The saga of a 32-year customer of Rogers Communications

As a former customer of Rogers Communications since March 8, 2015 I’ve seen many changes over the years. The transition from analog television to digital, the rise of the Internet and the proliferation of cellular phones have all impacted everyone’s lives.

Rogers has been my sole provider over the years with issues creeping up over time. I remember the massive battle I had getting an installation of Rogers@HOME back in 2000. The back in forth of the company saying that I could and couldn’t get the service went on for months.

On the Internet side of things it has been a wild ride. The good old days when you could browse your neighbors network shares and a truly untouched connection didn’t last for long. I remember Rogers kicking the so-called “heavy users” off their network completely for utilizing their connection to its full potential. Throttling of user’s connections and the implementation of bandwidth caps were soon to follow. Nowadays they seem to be courting these “heavy users” to charge a premium price point. Gone are the cheaper plans that most people are used to. The cheapest Internet plan as of March 9, 2015 is Internet 30 for a regular price of 64.99. While the speeds are fast most people will not require this type of connection for basic tasks.

My bill was currently at $191 for a grandfathered express Internet on a docsis 2 modem with a 60 gig cap and 2 standard definition cable TV boxes. A line item on the bill called “Rogers Bundled Services” always interested me as it was adding an extra $40 to my bill. I never did get an answer to exactly what this was when speaking with reps. Common sense would dictate that this should be deduction but it isn’t.

Upon talking to a rep in regards to why this bill is so expensive for third-rate service I was actually belittled over the phone. I was told that I should be more proactive in regards to checking my bill as Rogers was continually increasing it without providing any value. He too could not explain what the bundled service charge was. Apparently nobody knows what this charge is since packages seemingly change all the time.

It was clearly time to cancel. I called to cancel on March 8, 2015. This is an ordeal I wish on nobody! First you had to wait for an agent to cancel. This took approximately 20 minutes before a human was available. Next comes the retention reps who will try to keep you paying for your service. I decided I’d indulge them. I too at this point tried to get them to explain my bill and the bundled services fee and this person also could not tell me exactly what it was. A victim of package consolidation over the years or whatnot. The kicker to this is that they still couldn’t give me a decent price and my packages would have to be completely re-formulated under their system. In the end I made it very clear that if you cannot give me a general ballpark figure price for my service that I’ll be leaving. After being placed on hold multiple times I was finally given a price that was downright insulting. I could actually get a better deal if I signed up as a new customer. It would seem that being a long time customer is of no consequence.

I ended up canceling and asked exactly what needs to be returned. A few years back the SD cable boxes needed to be replaced for whatever reason by Rogers. Now the issue is that the tech took both of the remotes and I figured that they’re now going to charge if these were not returned. I mentioned to the rep that they would not be returned as I don’t have them and I do not want to be charged for them either! I’m told not to worry, as a note will be put in the account regarding this. As I hang up the phone I quickly glance at the time elapsed, 90 minutes. WOW.

I pack up all my Rogers gear and return it to the store. The clerk at the store tells me that someone is logged into my account and he can’t accept the returns. Typical. Eventually he’s able to do what he needs. I mention that there should be a note regarding the two remotes. “Sorry sir, there is no note regarding this”. He says don’t worry about it you won’t be charged. We’ll see.

It would seem that long-term customers are of no real consequence to Rogers. Their actions over the years have clearly demonstrated this. They have made thousands of dollars off this account and the notion of any form of credit or reduction in bill is completely off the table. Their representatives have made it very clear that if you don’t aggressively try to negotiate your bill at every opportunity they will find ways to keep or increase your monthly bills.

Be vigilant. Nobody is going to protect you except for yourself. They are here to extract as much money as possible from you.

Good riddance.

UPDATE:

2015-03-09

I received a call this afternoon from Rogers winback asking why I've cancelled my services.  Once again, they have absolutely no clue as to the reason of my cancellation.

Quoted with yet another insulting offer for a year contact with the great ability to go through negotiations once again when the term ends.  This is the fundamental flaw that is ingrained in the Rogers way of doing things.  The customer should not need to watch their account like a hawk and enter adversarial negotiations on a yearly basis.

Upon asking yet again for an explanation of the specific line items on my bill I could not get a straight answer.  I'm told the package no longer exists and even the rep cannot figure out what is going on.  He also admitted that I was paying way too much for Internet/Cable TV.  Upon actually explaining my grievances with the Rogers experience I'm greeted with the following response:  "I am not here to listen to your grievances."

Does Rogers actually expect a cancelled customer to respond to such disrespect?  This coupled with a pittance contract for a year will not regain a longtime customer.  The company has had decades to rectify the situation and has done nothing until I cancelled.

As mentioned previously and confirmed by their winback rep, the onus is on the customer to be fluent in their package offerings and be prepared to do battle for a fair price.

2015-03-10

Received the following response from the Rogers Management Office.

Hello,

Thank you for your e-mail correspondence, my name is [redacted] with the Rogers Management Office. We have reviewed your concern and certainly appreciate you taking the time to bring this matter to our attention. Customer feedback is very important in these types of situations so that we can insure that appropriate measures are being taken to improve our customer service practices, systems or policies. We are always striving towards exceptional customer service experiences and this type of feedback will allow us to focus our attention in the right direction. We are disapointed that you have left Rogers as you were with us for many years and we will certainly take this e-mail as an important example of how important our long term customers are to us and that we should be providing additional options.

Once again we aprpeciate you bringing these concerns to our attention.

Thank you for your time and have a wonderful day.

I've never seen a company so resigned to let a customer go.  Most companies I have ever dealt with will try with all their might to determine and rectify the loss of an especially long-time customer.  Very odd indeed.  The boilerplate response does not help the situation either.  Nothing has changed.

I figured I might as well post my redacted last bill for posterity.

Bill was actually increasing to $191 in March!