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Bell review: ridiculously bad customer service 15

K
Author of the review
7:50 pm EDT
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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 spring and in August I decided to cancel the service since we really didn't need it anymore. The CSR explained to me that I was stuck paying another month's fees since I was required to give them 30 days notice that I was cancelling my service...which bugged me, but shame on me for not reading the contract terms thoroughly. I was also told that I had 30 days in which to convert one or both of the phones to another plan or prepay. Since that day I had reconsidered and decided that I would keep one of the phones and just go pre-pay. Ironically I also received an email today from Bell stating that they were sad to see me go and would like me to reconsider. I called Customer Service to have one of the phone converted to pre-pay and they explained that I would have to pay $35 to do so. Now, the money isn't the point ( I've been paying much more each month for phones we haven't been using) but the principle is. I, a departing customer, was willing to leave my business with Bell and they, instead of welcoming me back with open arms, demanded that I pay $35 dollars for the priveledge of continuing to give them my hard earned money. I don't understand their logic. When I then told the CSR to not bother, I'd just let the phone cancellation proceed, she (Sal) began to argue with me...telling me I'd have to pay an activation fee with their competitor anyway. Except that I won't, since I don't "really" need the phone in the first place. The customer service representative was rude, kept cutting me off, and quite honestly didn't seem to hear a single thing I said AND when I asked to speak to a Supervisor, HUNG UP ON ME. I have NEVER received such poor service from any phone centre. There was one good outcome of the experience though: I no longer have any doubts about cancelling my Bell service.

Years ago I was told a customer service statistic...I don't know if its true, but I rings so with me. Every happy customer tells, on average, three people about their satisfaction with a company or product. Each unhappy customer tells 27 people about their dissatisfaction. And this time of the Internet...its sure to be exponentially higher. I can confirm that I will tell AT LEAST 27 friends and family about Bell, warm in the knowledge that I have spared them some pain.

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Adam Gale
Sep 20, 2008 12:15 pm EDT

I had a simillar thing with bell, though mine was with their expressvu dish. At the end they too hung the phone up on me after calling me. They wanted to give my wife a 'free'* sattelite dish and wanted to know when we would be home for them to install it. I told them that as a we were phd students we hardly had time to watch television so it wouldnt be very useful for us, the operator then became condensending and said that everyone watches television (i wanted to tell him i could watch what i wanted on the internet anyway). Considering my name wasnt on the account i was surprised that he was even talking to me about this, but his intention was to send the dish without even speaking to my wife. He then told me that we had to be on a two year contract plus monthly fees etc. I told him we were moving in less tan a year as well and this didnt work. I then confronted him about the fact that he had planned to send the dish with out consulting my wife, and how angry she would be about this. He wouldnt listen about it, and hung up the phone on me. There was no call back but this happened a few weeks ago, and we're hoping a dish doesnt show up. Ive since decided with my wife to cancel all the existing services with bell and go with rogers for telephne and internet.

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Boise, US
Oct 11, 2008 11:03 am EDT

"I can confirm that I will tell AT LEAST 27 friends and family about Bell" Get over it... besides to go to prepaid its 50$ 35$ for activation and 15$ goes on your phone to start it off if you don't like that then move on to rogers or telus last i checked they have the same policies.. The grass ain't always greener on the other side and complaining to your "27 family members" ain't going to do much other then annoy them with your complaining

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Joanne Havis
Arnprior, CA
Oct 30, 2008 8:36 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I am receiving continuous txt messages notifing me that there is an error with my phone from a magma.ca address.
Each time I top up my account I receive a minimum 12 messages each minute which eats up my time. In the past 6 days I have used up 40.00? I spoke with customer service and was told to send a STOP message which I did 6 times, and then I topped up my account this morning and low and behold by the time I got to work I had 8 messages on my phone, and there is no way to protect me from this thievery? I have not had any issue with your service of which my husband and teenage daughter also have your service, however it is very disappointing to know that for a fee of 30.00 I can change my number and stop this problem as I am being told that I have signed up on the internet I know for a fact that I have not signed up for anything. And if this is not enough the only time I can speak with a manager is with a call back of 24 to 48 hours..what kind of customer service ist this? I have had many issues with Bell and I see that your service is very similar in the fact that it is all about money and poor service!
We have had non stop calls to try and get us to continue with your services but after today I can assure you that I will cancel our phones/or not top them up and have our accounts run out and find another source.
I will also post this complaint on the internet for any future customers so as to save them the frusteration which I have experienced in the past week and have not been offered any help whatsoever other than an additional cost?

Joanne

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viento
Thunder Bay, CA
May 07, 2009 10:20 am EDT

We're all getting screwed by a horrible company with no way out it seems. What can be done?

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Amin Bashir
Elliot Lake, CA
Oct 20, 2009 8:55 pm EDT

My experience with Bell has been my worst nightmare. Bell seems to have trained their customer service reps to do everything possible to annoy every customer that call in. What other business complaints handler will solve it in less than a minute, Bell customer service will take about an hour to make it as complicated as they can.
Here is my experience. I signed up with Bell more than 4 years ago to get their TV service. I called Bell about 2 weeks ago and told them my need to discontinue my TV service. After spending more than an hour this matter was looked after and I was satisfied. I was given a reference number for my record.
Tonight I got a call from Bell service telling me that receivers will be picked up 10 days after the account is closed instead of 14 days before such date that I requested. That to me means a lot more inconvenience as I have no room to store those. I have paid the account in full but stil have to find room to store these receiver for Bell at some friends place. Bell guys are the best asset to its competitors as 5 among my own family has been pushed to other carriers by the Bell customer service. How Bell survive is beyond me

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seashoregal
Murray River, CA
Jul 25, 2010 11:34 am EDT

File a complaint with the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services. (I have no idea how effective this agency is, but the more people who complain about Bell Mobility's terrible tactics, the better.)

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Reebirt
London, CA
Apr 13, 2011 8:09 pm EDT

I have had several negative experiences with Bell. My first, and worse was about 10 years ago. I cancelled my internet services because it just wasn't very good, and my phone service sounded terrible, even with oodles of those little filters on it. After I had cancelled they kept taking the automatic payments out of my account. Every month I called and told them to stop, and every month they said they would. The third month was the last straw. I called furious. There response was "it's only $50 a month" and they hung up on me. I called everyone I knew and I got 27 people to leave Bell that day. I called back and told them what I had done. I had to pay money for the bank to put a stop payment on them taking funds out of my account. About a week later, I received an apologetic phone call from Bell, and a cheque from Bell returning 2 months of the stolen funds. I have not had anything to do with Bell since. And every time I have a rep call me wanting to sell me their services, I am more than happy to repeat my experience to them! Unfortunately my brother is now having the same horrible experience with his wireless customer service. He signed a contract and received his Blackberry. He was happy with the device and service for about a month... until the Blackberry broke. After countless hours wasted trying to get the device repaired Bell will not fix the broken device that is under warranty, they will not let him out of his contract without paying $400. He was going to just buy another Blackberry, but I told him not to, and to add me to his account and I will call on his behalf. We are in the middle of collecting all the case numbers and incidences. I will then call their customer "non support" retention department and see if I can get them to honor their contract. *wish me luck* and for anyone looking for wireless provider, please avoid Bell. Rogers isn't far behind the poor customer service reputation. This doesn't leave us much selection for reliable wireless service.

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tracydp
st,john's, CA
May 06, 2011 9:47 pm EDT

Do any one know how to get hold of someone form Bell 's head office. I keep calling the 1800 numbers and can't get any where with them...I've been over charged by $450.00 on my bill and i can't get anyone from ciustomer service to help me! They to have no problem taking my money but when it come to proving why they took the money they can't. SO frusted!

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Ky.
CA
Jun 13, 2011 10:49 pm EDT

Bell has been nothing but a nightmare for me!

Not one person that works for Bell customer service has aided me in any possible way. I have been battling them for months on end with no help whatsoever, incorrect information, and a complete runaround with almost every employee in the customer service department. I have had a fraud account created with my information, being underage, and have had my credit ruined (without even having credit!) I am unable to receive my first credit card due to the constant charges in my name through this horrible company, I have made countless reports and even made a police report but not one person has helped me! In fact, I was tricked into paying the company $200.00 and some odd dollars to close the account, promising me that this would completely clear the account. I then proceeded in attempting to apply for my credit card once more but was shocked to hear that I owed another $400.00 for a "cancellation fee" because I originally paid the $200.00. They say to me, "you take responsibility for the account by paying the initial amount, and owe use more."

Horrible service, I am still battling them on this matter. I hope this company one day goes down as I have heard nothing but horror stories with this company (other than mine). They are an embarrassment to other Canadian companies! To end my rant, I hope that everyone avoids this company and that they go bankrupt, as this is what they are doing to GOOD AND INNOCENT PEOPLE!

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davewinfield
Cambridge, CA
Jun 28, 2011 5:37 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

22 years as a Bell Mobility customer and now I have a problem with a Contract renewal/Phone Upgrade. All I get is a recital of contract and warranties, and a list of possible charges. I was conned into upgrading my phone under the pretense of absolutely no costs and a new and improved phone, just for agreeing to a 36 month renewal. The phone started having problems one month into usage (return policy allows for only 14 days usage)...4 months later the phone is now unusable. Not only will Bell not replace the phone, I was asked to pay for a loaner (not necessary now as my old phone has been reactivated), asked to pay for reactivation of my old phone (since waived), given no timeframe for repairs and asked to pay for shipping to get the phone fixed! To top it all off, I am fixing a phone that does not work as well as my old phone (poor camera and poor reception) and I have now been told there might be costs involved in the repair (even though the phone is supposed to be under warranty)! Oh...they did offer to SELL me a replacement phone (a bottom of the line model for 89.95)! ...OR I can opt for the $400 contract buyout and switch to Rogers? Either way, I am done with Bell as soon as possible.

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John Phillipoff
Kelowna, CA
Sep 17, 2011 4:21 am EDT

After spending endless hours 4 months in a row to rectify my contract shortfalls I finally had to approach the better business bureau with my complaint to resolve my dispute.Even to this day I spend 30 minutes minimum every other month to complain about wrongful billing. Every one here is right Bell Mobility customer service STINKS. If you are frustrated approach the Better Business Bureau website and file a complaint. It sure helped my case

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CRAadmin
Brampton, CA
Sep 24, 2011 12:45 pm EDT

you can get any fee or charges waived by asking to speak to CRA, even if they are valid usage charges. You may not get CRA if you ask for a supervisor, that might only get you a more experienced representative...just keep asking to escalate until you get to CRA to get anything waived

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Linda Carey
Dorset, CA
Jan 03, 2015 12:02 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Horrible Nightmare of service. I bought a prepaid card as they instructed me to so I could pay my bill super fast. (And not a prepaid credit card) They said a go buy "a prepaid gift card." They refused to accept the card and the saga is still going on. Over and over and over, eight different people, lied to, giggled at and hung up not once but several times.
They have no knowledge of the fax and email I sent with the pin no for the card. They inflated my account and I know this for a fact to make matters worse. If I told the rest you would probably yes believe it. Disgusting and disappointing. They are NOT professional.

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Abel Debarros
US
Feb 18, 2021 1:54 pm EST

Bell is horrible but so is Telus and Rogers, they need more competition, they say they’re helping thru the pandemic, such a LIE, they threaten to cut you off, they send 5 reminders of your payment arrangement, they say this is supposed to be helping us not to forget WRONG it’s just harassment.. they care only about their shareholders period !

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Lina Amin
US
Aug 22, 2021 1:44 pm EDT

Worst experience ever with BELL... just hearing their name causes my blood pressure to spike... I wish there is a way to hold them accountable

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