e-man
Mar 5th, 2007, 10:20 PM
Thought I might share some of the things I've learned about Sympatico billing...
I've been with Sympatico for over 2 years. In early January, I signed a 1-year contract:
- $29.95 month, with the first month free
- I just assumed I would pay $29.95 + GST/month
Of course, what you get isn't always what you think you will get:
1) The contract they made me "sign" was for $34.95 month, but I would get a $5 discount per month to bring me down to $29.95. I did indeed get $5 off, but the $5 off is AFTER taxes. So you pay the full $34.95 + tax and THEN they knock off the $5.
If you are negotiating a contract, make sure that they give you the additional GST on the $5 (which means the total discount should be $5.30/month).
2) The $34.95 is actually comprised of the following:
- Internet service: $32.95
- modem rental: $2.00
For the Internet service, you only pay GST. But for the modem rental service, you pay both PST and GST.
On the bill, you will see something like this:
- Modem rental $2.00
- Internet service $44.95
- Less: modem discount ($2.00)
- Less: Internet discount ($10.00)
The $10 Internet discount fee is to bring the price down to the contracted price of $34.95. Okay, that's fine with me.
I'm unsure as to why they need to charge me a modem rental fee but anyways they do. Now, you would think that the $2.00 modem discount would be directly applied against the $2.00 modem rental. Therefore you wouldn't have to pay any PST. WRONG! What they actually do is reduce your Internet service fee by an additional $2.00 so that your TOTAL monthly fee is still $34.95, but you still have to pay PST on the $2.00.
In the past, I NEVER had to pay any PST on my service because they basically gave me my modem for free. I was on an old promo plan ($34.95/month) and I did not pay for modem rental, which means I never paid any PST. The rep told me that they "had" to charge everyone the $2 and that I always had a hardware charge. I told her she was wrong, but she wasn't listening. My past bills prove I have never paid a modem charge.
3) When you receive a one-time credit of any kind, what they give you is always after taxes. e.g. If they offer you a $5 credit (for whatever reason - maybe the service was down), it will be AFTER taxes.
In other words, if you complain about something, make sure they give you the taxes on top of it too. Similarly, if they say they are going to give you a free month's service, make sure they include the taxes.
Bell Sympatico billing: almost, but not quite, as bad as a tax return.
I've been with Sympatico for over 2 years. In early January, I signed a 1-year contract:
- $29.95 month, with the first month free
- I just assumed I would pay $29.95 + GST/month
Of course, what you get isn't always what you think you will get:
1) The contract they made me "sign" was for $34.95 month, but I would get a $5 discount per month to bring me down to $29.95. I did indeed get $5 off, but the $5 off is AFTER taxes. So you pay the full $34.95 + tax and THEN they knock off the $5.
If you are negotiating a contract, make sure that they give you the additional GST on the $5 (which means the total discount should be $5.30/month).
2) The $34.95 is actually comprised of the following:
- Internet service: $32.95
- modem rental: $2.00
For the Internet service, you only pay GST. But for the modem rental service, you pay both PST and GST.
On the bill, you will see something like this:
- Modem rental $2.00
- Internet service $44.95
- Less: modem discount ($2.00)
- Less: Internet discount ($10.00)
The $10 Internet discount fee is to bring the price down to the contracted price of $34.95. Okay, that's fine with me.
I'm unsure as to why they need to charge me a modem rental fee but anyways they do. Now, you would think that the $2.00 modem discount would be directly applied against the $2.00 modem rental. Therefore you wouldn't have to pay any PST. WRONG! What they actually do is reduce your Internet service fee by an additional $2.00 so that your TOTAL monthly fee is still $34.95, but you still have to pay PST on the $2.00.
In the past, I NEVER had to pay any PST on my service because they basically gave me my modem for free. I was on an old promo plan ($34.95/month) and I did not pay for modem rental, which means I never paid any PST. The rep told me that they "had" to charge everyone the $2 and that I always had a hardware charge. I told her she was wrong, but she wasn't listening. My past bills prove I have never paid a modem charge.
3) When you receive a one-time credit of any kind, what they give you is always after taxes. e.g. If they offer you a $5 credit (for whatever reason - maybe the service was down), it will be AFTER taxes.
In other words, if you complain about something, make sure they give you the taxes on top of it too. Similarly, if they say they are going to give you a free month's service, make sure they include the taxes.
Bell Sympatico billing: almost, but not quite, as bad as a tax return.