I had used Rogers as my wireless provider for over 6 years and while Rogers may not have wowed me with their customer service they did nothing that would explain why the mention of Rogers to ex-Rogers customers evokes a response like that of waving the proverbial red cape in front of a bull.

It has taken Rogers less than a week to provide me a clear understanding of how it is that Rogers evokes a passionate distaste that borders on hate.

Rogers has definitely put me solidly in the ‘anyone but Rogers camp’. To the point that although I would like to keep the phone number I have had for the last 6+ years I will be quite willing to get a new phone number if that is what is required to ensure I do not have to deal with Rogers past the point of making the payments necessary to reduce my account balance to zero and sever me from the Albatross this is Rogers.

The Path that finds me sitting at my computer setting down this cautionary tale began at the end of November 2011 when the Cavalier I was driving was in need of expensive repairs such that it proved a wiser financial move to sell the Cavalier to the crusher and purchase the 1989 Cougar I currently drive for $1,000.00.

One of the most insidious aspects of poverty is the constant grinding away of the spirit and hope. One of the ways poverty grinds at you is the fact that you never have an opportunity to set any money aside for the little financial emergencies that are part of living. You are constantly one little mishap from homelessness.

A major financial disaster such as my car will, 99.99999999999999% of the time, result in homelessness. Immediately if you replace the car, several months down the road if you do not replace the car.

Having enough friends to contribute to the formation a pool of cash to lend to keep you housed and buy you the time to get your finances back up to poverty from bankrupt is the only way for the poor to survive.

In the scramble to get transportation and secure housing bills such as internet and wireless get bumped down the priority pay list. Putting you in arrears and struggling to slowly bring accounts current.

I did not try to hide the stretched state of my finances from service providers and have, through strict budget discipline, managed to go from three months in arrears to one month (plus/minus).

Other than Rogers my service providers have been patient and helpful as I work on bringing all accounts into current – even if it is a slow, slow process.

In order to avoid a service interruption I had arranged for payment to be made Friday; a few days late because it is Friday I get paid.

Wednesday my phone service was suspended and my calls were redirected and I found myself dumped into a computer voice options land where none of options offered was appropriate and none of the options offered gets you a live human being to talk to.

Leaving you on the phone with a computer system that is demanding payment, telling me I have a payment agreement on record and that Rogers had not processed the payment I made on the Friday 12 days.

I manage to use a……shortcut……to get connected to a actual person in credit services.

Who proceeded to tell me I needed to make a payment now in order to get service restored. I explained that until I am paid on Friday I have no money; that I had spoken with a Rogers representative and made arrangements for the Friday payment because I had no money until I got paid Friday and wanted to avoid a service disruption.

When I enquired why, with a payment agreement having been made service had still been interrupted I was told I needed to make a payment immediately to get service restored.

I explained that the unexpected and large expense of replacing my car had blow a large hole in my budget, that it was taking time to catch up on bills I was forced to defer and that the reason there was a payment agreement on file was because I got paid on Friday at which point I would have money to make the agreed upon payment – and why, with a payment agreement in place had my service been interrupted.

I was told that it would take at least 5 days to process my payment and – perhaps – restore services and that if I waited to Friday to pay it could take longer because of the weekend. I once again stated that I had no money to make a payment until Friday – when I was paid. That was why i had a payment agreement in place for a payment to be made on Friday.

He then suggested that I needed to increase the size of the payment set for Friday. I reminded him about how tight my budget was and that that was why that amount had been set for the payment and why I had no money to make a payment until I was paid on Friday.

He started in about how it was necessary to increase the size of the payment to bring the account current right away.

I reminded him – again – about the tightness of my budget etc.etc. etc.

When he returned to the need to make a larger payment to bring the account current I reminded him that, as stated previously, my finances were to tight to do this. He then suggested I use a credit card to pay the outstanding balance. I thanked him for making it clear that I needed to reduce my wireless costs in order to pay what I owed Rogers in as timely a manner as possible, thanked him and got off the phone.

Whereupon I promptly headed off to find another provider. And although the cost of services is about the same, I save close to $30 a month because my new provider does not nickel and dime me to death to the tune of $30, as did Rogers.

That weekend I phoned to inform Rogers I was accepting their termination of our relationship. Credit services told me I had to talk to customer services. Customer services said no I needed to talk to credit services. Someone at credit services finally told me I had to call back during the and talk the retention team. Retention team? Now there is a rather amusing concept. And would it not be simpler to treat customers with courtesy rather than trying to retain them after infuriating them?

I did make the payment as I had agreed to.

I phoned during the following week to make sure that the account was no longer in service and to say that I would be paying the balance owing, but with my tight financial state and the fact I would be giving priority to those service providers who chose to be understanding and work with me it would likely be close to the end of 2012 before the full balance was paid.

Subsequent to the final call I was able to make another payment.

This week (July 10, 2012) I received a call from Rogers about payment of the outstanding balance of $185. The statement that I did not owe $185 evoked the immediate threat of having the account assigned to a collection agency. At which point I hung up and composed the letter below, sending it to Customer Service and appropriate Rogers executives.

Ironically, as I sitting at the computer composing the letter to Rogers, I used online banking to pay my wireless bill from my new provider.

 

……stay tooned – we are talking Rogers after all……

On June 6, 2012 Rogers terminated our six year service provider/service consumer relationship by suspending phone service, unilaterally abrogating the payment agreement agreed to by Rogers and myself.

Attempts to speak to someone at Rogers dumped me into the computer automated disservice were I was consistently informed there was a payment agreement on record for my account, followed by demands for payment.

I escaped and spoke to an actual person.

My inquiry as to why Rogers abrogated the payment plan was met with a request for immediate payment. When I explained that the reason there was a payment agreement on the account, with payment to be made on Friday, was that Friday was payday, the Rogers representative responded requesting immediate payment. When it became clear that no matter what approach I took I was unable to get the Rogers representative to understand that it was not possible to make a payment Wednesday when I was paid Friday. I thanked him and said I would make the payment as per agreement on Friday.

This elicited the threat that if I waited to Friday, rather than make an immediate payment, it could well be late the next week before my phone service could be restored. The statement I would have to take that chance was met with the statement that making the payment larger or paying the entire balance would also prove beneficial in the restoration of phone services.

So it was that I found myself explaining to yet another Rogers employee that the need to fund an unexpected $1,000 expense in order to keep a car on the road coupled with being on disability, thus having a fixed and limited income, meant it was only through strict budgeting and disciplined spending that I would be able – over time – to bring my accounts current. That the payment agreed to was the maximum available in my budget.

It was suggested that in order to ensure phone service was restored and to avoid future service interruptions I should pay the entire amount. When reminded that I did not have that amount, it was suggested I put it on a credit card.

I chose not to comment on what that suggestion said about Rogers business ethics, saying simply that I could not do that, thank you and hanging up.

Whereupon I promptly went in search of another service provider.

I phoned on the weekend to inform Rogers I was accepting their termination of me as a customer. After being bounced between credit services and customer relations, before I was cut off, I was told I had to call back on a weekday and talk to the client retention team. A rather amusing concept.

I did make the payment as I had agreed to.

I phoned during the following week to make sure that the account was no longer in service and to say that I would be paying the balance owing, but with my tight financial state and the fact I would be giving priority to those service providers who chose to be understanding and work with me it would likely be close to the end of 2012 before the full $140.10 was paid.

Subsequent to the final call I was able to make a $20 payment, reducing the outstanding balance to $120.10.

This week I received a call from Rogers about payment of the outstanding balance of $185. The statement that I did not owe $185 evoked the immediate threat of having the account assigned to a collection agency.

Given healthy boundaries, I hung up once the threat was uttered.

This letter is to 1) set out what has transpired to date, 2) provide copies of my account statement at the point in time Rogers terminated our relationship, 3) record payments made and not reflected on the statement and 4) once again state to Rogers that the $120.10 will be paid as financial circumstances permit, albeit with preference given to the service providers being supportive of the struggle to recover from the car repair. Despite the anger I feel vis-a-vis Rogers’ threatening phone calls.

Rest assured the $120.10 will be paid. Regretfully, deeply so as it requires a longer relationship with Rogers, financial reality is that, whether to Rogers or a collection agency, finding the funds to pay the remaining $120.10 will require financial discipline and time.

 

 

James W. Breckenridge

 

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