Thinking of switching cell phone from Fido to Telus

[Massagegirl]

Someone remind me why telus is bad, and talk me out of it.

They have a deal where I can trade in my fido phone and get a camera phone for $80 with a 2 year contract.

They also said they have 25% better coverage than Fido.

However it sounds to good to be true which is a huge red flag.

I really do covet the phone (another red flag) and a 2 year commitment it no problem but I have heard so many bad things about Telus but I can't remember if they are valid concerns. Here's the phone I covet ...LG 6190 ...any advice out there?

 

[Mr. Jones]

Telus ...... ???

Hi! Guess I win the award for first vote. Shows you how badly I think of Telus.

They are supremely arrogant in their approach to customer (not!) service. I had a running gun-battle with them (well - OK - paper battle) that took 3 months to resolve - in my favour. At stake was over $200 of inapplicable charges. My other difficulties with them would take too much space to document here. They are just plain Baaaaad Neeeeews.

I suppose all large consumer co's have problems communicating? Make sure you check out Bell - they are aggressive here in BC - just outbid Telus for the Olympics gig.

Good Luck !!!

HoJo ............

 

[dirk_dog]

Ive been with all the major cell companies over the years. For the past few years Ive stuck with Telus.
In Vancouver, Ive only had telus so I cant speak for coverage of the other companies in this region. But Telus is fine in the area I use it.

I dont know where Telus' bad rep comes from. Ive never had major problems, always great customer serivce, so no major complaints from me. In fact, Id have to say theyre the best customer service Ive had from any of the phone or cable companies.



As for signing a contract, I dont think its a big deal. Ive had a cell phone for probably whats approaching 15 years now. So a 3 year contract isnt a big deal. Its not like a fad thats going to die out.
But, if you like new phones, then 3 years is a long time. Even 2 years. A phone thats cool and catches your eye today will be old in 2 years. I usually go 1 or 2 year renewal. If you time it right, new phones often times have great rebates with special promos for the first couple of weeks (especially with telus) and if you can combine that with another discount it works out well.

 

[BDAClub]

Telus has non existent customer service but based on experience far better coverage than Fido.....I agree with Mr. Jones check out Bell there coverage is the same as Telus and they use CDMA Technology far better than the GSM of Fido and there Customer Service actually feels like it!!

 

[Massagegirl]

Does Bell have offices like Telus, where I can pop in? I hate waiting on the phone, and want to see what I am getting.

 

[dirk_dog]

Im curious, what are these bad experiences and examples of poor customer service you have experienced?

Ive been with Telus for a few years now. No billing or incorrect charge problems. Ive moved cities a few times with them and theyve been great in transfering service with my phone. Ive had to get extra #s on my account at certain times. Theyve been more than accomodating all the time.

Fido - service is ok. Nothing to complain about but I wouldnt rave about it either. Awful coverage where I needed it.

Rogers - bad coverage in areas where Ive lived and used the phone. Probably the worst service of the bunch. Years ago I had continuos billing issues but this must have had something to do with their systems. They were ok in resolving the problems.

Bell- used it when I lived out east. Im neutral on this one. Wasnt a heavy user back then so it did the trick and I had no issues with coverage or service.

 

[Massagegirl]

Dirk Dog I think their bad rep started (at least for me) back when they laid off all those employees and had noone to answer the phone for months. It was impossible to get through, and you would often wait 45+ min to be achnowledged. This was a real pain when I was moving and had no choice but to wait so I could transfer service to my new address. However they got that automated service and it has been ok since then. I actually found it kinda fun to speak to a machine and be achnowledged and steered to the info I wanted.

I did have an arguement with them once cuz they kept billing me for *69's that I never used. They kept insisting the machine never lies etc and I had to call back and get someone else who was accommodating. I then got them to block my phone from being able to use the *69 service and still kept getting billed for them! I then had to call back and argue more, and they finally achnowledged that the block meant their machines WERE wrong. I found the operators to be really testy and agro but that could have been due to the shit they were getting from everyone who had to wait to get thru. It was basically the fault of the A-hole who cut the funding.

However it was after chek 6 did a story on the problems and tested the wait time themselves, that things suddenly got better. That is the last I heard and the reason I am asking for advice, have things gotten not just better but great??

 

[drromance]

Anyone have "inside" info when Telus will launch their TV service, apparently under test at some employees homes.?/

 

[calvinxxx]

Bell has deal where you get their sanyo camero phone free, first yr coverage is all free but on one plan only at 45 month and sign three yr deal but i think substantial penaly to get out early since they pd the first 5oo - 600 of costs. I alway have trouble with my fido ph in the US. Big advantage about telus is matching fido rate and getting second to second billing

 

[dirk_dog]

The bad Telus experiences - are they with Telus Mobility specifically or in general (regular phone line, internet, etc).

 

[missionary]

I've been with Telus exclusively for 10 years. No problems/regrets. I have dealt through Apex Communications for all my requirements, and let them be the interface with Telus.

Telus has far better range than Fido, if you plan to move about the Province.

Some of the people I work with use Rogers, and seem happy, but I don't know much about them.

 

[O-Shoes]

Within the next year or so people in Canada will have what's called "number portability" which means you will be able to keep your cell number no matter what company you use. I use Bell but when this comes in effect who knows where I will go.

Stay with FIDO for now, Rogers Wireless just bought them so you will be on their network soon... Besides, Rogers has the GSM network which gives them access to more updated phones and wider coverage world wide.

FYI, Good luck using your BELL or TELUS (CDMA network) phone in Europe or anywhere outside North America.. You would be good to go with Rogers/FIDO anywhere in the World...

I hope that helps...

Saying all this, I still like Bell's network the best but only for use in Canada.

FYI, I come from the industry...

 

[Cinnamon Girl]

Telus

I had huge problems getting my bill sorted out & IMO it still is f@$*&!ed up! I was overcharged & finally credited over $400 after they forwarded me to the police for fraud investigation. LMAO
No one hijacked my phone BUT I still get a phone bill with hundreds of calls listed - many to my voice message system which doesn't make sense......I know how much my phone rings & its not that much!!!! And I know I don't use as many minutes as they claim.

They told me to write down all my calls, LMAO yeah thats convenient.

To get out of the contract I have to pay $20 each month left. That means $500.

Fido has limited roaming services.

 

[memyselfandI]

Interesting opinions....

I ditched Telus for High Speed Internet, but I've never had any problems with my Telus cellphone..the quality has been excellent and I've never had any complaints about the people I deal with...

YMMV I guess...

 

[carlotta]

Hello,
I was presented with a gift of a SPRINT phone as an early "stocking stuffer"... I am happy w/my current phone service... For sale...

One SPRINT LG Model VI-5225
Some of this phone's features; call waiting, call forwarding, 3way calling, PCS Voice Command, Personal Address Book, PCS Vision; send & receive emails, games, ringers, screen savers, web, PCS Business Connection. Other phone features; calendar, location, external display, alarm clock, notepad, calculator, world clock. Comes with the charger (battery).

Asking 125.00. Payable to my paypal account or money order... or stop on by & grab it in person!!

Email for photo of phone...

Carlotta
hotcarlotta@yahoo.com

 

[Jumbo Cerutoe]

I've been with Telus Mobility for about 10yrs without any real problems at all. The last time I called about 2 months ago (I was getting spam text messages) they were easy to deal with and took care of the problem right away. Telus Internet and Telus the land line company are totally different stories in my book, nothing but frustration and hatred towards those two entities.

 

[Jodie]

I've been with Telus Mobility ever since they took over Clearnet. Although their customer service has improved vastly over the last 2 years (in 2002 I would regularly wait on hold 50-70 min any time I had to call customer service), I am still not very fond of the company. Here are my reasons:

1. Service sucks. I get a lot of dropped calls and have been unable to send/receive calls in certain locations where friends with Bell phones have had no trouble. I have tried a variety of Telus' phones, and am convinced this is a network issue, not a handset issue.

2. Every time I change my rate plan, Telus changes the rate for some aspect of my plan and fails to notify me. Some examples:
- per minute long distance rate increasing from $0.10 to $0.20 to $0.25
- cost of voicemail/caller ID/etc going from $0 to $3 each to $4 each to $5 each
- changing my billing from "per second" to "per minute" without telling me (that's a big fricken difference in minutes used!)

3. Telus Mobility uses an auto-dialer when they want to call you to upsell you on your rate plan. I once got over 30 calls in a single day due to some "glitch" in the system.

4. Repeating myself here, my past customer service experiences with them have been abysmal. There is nothing more unpleasant than sitting with a hot little cell phone stuck to my ear for over an hour, while my brain cells are being microwaved.

 

[SexMachineGun]

Travel is important to me, especially when traveling to the USA. with Fido. roaming only costs 20cents a minute per call. while in the US. Telus and Bell and Rogers are over and above the $1/min
while in the US Telus doesnt get digital signals. I had an old phone and while in calgary i couldnt get a digital signal.

with GSM and fido when i was in the US. i have access to all the GSM networks they have, T-mobile, Cingular, AT&T, AT&T/Cingular.
so i never get a dropped signal.

in Asia the biggest networks are all GSM.
and there is no cell phone plan in the lowermainland that can even touch the City Fido plan. there just isnt any.

I spent almost 1 hour with a Bell rep on the phone they tried to swing every deal and plan they could throw at me to get me to switch. too bad they couldnt offer enough minutes even on their most expensive plan.

Did i mention i used to get 2 calls a day from the Vancouve Sun offering me a subscription while i was using a Telus Phone. and i had no daytime minutes. now who is messing around with who here? Telus knows i have no daytime minutes so if i answer that call i pay them for a minute. I guess even Telus has to make extra money by selling their client list to the Vancouver sUn so they could cash in on the daytime minutes of users as well as make a profit by selling the Call List. that alone makes me want to just flush fire crackers down the toilets at Telus so they could see how it feels like to pay money for no reason.

 

[O-Shoes]

FYI--- Rogers now owns FIDO. It will soon be the same network. The best of both.... This now makes them the largest cell phone provider in Canada. With this you get World Wide Coverage.

from a Bell Mobiltiy customer

 

[Jumbo Cerutoe]

while in the US Telus doesnt get digital signals. I had an old phone and while in calgary i couldnt get a digital signal.

I don't believe that is true, I was recently in Nevada and my phone was indicating digital roaming. I do agree that the Telus rates in the US are highway robbery though.