Roaming charges being near the U.S. and never leaving Canada

[mema]

Wondering how other people who either live near the border or drive close to the border and Bell charges you for your phone accidently pinging a USA tower. They wont reverse the $10 charge when it accidently picks up a tower on the other side of the border. All they could suggest is to cancel my better roaming.  This still wont solve the issue of my phone pinging a tower not inside Canada.  Any other solutions and how do I make Bell reverse this $10 charge ?

[BigYearBob]

You can turn Roaming off in your setting on your phone.  Problem solved

[Theresa]

Went to my cottage near lake erie for 3 hours after i switched to bell and some of my phone settings reset. Wasted 45 minutes of my time today online chat who asked to call me and then i sat on hold for 29 minutes for them to tell me id have to check back another time and just tried to sell me on home internet in a pushy mannet

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day & Welcome to the Bell Community Forum.

It is very difficult to control roaming when you live close to the border. You are doing the right thing by contacting Bell Mobility. There is little that can be done when a device is picked up by a U.S. tower when travelling nearby.

I can only offer up the following suggestions if you wish to avoid a similar problem in the future when visiting a Canadian border community or if you live & travel close to the border.

You can do one of three things:

1. Have the Bell representative permanently remove the roaming feature from your account.
2. Have the Bell representative place a partial restriction on the roaming feature that can be removed when you are travelling in the U.S. or any other country.
3. You can turn off Roaming on your device in settings or use Airplane mode.

If you'd like to unsubscribe, please call BELL Mobility. Taking this feature off via online or using text messaging is not available. The service representative will remove this feature immediately while you are on the call.

To contact Bell Mobility call: 1-800-667-0123

Take care & thank you for posting your question.

[Gurpreet Malhi]

No sms sent tom me. Bell Charge 3 diff. Time When I visited white rock bc Canada. $13 each. 

[dks]

Slipping into US providers is a risk in border areas. If you look at the helpful replies, with green check marks, you will find ways to prevent such charges. 

[dprice2025]

Hi All,

I have an issue.

I live near the US border.  When I drive near it, my phone switches to a US mobile tower and I get charged for roaming.  I have to contact bell to have the charge removed.
But now, they force me to have my phone locked.  I have to contact them to unlock it when I do want to cross the border.  If I forget to call them, I have to request the charge be removed anyway.

With all the technological advances we have, why do I have to do this?

Ideas?

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day.

I can only offer up the following suggestions if you wish to avoid a similar problem in the future when visiting a Canadian border community or if you live & travel close to the border.

You can do one of three things:

1. Have the Bell representative permanently remove the roaming feature from your account.
2. Have the Bell representative place a partial restriction on the roaming feature that can be removed when you are travelling in the U.S. or any other country.
3. You can turn off Roaming on your device in settings & use Airplane mode.

If you'd like to unsubscribe, please call BELL Mobility. Taking this feature off via online or using text messaging is not available. The service representative will remove this feature immediately while you are on the call.

To contact Bell Mobility call: 1-800-667-0123

Take care & thank you for posting your question.

[StcAngle]

I live near the US border near Niagara Falls and this is a constant problem I have whenever I go near there or Queenston Heights. I would phone back and get a different operator who would be willing to reverse the charge. I have to constantly do that when I am in either of those areas. And usually I can speak with someone who will do it for me. Someone else in this chat suggested turning on your airplane mode to stop the signal from being picked up on the US side. But that is not a good solution as you need your Wi-Fi in order to be able to use your Google Maps for example.  Be insistent and ask to speak to somebody higher up if they won't reverse the charge.

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day.

Thank you for reaching out to the Bell Community Forum.

In your situation, turning on airplane mode will not resolve your problem. If you are using Google Maps while you are in your car, you are not using Wi-Fi. If you access Google Maps with your SIM installed, when you cross the border, you are using your cellular data. You can download Google map locations to your device prior to leaving home. to avoid cellular charges. Keep in mind your SIM must be removed if you are crossing the border! 

If you wish to avoid all charges if you are going to the U.S.A., you will need to power your device completely off and / or remove your SIM card. You can still connect to a Wi-Fi network. You will not be able to access Google Maps from your car unless of course you choose to leave everything as it is today.

I can only offer up the following suggestions if you wish to avoid a similar problem in the future when visiting a Canadian border community or if you live & travel close to the border.

You can do one of three things:

1. Have the Bell representative permanently remove the roaming feature from your account.
2. Have the Bell representative place a partial restriction on the roaming feature that can be removed when you are travelling in the U.S. or any other country.
3. You can turn off Roaming on your device in settings & use Airplane mode.

If you'd like to unsubscribe, please call BELL Mobility. Taking this feature off via online or using text messaging is not available. The service representative will remove this feature immediately while you are on the call.

It is what it is and unfortunately there little to nothing beyond what I have suggested that will solve your problem.

To contact Bell Mobility call: 1-800-667-0123

Take care & thank you for posting your question.

[Moto2023]

I recently rec'd a Bell Message on my mobile phone, claiming I was roaming in the USA and advising me of pending charges. I am away from my home area, NOT in the USA but in Canada close to the border. I am using DATA (poor cell coverage where I am staying). What action can I take to prevent Roaming Charges. I do not want Roaming added to my mobile plan.

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day.

Thank you for reaching out and posting your question. There are a few things you can do to avoid Roaming charges when travelling near the border.:

1. Have the Bell representative permanently remove the roaming feature from your account.
2. Have the Bell representative place a partial restriction on the roaming feature that can be removed when you are travelling in the U.S. or any other country.
3. You can turn off Roaming on your device in settings & use Airplane mode.

If you'd like to unsubscribe from Roaming to avoid future charges, please call BELL Mobility. Taking this feature off via online or using text messaging is not available. The service representative will remove this feature immediately while you are on the call.

To contact Bell Mobility call: 1 800 667-0123 or dial *611 from any Bell mobile device.

If you plan on travelling & going to the U.S.A., & you wish to avoid all charges, you will need to power your device completely off and / or remove your SIM card. You can still connect to a Wi-Fi network. You will not be able to access Google Maps from your car unless of course you choose to leave everything as it is today.

Unfortunately, there is little else that can be done beyond what I have suggested that will solve this problem.

Take care.

[Moto2023]

Thx so much for your input. On your advice (#2), I called Bell and the rep placed a partial restriction on Roaming in my Mobile Account. My query (Post) is now considered resolved.

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day.

Thank you for reaching out and letting us know that your roaming issue has now been resolved.

I am more than glad to have been of assistance to you.

Take care.

[TomTiddler]

I live in Kincardine, Ontario on the shores of Lake Huron. Due to the awful coverage here, and the proximity to the US, I frequently trigger Roam Better (it should be called Roam Much Worse Than You Can Possibly Imagine), to the point that my most recent bill included 4 instances of 'roaming' charged at $13 each. 

When I finally managed to coax Bell's automated mechanism into connecting me to a human, I discovered that the human was a) located in the Phillipines, and b) could do NOTHING to help me because I had received a text message informing me that I was 'roaming'!!

This is simply ridiculous, and probably illegal. 

Does anyone here know a way to reach someone in authority at Bell??

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day & Welcome to the Bell Community Forum.

If you do not want to be billed for roaming services, I would remove the feature or restrict it on my account. If you'd still like to unsubscribe from Roam Better - with home data, please call BELL Mobility. This can be completed immediately by the Customer Service representative. Taking this feature off via online is not available.

To contact Bell Mobility call: 1-800-667-0123  or dial *611 from any Bell mobile device. It can be removed immediately while you are online with them.

Thank you for reaching out to the Bell Community Forum.

Take care.