Fido to charge $10 fee for select customer service transactions

Mar 26 2019, 10:31 pm

Fido is implementing a $10 fee for select customer transactions completed by a representative over the phone, live chat, and social media.

According to the company, the fee will roll out on May 14, and will be applicable where “self-service options exist.”

Fido says that most account changes can be done for free through various self-serve options, and says that the majority of its customers already use their accounts or apps to complete transactions.

Customers, however, won’t be charged the fee if they are asking questions about their account, or if they call to ask how to use the self-serve options.

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“As more Canadians choose self-serve options to manage their day-to-day needs, we’re continually investing in digital services to give customers more control and greater ability to manage their accounts easily, anytime they want,” said a Fido spokesperson, in a statement.

Exact transactions types impacted include making a one-time payment, updating payment information, or resetting voicemail password.

Fido said that its representatives began to let customers know about the upcoming change earlier this week, and the Fido website and IVR were updated to advise customers of the change.

One thing to also be aware of, if a customer calls for different requests on two different occasions but during the same billing cycle, this will count as two charges. If the customer calls once with two requests, that will count as one charge.

According to Fido, there are exceptions to the fee, including for “our customers with special needs.”

But some customers are still unhappy with the new charge.

“I think the reason I’m so mad at Fido Solutions is because the only people who will get screwed on this $10 is old people who don’t know how to do things online,” tweeted one customer.

“You could’ve explained to my mother 1000 times, she would never get it,” said another. “It took over a year for me to teach her how to navigate a smart phone. There is a fair chance that the elderly could be victims in this.”

The concept of billing per customer service transaction isn’t new in Canada.

Koodo has been implementing the $10 fee for customer service by phone or email.

Daily Hive StaffDaily Hive Staff

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