BIRD TALK

Dear Bird Talk,

I think it important to warn other snowbirds about my unfortunate experience with Bell Canada.
For two years, I requested temporary suspension of my satellite dish for the TV while I was in Florida. This was done…and I was charged a minimal amount. This past October 2013, I phoned them as usual. I spoke to a young man who took all the particulars and assured me that the temporary suspension would be put in place. When I received the next bill, I saw that they were charging the full amount. I wrote to them in December and again in March. They did not correct their mistake. I also phoned and spoke to two representatives, who said that the order for temporary suspension had not been received. The account was disconnected in February for non-payment. They would not consider that the oversight was theirs.

When I returned to Canada in late April, I determined that I could sign up with Shaw Direct and did so. Then I wrote to Bell Canada and told them to come and pick up their equipment. They then began a campaign of intimidation, threatening to send a collector and to attack my credit, calling daily. It was incomprehensible that they would act this way. I’m sure that they could have verified there was no signal going from the dish to TV at this address.

I was forced to pay more than $200 which I didn’t owe. Finally, they sent a prepaid Purolator label to ship the equipment to Scarborough, ON.

My experience should be a caution to other snowbirds; document any requests to any large corporation!

M Sanders
Fergus, ON

Response:
Ed.: We get many, many letters of complaint about the telephone, satellite and cable companies and we do not have any real answers. I do, however, believe that you could get your $200 back. I would call Bell and ask for their Ombudsman and he should be able to fix it. Another option would be to file a claim in Small Claims Court, including extra fees for your time and effort. My guess is that the judge has had the same problems and will “throw the book at them.”