bell is going HSPA as well in the near future, but there's a fat chance that Bell will actually offer some kind of lower prices for it..
Adi | |
| | | | Re: Nice move Robbers said by adisor19:Can't wait for Wind and Videotron to launch their HSPA networks already ! I know Bell is going HSPA as well in the near future, but there's a fat chance that Bell will actually offer some kind of lower prices for it.. Adi What you don't think WIND is out there to make money. there prices will be just as bad as the rest. | |
| | | Reviews:
·Acanac
| Re: Nice move Robbers said by CoverIt:said by adisor19:Can't wait for Wind and Videotron to launch their HSPA networks already ! I know Bell is going HSPA as well in the near future, but there's a fat chance that Bell will actually offer some kind of lower prices for it.. Adi What you don't think WIND is out there to make money. there prices will be just as bad as the rest. Nah, they'll NEED to attract customers and they need to do it fast in order to recoup their investments in the new network so they'll have no choice but to offer better prices than Robbers and Hell.
Adi | |
| | | StojkoPremium
join:2007-10-20
St John's NL Reviews:
 ·voip.ms
·NBTel now Aliant
·FreePhoneLine
| said by CoverIt:said by adisor19:Can't wait for Wind and Videotron to launch their HSPA networks already ! I know Bell is going HSPA as well in the near future, but there's a fat chance that Bell will actually offer some kind of lower prices for it.. Adi What you don't think WIND is out there to make money. there prices will be just as bad as the rest. Sure, Wind's out there to make money but any new competition in the Canadian wireless industry is well needed. | |
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| fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | Who cares..... ... what they call it and where they stuff these charges. In the end of the day, if they need or want more money, they're going to put it somewhere.
Call it a regulatory fee, and "in your face" fee, raise the cost of the basic land line, or what ever, rates are going to go up.
When people tend to call for competition hoping it's going to fix the alleged problem, when has competition really helped these micro changes? never...
The ONLY way anyone will ever affect and get change is to cut the service out of their life. The more people that do it, the more these providers will change.. and for the FEW that DO cut the cord, they get back more than just these $3.50 fees.. they're often called back with 50% off offers.. while they may only last 3 months, it sounds to me like they get their gripe back ($3.50 or what ever) and then some...
So I really don't see why people work themselves up so much about this.. besides, in this case, a $7 fee was removed and a circa $3 took it's place.. to me, it sounds like a $4 savings.. so this makes front page news?
I don't get it. | |
| |  habyaPremium
join:2003-05-29
Huntsville, AL
 ·Comcast
| Re: Who cares..... said by fiberguy:... what they call it and where they stuff these charges. In the end of the day, if they need or want more money, they're going to put it somewhere. Call it a regulatory fee, and "in your face" fee, raise the cost of the basic land line, or what ever, rates are going to go up. When people tend to call for competition hoping it's going to fix the alleged problem, when has competition really helped these micro changes? never... The ONLY way anyone will ever affect and get change is to cut the service out of their life. The more people that do it, the more these providers will change.. and for the FEW that DO cut the cord, they get back more than just these $3.50 fees.. they're often called back with 50% off offers.. while they may only last 3 months, it sounds to me like they get their gripe back ($3.50 or what ever) and then some... So I really don't see why people work themselves up so much about this.. besides, in this case, a $7 fee was removed and a circa $3 took it's place.. to me, it sounds like a $4 savings.. so this makes front page news? I don't get it. Perhaps you failed to read the article listed??
"As of Oct. 5, plans offered to new Rogers Wireless subscribers will replace the fee with a new government regulatory recovery fee that ranges from $2.46 to $3.46 per month, depending on the province.
At the same time, Rogers will raise the base price of its plans by $5"
So they remove the fee, to replace it with a price hike + another fee; so you don't really save anything .
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HABYA HABYA HABYA TEAR DOWN THE HEMP STALKS EAT UP THE OLD MAN AND WOMAN AND CARRY OFF THE LITTLE GIRL MAY YOU DIE ALONE | |
| | | fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | Re: Who cares..... Actually I did read it.. people are talking about the "fee"... the same people or group of people that want them to put the "fees" in the basic cost of the service.. in this case, the service went up.. the fee went down.. You say Tomatoe, I say something else. lol | |
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confq
join:2008-04-26
Toronto, ON | just got one thing to say.... fuck rogers | |
|  WiMax
join:2003-07-12
Canada
·Vonage
·Cogeco Cable
2 edits | Can't fool the public anymore The "big companies" have never fooled me. When I first heard about Rogers eliminating the system access fee, I was not jumping up and down with glee. My first reaction was, "So, what new fees are they replacing it with?" And, I was right.
Rogers, Bell, Telus,...the whole bunch of them are money grubbing scoundrels that don't get a red cent from me! That means their shareholders MAKE NOTHING from me!
I did have cell phone service with Clearnet when they first went into business in 1999. What a FANTASTIC company - fabulous customer service, reasonable service plans. When Telus bought them out, the company went to hell and has been that way ever since. I finally dumped them two years ago, went to VOIP and have never looked back. I decided to "try" to go without a cell for six months after having ONLY a cell phone for 10 years. Two years later and I don't miss it. I can't count on both hands the number of times that it was a serious inconvenience not having one.
Until the Canadian cell phone companies wake up and realize that the consumer is educated and very aware that the rest of the world dropped their rates after the initial investment from the 80's was paid for, they won't ever have the confidence of the consumer.
I am thinking about getting a cell again however I'm waiting for the new companies to startup and see what they offer. I'll never go back to Telus. I've convinced my father to cancel his 6 year subscription to Bell (and ExpressVu). And Rogers....well, the only good thing about them is that Ted died. | |
| | | regulatory recovery fee explained: lobbist slush fund to keep out competitors and promote the best interests of the corporation.... send in your payment without that fee and see what happen.
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| |  dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
kudos:4 | Re: regulatory recovery fee explained: said by tmc8080:lobbist slush fund to keep out competitors and promote the best interests of the corporation.... send in your payment without that fee and see what happen. here in az the slush fund fee is called "digital gateway"
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When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more new yonooz tonigh molinigh - Ken Lee | |
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 GuspazGuspazPremium,MVM
join:2001-11-05
Montreal, QC
kudos:15 | Illegal? I thought that naming fees that imply that the government is requiring collection was illegal? | |
| | |  What a bunch of BS
I dropped your wireless service. I doubt I'll return. | |
| |  TLS2000Crazy CanuckPremium
join:2004-02-24
Mississauga, ON | Re: What a bunch of BS Waitasec...
The SAF is supposed to be a separate fee from your contract rates.
If they're announcing that they're dropping it for only new customers, does that not imply that the customers on contract have the SAF as part of their contract?
Isn't that the opposite of what the cell companies have been claiming for so long?
So shouldn't the customers who are currently under contract DEMAND that they cancel the SAF or cancel the contract?
Seems like a material change to me.
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Tom | |
| | | Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
| Re: What a bunch of BS said by TLS2000:Waitasec... The SAF is supposed to be a separate fee from your contract rates. If they're announcing that they're dropping it for only new customers, does that not imply that the customers on contract have the SAF as part of their contract? Isn't that the opposite of what the cell companies have been claiming for so long? So shouldn't the customers who are currently under contract DEMAND that they cancel the SAF or cancel the contract? Seems like a material change to me. Finally, here in the US, you can get out of contracts when they make changes to terms of service.. don't know about you Canadians.. you have wacky (or non-existent) consumer protection laws up north. However, seeing as there isn't really any competition up there.. this is moot. | |
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| | it must go directly... through direct deposit to memebers of the CRTC.
At least they show you where you cash is going! | |
| nydwarf1
join:2008-04-11
St Catharines, ON | Rogers ugh.... I've had Rogers since about 2002 on a corporate plan. It's been pretty good even with the SAF. But now that I see they are shrinking their coverage areas (shrinking coverage in 2009, WTF!?!?) I'm going to have to cancel and seek an alternative as most of my calls will now be Long Distance at 30 cents a minute this is a no brainer. Calling a person who lives less than 20 kilometers away to be considered long distance in the 21st Century is mind boggling and offensive to me as a consumer. Rogers who the hell do you think you're kidding? | |
| | | Housekeeping charge? Window charge? All of these charges are, as others point out, ways to hide the ball about the real price of a good or service, or to allow the retailer to raise the price without appearing to. These practices are probably already in violation of US advertising law, but it is pretty clear that legislation specific to this issue is necessary.
If there is no legislation, be prepared for a host of unbundled charges. Remember when hotels started trying to impose an "energy surcharge?" Prepare for housekeeping surcharges. Why not window surcharges, for the additional cost of installing and maintaining windows? | |
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