Nov 17 2005
My Cell Phone Contract Problem (with Aliant)
I mentioned in a previous post about how I’m now paying way too much for my cell phone, and why I want out of my cell phone contract. I even wrote a letter to my phone company, Aliant. I meant to send the letter right away, but felt it might be wiser to cool off and rethink the situation before I took action. Well, after spending several hours today talking to Aliant service representatives who repeatedly told me there was nothing I could do, and who simply could not comprehend the phrase, “Let me talk to someone in charge,” I said to hell with this, and made some revisions to the letter so as to clarify exactly what I’m pissed off about. I tracked down what I hope are the name and mailing addresses of three Aliant V.P.s, and I sent off the following letter (slightly revised from the previous post).
I’ve been an Aliant customer for about eight years now (in Newfoundland, PEI and Nova Scotia), but I have recently become very dissatisfied with the level of service Aliant is providing. I would consequently like to be let out of my cell phone contract.
I got my cell phone in Halifax, August 2004. It was part of a bundle deal — high-speed Internet, cell and land-line. I didn’t really want a cell phone, but the Aliant salesperson said it could take weeks to get a regular hook-up because of the strike. She recommended I get an Aliant cell phone and, regrettably, I did. I could have easily taken my business elsewhere, but I chose to stay with Aliant. It took Aliant nearly a month to install my land-line.
When I moved to Newfoundland in October, 2005, I was told that Aliant couldn’t provide high-speed Internet to my house, even though it’s in the downtown area of the province’s capital city. Moreover, the cellular signal in my house is VERY weak — less than 50 per cent of the signal receptivity is available in my house. Long distance or 1-800 calls are plagued with static and interference.
This is unacceptable.
Aliant can provide me neither the level nor variety of service it should — the kind of service I happily paid for in Halifax. I called Aliant’s customer “service”? line and asked to be let out of my cell phone contract, but Aliant was inflexible and said no.
You’ve lost a customer — even if I have to serve out the remainder of my Aliant sentence, and even if I move to a place where Aliant can provide high-speed Internet, I will NEVER AGAIN choose Aliant as my phone, wireless or Internet provider.
I have always been an excellent customer — I’ve always chosen Aliant over other providers, and I’ve always paid my bills, but Aliant has done nothing in return to accommodate me.
I expect to be let out of my cell phone contract at no cost. I have spoken to friends who are lawyers who tell me there is no reason I should still be in this contract. I’ve also spoken to friends in the media who say I should call VOCM’s Open Line and write a letter to the editor of The Telegram. I plan to do all of these things. Furthermore, I will actively dissuade everyone I know from choosing Aliant.
I live in St. John’s, where I am billed for only my cell phone. My bills are more expensive now than they were in Halifax where I was paying for a land-line, a cell phone and high-speed. This is absurd and infuriating.
I now have a cell phone I didn’t want in the first place; the signal reception is poor; Aliant cannot provide me high-speed internet like they did when I signed my contract, even though I’m in the downtown area of the capital city of this province; I’m now paying more for my cell phone alone than I ever did for a cell phone, land line, and high-speed put together; and as long as I’m paying so much for such a virtually useless cell phone, I can’t afford to pay for high-speed from another provider. I believe I have reasonable grounds for asking to be let out of my cell phone contract.
I expect a prompt response on this.
Phillip Cairns
It would actually be cheaper to pay $20/month for the remaining 20 months of my contract than it would be to pay my cell phone bill for the next 3 months. That’s what I get for being a loyal Aliant customer.
Three copies of the letter have been sent. We’ll see what happens…
Update (Dec. 19/05): How to Get Out of a Cell Phone Contract.
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Tags: aliant, cell phones
25 Responses to “My Cell Phone Contract Problem (with Aliant)”. Leave a Reply.
I kinda feel bad about the gun laws we have in canada…good luck phil….mayby you could go in with a sling shot…worked for that david guy out in the sand dunes..
Did you email them?
Yup.
I posted about shitty service from Aliant a while ago too. I simply called it ‘Aliant Sucks Ass’
Way to go, Philip. Stay persistent and keep us updated! FYI, I’ve posted a link to your blog on my space. Routing for you all the way!
One of the letters I sent out came back today marked as “no such address.”
Good luck trying to find the address of a real person at Aliant.
Has the written word gone out of style? Are they afraid of literate forms of communication?
I’ll try to find more addresses online. And I’ll send an email to every Aliant email address I can find.
I love these people.
Turns out, the contact page I got my info from was out-dated. And I think I got one of the names wrong. That makes me look like a dork. At at rate, I found email addresses to some people with “Vice President” in their title, so here goes nothing…
Okay, three emails just went out to some Alaint vice-presidents. I’ll call in to VOCM’s Open Line if I don’t get a response by Monday.
Note: I’m not trying to paint Aliant as a scum sucking evil coporation that doesn’t care about its customers. It may well indeed be that. Like most corporations, money, and lots of it, is the bottom line. Or else they wouldn’t be posting their stock prices on their website all the time. But I just don’t want to pay another $130 cell phone bill if I don’t have to. For a cell phone I didn’t want in the first place, that’s absurd. Hopefully, Aliant will understand that I am being reasonable, not just cranky, and let me out of my contract; that, and/or hook up a high-speed line for me. You never know, they might actually do something nice.
Aliant just got back to me (that was quick). I won’t give the name of the person who responded, because as unhappy as I am with Aliant, I am trying to place nice here.
The person who responded mentioned that they all got my letters that were sent earlier this week, but the VP in my area was taking care of it.
An Aliant Mobilty technician might drop by today to see what he can do about my poor signal reception.
I was also informed that Aliant plans to expand service in my area to include high-speed — though they didn’t say when. They’re going to get back to me.
No mention was made of letting me out of my contract.
So… I got some response at least, but I suspect I’ll still get stuck with a $130 cell phone bill next month — and I really don’t care if they improve the reception on my cell phone. I didn’t want the cell phone in the first place, and I still don’t want it. If they can improve my cell phone’s reception, then I guess that gets them off the hook. Maybe. But the only way I can afford the cell phone is if it’s part of a high-speed/landline/cell phone bundle.
We’ll see what happens.
Jesus, I’m tired now. I just had a 20-minute conversation with an Aliant ‘problem resolution’ person who had read my letter — and who didn’t tell me anything I did’t already know. This is the worst thing about these people: they’re so pleasant and polite, all the while telling you, “Tough luck, sucker.” Christ, at one point she said if I wanted to cancel my contract I didn’t have to pay $20/month for the next 20 months — I could pay it in one lump sum of $420. Oh, great. Is that supposed to be good news?
She told me that Aliant is building a new transmission tower that will improve my cell phone signal.
She also told me that Aliant is expanding their high-speed service some time in the new year.
Which is all very fine and good, but doesn’t solve my immediate problem of not having high-speed and paying $130/month for my cell phone. And I told her that. And, man, you should have seen her squirm. Their sweet-talking, non-confrontational approach must work on most people, but when it doesn’t, they begin to lose it. I was so diplomatic, so polite, my friends probably wouldn’t recognize me. But I wasn’t going to lie to her.
She told me I could get a different cell phone deal so that I wouldn’t end up paying so much for my cell phone, and that perhaps I could get a dial-up package with them until they expand their high-speed network to include my neighbourhood.
All of which I already know, and which doesn’t solve my problem.
I asked if Aliant provides any kind of service to customers who want to hand over the remainer of their contracts to other customers. I can’t be the only person stuck in a contract they don’t want to be in. She said she’d make some inquires and see if there is such a list. If so, she’ll call me back.
While I was talking to her, one of the Aliant VPs left a message in my voicemail. I haven’t called back because I’m tired now and not in the mood to talk to another robot who’s going to tell me exactly the same thing I just heard. I’ll call her back later.
So here it:
1) By the time Aliant hooks up a high-speed network in my neighbourhood, I’ll have paid, at the current rate, about $500 for my cell phone (that’s 4 months).
2) Aliant will NOT let me out of my cell phone contract (without paying $420), even though they can’t provide me the high-speed service I recieved when I signed my contract.
3) Dial-up is useless to me, and changing my cell phone deal as they suggested doesn’t make it any more affordable for me to get high-speed from another provider.
4) I’m still screwed.
5) I haven’t decided yet, but I’ll probably give them a $420 lump sum get to out of my contract, and then I’LL NEVER DEAL WITH ALIANT AGAIN.
phil obviously I am not a lawyer, but what if you just say fuck it and do not pay the bill are they going to litigate for 400, perhaps they will put it to debt collection..I do not know…but what are the “real” consequences if you just walk away…
sounds like they are just wearing you down..you could just pay the 400 bucks and spend the rest of your waking moments designing blogs and making films about the evil alliant until they crumble under the weight of your continuos and deveastating multipronged media assault….
if you don’t pay it, it goes to a collection agency who will hound you for 3-4 months to pay it, then it goes on your permanent credit record for a few years, and maybe then it goes away?
I made recordings of all the phone messages and conversations I’ve had with Aliant. (It’s not illegal to record conversations of anyone who calls your number.) I’d like to post the recording so you can see what I’m dealing with, but I’m that probably is illegal.
I suppose I’ll call back the VP who left a message yesterday, though I’m still not in the mood for it. She’ll tell me what I already know, and I’ll still be stuck with this cell phone and no high-speed.
I plan on calling VOCM’s Open Line this Sunday (during their peak listenership). I’ll briefly explain the situation, and then ask if there are any listeners in the same situation. I’ll record that, too, and we’ll see what happens.
Your post is the top hit at google for aliant contract problem. That’s significant.
We should create a page for people who want to sign over the remainder of their cell phone contracts. Aliant should provide such a service, but they don’t. Beat it’d be popular.
I’ll create it if there’s a demand for it. Enter your vote here.
I called another VP at Aliant, just to get the final word on the situation. The VP is on vacation. I left a rambling message with her replacement, but it looks like they’re letting me out of the contract. They’re offering me another cell phone deal, one with more monthly minutes, but that still doesn’t solve my problem. So they’re losing a customer and I’m calling the radio station’s open line show to see if anyone else is in a similar situation. Either way, Aliant has lost a customer, and I’m screwed.
I don’t know if I’m getting the runaround or what, but I just got a call from yet another Aliant VP (lots of vice-presidents there) who told me they’re still working on it and that they want to resolve the situation. Now, again, that might just be a nice way of saying, “Tough luck, sucker,” and I’ll probably still end up with no high-speed and having to pay a nice chunk of money for a cell phone I don’t want, but I get the impression I’ve got their attention and that they MIGHT be willing to make some concessions. So I’ll continue to give them the benefit of the doubt and not call VOCM just yet.
They don’t have much time left, though, because if I get another $100+ cell phone bill, that’s it, I’ll be done playing nice.
To be continued…
Cell phone/Aliant news: There will be a major update to his post soon.
Holy moly. Final update this story coming soon.
I was with Aliant cellular for 11 Years…I bought a new flashy cell phone, has all the bells and whistles..I was impressed with the features…The only thing I really cared about and mentiond to the commisson loving punk ass sales men, was getting a phone with reception…He told me all the phones have great reception these days…I mentioned the lack of the external antena on the phone…He told me they are just plastic straws placed on phones these days to give people piece of mind and something to play with…I got the phone home and I have no reception at all…My 7 year old Nokia phone wasnt the greatest but atleast I could make a call, receive calls and didnt have to stand like a statue on the yellow line to get a 1/2 bar reception…A few weeks later I took the phone in to get an exchange, before the month was up…another commisson loving punk ass sales men told me she couldnt do anything for me because there were scuff on the phone where 2 pieces of plastic touch when you open the phone, Im very bitter…How can I screw these guys over like they are screwing me…Im locked into a 3 year contract and have nothing but a crappy $300 mp3 player which will be shoved up an Aliant managers ass when I snap…
cell phone? whats that? I love being a luddite…love it…
2 cans and a string…Brother!!!
Hmmm… I find this all very interesting, as I am in the mist of trying to find better cellular service (monthly plans) for me as I would like to make it my only phone next year when I am in an apartment. This would be possible if I didn’t live out in the bonnies (NWO) where I am both from and where I am going to school. I know I can’t get Alliant as it’s East coast, and where I am it’s basically a monoploy, TBayTel here in Thunder Bay, and DMTS in Dryden, that’s right, a small city like Dryden has its on cellular service. Rogers is the only big company here, however, it’s reception isn’t the greatest and it won’t work, from what I am told, in Dryden and I doubt it would. Bell has reception here, however, I cannot get a TBay number. Bell three years ago told me that they were going to be expanding into NWO in the next year or so and here it is three years later and Bell is no where to be seen. Those big companies have plans that’d work excellent for me, however, they can’t seem to establish a prescense here, I sure wish they would. If I’m lucky the student plan TBayTel comes out with around August will help solve my problem, but it definitely won’t be the best solution that could happen, and I doubt the plan won’t be all it could be. NWO is a very nice place, but when it comes to certain services and advancements we are extrememly far behind, and Canada as a whole is far behind the US in cellular service.. there plans are cheaper and they can call anywhere in the US.. why can’t we have that????
walk away, i’m not a lawyer but i think they are in breach of contract for not providing the high speed internet you are paying for.