the Walnut Diary

An item on my news feed today led to a morning of interaction with Virgin Mobility, culminating in a reduced monthly rate for our two cell phones.

Global News led with an article explaining how the CRTC deliberated, and then allowed mobile phone network providers in Canada to fail to notify subscribers of the expiration of their sales contracts at the end of twenty-four months, for example, and the subsequent reduction to which the customers are entitled at that time.  In our case the monthly add-on amount for my wife’s new iPhone was $29. and change.  The contract to pay that portion expired in November of 2017.

In the interim until Global informed me about the potential class action lawsuit against the Big Three, the Bell subsidiary Virgin has overcharged me $503.28.  When confronted with this information a nervous woman put me on hold a couple of times, but eventually offered a new “loyalty” plan for $35 per phone per month with unlimited minutes.  This is effective on the next billing, though I have no written information yet on the unadvertised plan, and Virgin’s most recent mail communication with me was in French.  When I asked for an English version, the operator promised to send it right away, but that was months ago.

The writing of this was just interrupted by a series of texts from the Virgin computer asking for feedback.  In summary, I wrote that I might recommend the phone service to a friend, though anyone who successfully cons me out of $500 had better be either a relative or a Member of Parliament, and Virgin is neither of these.

We’ll see how that class-action suit goes.

Canadians can pay off their mobile phones, but their bills might not drop. Here’s why

UPDATE:  23 September, 2019

Virgin owes me another 79.10.  A problem with Virgin’s billing system is that they send an email early in the month identifying the amount the account holder owes.  A paper bill appears much later, though they try to push one to pay online by logging into their website.  I can’t do that.  I have never done it, and I don’t remember the password.  I just pay through my bank.

They also send a due notice to my wife.  We share the account.

Anyway, a demand for payment in August caused me to pay 79.10 on August 6th.  My bank record shows that I had made a payment to Virgin on July 25th, and another on August 26th.  There are no identifiers on the requests for payment I receive by email.  How do I convince the friendly lamebrains at Virgin that I have overpaid once again?

Don’t trust these guys.  If they can get you to overpay, they’ll take the money and run.