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 ?

[CoopCoop]

Unfortunately Bell customers don’t seem to benefit. We were visiting some of the beaches (China beach, Sombrio beach, etc) last month and I was charged $100 in roaming fees. I’m actually not sure how because I hadn’t been using my phone because the cell service was so spotty. I got the notification but thought it was an error because I wasn’t actually using my phone. Something must have been running in the background. My husband is also with Bell and we were using his phone for Google maps, but for whatever reason, he didn’t get any roaming charges. I called customer service today to ask if the charge could possibly be retracted since I never left Canada and she just kept repeating their policy that we’re responsible for charges incurred when in the US or “near the border”. She said she couldn’t waive the charge because it’s a “valid charge” given the policy. I’m normally pretty patient and level-headed, but her response (which wasn’t at all empathetic and involved repeatedly telling me I was wrong and talking over me to echo the policy) has left me surprisingly upset. Maybe because I’ve been a customer for so many years. So ya, currently cancelling my plan on principle. 

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day & Welcome to the Bell Community Forum

@CoopCoop 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.
4. 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.

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.

Unknowingly, you may not of been using your cell phone. While outside of Canada, making and receiving calls, sending text messages, checking your voicemail, using Apple Live Voicemail and using data (including Instagram, WhatsApp, or TikTok, and sharing or receiving a picture via text) all count as roaming usage. Keeping your device data turned on may also trigger roaming usage, as most applications on your device refresh content in the background, resulting in roaming charges.

You indicated that your husband's phone was used for Google maps yet he was not charged. I can only speculate that your husband 's device was Hotspotting to your mobile device.

Hotspotting is a process of turning a device with a cellular data connection, like a smartphone, into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot that other devices can connect to. It allows you to share your mobile internet access with a laptop, tablet, or other phones, often used when public Wi-Fi isn't available. The connection can be made wirelessly via Wi-Fi. Both of you may wish to check your Wi-Fi settings and adjust accordingly.

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

Take care.