Bell Express Vu
On May 22, 2010 I contacted Bell Express Vu loyalty department regarding an offer I had received from Rogers. The idea was to get my $103 bill down. After talking with them I accepted a deal that was offered. Imagine my surprise when my first bill was $481.80.
The deal I was offered included bundling with my home phone. The following is what I was told on May 22, 2010.
· My current TV package would be reduced to $73.00 including taxes
· My home phone would continue to be $34.15 plus taxes
· A free rental HD PVR for 12 months
· A purchased HD receiver at $199.00 of which I would receive a $100.00 credit on my first bill. Total cost $99.00
The above would be approximately $225.00 for the first month bill.
When my bill arrived for June, I contacted Bell on June 18 to discuss the amount of $481.80. After 45 minutes of being told that I should pay the $481.80 and it would be fixed later I asked for the cancellation department. Instead of cancellation I was passed to the loyalty department. Agent 6033286 told me that I shouldn’t pay the $481.80 and that the billing errors would be fixed on the next month’s bill. She agreed with the approximate price of $225.00
On July 20, 2010 my July bill arrived. The amount on this bill was $431.57. If you add the approximate $225.00 that the first bill should have been to the approximate $107.00 for satellite and land line the total should be around $332.00.
On July 21, 2010 I proceeded to call Bell and asked for Express Vu cancellation. After 20 minutes of speaking to a person and explaining the situation I was told they couldn’t help and that I had to talk to the people in bundling. After 10 minutes with bundling, where I had to repeat the entire saga again I was told they couldn’t help and that I had to talk to the people at Express Vu. At this point I asked for cancellations. I was transferred to the loyalty department. The person who took this call did not want to listen to what I had to say. She had no interest in the June bill and only wanted to talk about the July bill. She repeatedly stated that she didn’t want to discuss “past problems”. After 45 minutes on the phone she finally said she would look into the problem and call me back within 30 minutes.
One hour later I got a call back. I was told that the bill was accurate and that the “purchased” HD receiver was $199 with no discount. Also the line item on bill that says “refund” is actually a deposit charge. A very strange use of the English language. Once again I asked for the cancellations department.
This time I spoke to somebody to whom I once again had to start at the beginning. After telling them I did not want to speak to anybody else and that I no longer trusted the word of Bell employees he actually gave me a cancellation date for the account of August 21. I asked for two boxes to return the rental HD PVR and the “purchased HD receiver”. I was told that they would send me a box for the rental HD PVR but I now owned the second receiver at a price of $199.00. I explained it was a purchase at $99.00 and not $199.00. This seems to be an extreme version of ‘bait and switch”.
I am extremely disappointed with Bell as a corporation if they feel this is an acceptable way to treat customers.
I have no issue paying the agreed costs for Express Vu and the landline, but under no circumstances will I pay for an HD receiver that was sold to me at one price and then billed at another.
Dave (last name protected for privacy)
Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.
August 9th, 2010 at 8:25 am
This is so typical, I have been with Bell for over 20 years and they treat their longtime clients like a large corporation treats their OLDER employees. The longer your employed by a company the worst your treated………….Same goes for clients of these companies. There’s something VERY wrong with this picture!
August 10th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Lucia you are so right about being a OLDER customer. I have only been a BELL TV customor for only about over a year now and when i was new they were so nice, now they dont give a shit
August 31st, 2010 at 11:27 am
I just signed up with Bell, my 2nd time around with them.. Programming is much better than videotron so i have no choice. Originally i cancelled by bell account because Customer service was the absolute pits. So i sucked it up and joined bell again, its been about 2 weeks.
I have had NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS. I have had to call 4 times to get an agent to do the same thign and it still doesn’t work… i’m not getting the right channels!! My standard definition receiver doesn’t get the same channeles as my HD receiveres, and i’m missing a specific set of channels that i have asked for repeatedly. These people are complete morons and i dont know how they get away with this. I am so fed up with them but they are still better than videotron when it coems to the system and user friendliness of the receivers, and programming…
October 13th, 2010 at 9:32 am
I cancelled my service with Bell after being with them for over 10 years. Service has gone to hell in a hand basket in the last 2-3 years. Its seems when you call tech support now you don’t get India anymore which is good but continued problems with service forced me to leave. But the issues are not over yet. When I cancelled I was told not to pay my last bill until I received the final bill. This was to avoid over paying I guess. So when my bill came in they charged me a late charge. This was corrected and I paid my final bill. I guess I still over paid and now have a credit. They are refusing to pay the credit back as its under $10 dollars. They say it would cost more to send out the cheque? But they can send me a bill each month to tell me they owe me money. Now they are charging a .70 late charge each month on my Credit! Repeated calls get the same response. I’m not a customer anymore so they don’t care and they are refusing to refund my money. It’s really not about the money, it’s not that much, its more about the principal of it all. So I’ve called to give notice to Bell Aliant to cancel my home phone, Bell Mobility to cancel my cell phone, and Bell Internet to cancel my internet. The refund that they are refusing to repay because it is under $10 is in the end going to cost them about $198 a month on lost revenue from this customer and somebody who will swear off Bell for the rest of his days.
October 17th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Bait and switch is a good phrase to use with Bell. When I switched from Rogers to Bell TV, I was talked into purchasing a Bell HD receiver because they were offering it for $99 (same $100 credit as noted above). I was also told that the credits would show up on my bill within a couple of months. I noticed right away that there as a $10 HD credit being applied to my bill. When I phoned to inquire as to what this was, I was told that because I had a “rental” HD receiver, they were applying the credit for 12 months. I explained that the Bell rep actually sold me the HD receiver, I wasn’t interested in any rentals. The rep said that the installation person listed my receiver as a rental (?!) and that there was nothing they could do. After months of intense aggravation with Bell, I have simply given up. I will be returning my “rental” HD receiver ASAP and going with a SD receiver that I already own. I imagine that experience will also be a nightmare of sudden, surprise charges that wiill take forever to get rectified (if ever). Avoid Bell like a plague!
November 7th, 2010 at 10:41 am
I’m tired of Bell! Service is the shits, can’t talk to eneybody in this country,and you play a hockey sock full for what!There are channels playing the same shit for 5 years now, no 2 channels have the same volume. They have been eliminating channels and they want you to play for more. You can’t watch hockey from eastern Canada, they say it’s blacked out and I live in weastern Canada.It is pure ripoff.So much for the CRTC. Pay more for less. I don’t think so! Direct TV or Star choice
November 10th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
i subscribed with Bell expressvu five years ago and had so many disconects and attempts to chisel money out of me to have my connection reconnected it was sickening. as soon as my contract was up i got rid of them, two years ago, and i am still having problems with them!!
even tho i was paid up and sent back my equipment theyve tried to get money out of me. as it turns out they misplaced, haha, my equipment and told me they never received it and when i proved them wrong they then said they found it they yet they STILL sent a claim to collectors and damaged my credit. now over the two years ive got it fixed “7” times only to have it resurface every 3 or 4 months and the collectors start harrassing me all over again. today is nov 10 2010 and i just got off a 2 hr phone call with them clearing it up once again…i wonder for how long this time!!!
i suggest if my experiences are an indicator people are wise not getting involved with them.
January 3rd, 2011 at 5:10 pm
I have spent my entire day with bell on the phone. I am so frustrated I could scream. The person who said ‘avoid them like the plague’ I add to that, ‘I would rather take the tank with 10,000 piranhas’!
I have been passed to 6 different reps, and each one has asked me to verify my info, and each one has asked me ‘what are you calling about?’
I have cancelled my home phone and internet and am trying to get some sort of refund on my internet services as about 20 x a day the wireless cancels out. This has been going on for 6 months and the amount of time I’ve spent with bell on the phone is ludicrous!
If this is Ma Bell, I’d rather choose to be an orphan!
January 20th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Last Spring our TV was not working, so we contacted Bell they stated that as we had 6 receivers, we were required prove that they were all used in our home. We had to run to each one, turn them on and advise the receiver # etc. One of the receivers was in our Motor Home, which was in storage at the tiem. We were advised that they (Bell) would shut off that one, as we could not have a receiver in a place other than our home. The person said we would have to open another account. I VERY reluctently agreed to this, and was told it would be $35.00 per month. We received our first bill, which was $87.00. I contacted Bell, and advised that we were not willing to pay that ampount per month for something we used only a few times per year, and they could cancel the account – Keep in mind, we had never even turned this receiver on, nor watched any thing on it. We received another Bill the following month. After many letters, and inumerable phone calls, we finally got them to agree to cancel the charges (which, by the way had gone up to $101.+)WELL, GUESS WHAT!!! Today we received a letter from a collection agency DEMANDING payment immediately!!!! I contacted Bell once again, but as we don’t have the documentation at hand just now (we are in Arizona) she suggested we wait until we get home in the Spring and phone them again to try once again to straighten this out. In the mean time, our credit rating is taking a hit! we have never in our lives not paid what was due and owing, but do not feel that we should have to pay for something which we never really wanted, and never used. I advised Bell, that immediately upon our return to Canada, we would be cancelling our account with them. How any Company can operate the way they do is totally beyond my comprehension – The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. One operator will tell you one thing, and the next something entirely different . I have spoken to many different people, and had to tell our tale so many times it is beyond ridiculous!!! Never never deal with Bell
January 21st, 2011 at 4:48 am
I left Canada in October, because I was a customer of mobility and still had an outstanding contract I am obliged to continue to pay my cell bill, in December I received a bill for 3 receivers that I had purchased from a electronic store, never rented from Bell a day. I have been in contact with the call centre in the Philippines ( which I am remarkably close to), I must admit is the most useless customer service I have ever had. I have filed a complaint with the regulators in Ottawa the CRTC, which I encourage all of you to do as they have to answer to the governing body.
The web address is as follows: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/rapidsccm/register.asp?lang=e
January 30th, 2011 at 5:46 am
1.
Buried so deep in Bell Canada’s website that you are unlikely to find it is an escalation process.
Step 4 reads
If you are not completely satisfied with the resolution provided in the previous steps, please contact James Myers, Senior Vice President of Customer Service at [email protected] .
February 28th, 2011 at 3:56 pm
This person is no longer there, I just tried to email them, you get an autoreply saying to contact the executive office
March 4th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
I am so totally fed up with Bell, that I have almost decided to give up watching TV FOREVER. Their “SERVICE AGENTS” are rude, ignorant and completely unhelpful. After being a Bell customer for approximately 15 years, I have been ripped off time and time again.
New customers, are baited in with virtually free equipment, and free programming… longterm customers, are charged full price with no breaks.
Our problems started about 4 years ago with the purchase of HD 9200 receiver (our 4th upgrade of receiver at that time). We paid $700+ plus taxes. After much aggravation getting it working to begin with, in 5 months it broke down. We returned it to Bell, and were set a “refurbished” unit to replace out brand new one.
Two months later… broke down, returned it, another refurbbed unit. 4 weeks later … the same… 2 weeks later again. Final straw…. Last unit lasted 2 days…. I then took it to the garage and smashed it with a sledge hammer and put it in the trash.
So out of the orignal $700 odd plus tax, we returned to our 5200. 3 years later, it has finally bit the dust… and OF COURSE… you cannot buy a new 5120 … Nope you have to buy one of the totally flakey pieces of shit HD units.
So after close to 15 years… and I have no clue about how many thousands of dollars, and zero positive input from BELL… I will be changing to ANYTHING or NOTHING…. I refuse to deal with this pathetic excuse of a corporation EVER again.
SHAME ON YOU BELL
If social networking can oust a 30 year dictator in Eygpt, surely we can get rid of this electronic dictatorship, that robs us and presents us with a dumb ass customer service agent who has only been trained to read from a script. I know more about who my reciever works than all of them put together.
Anyone agree? It is time this nonsense is corrected.
April 1st, 2011 at 10:07 am
I am so frustrated with Bell that I cannot even begin to describe it. We had service in 2008, we moved from the country into town and no longer required the service, i was told that you had to call in and get the amount owing, pay it then call back and they would cancel service. Well I did that and they did not cancel it. Here it is 2011 and we are trying to purchase a house and we have an amount owing sitting on our credit report. I have been trying to deal with them for 8 weeks. Every time I call it involves a two hour phone call. The last time I was passed to 9 different people. I was even transferred to a Telus representative…can you believe it???? According to their records we no longer owe any money….but amazingly in this day and age they cannot e-mail or fax this information to any one. I have always prided myself on being a patient person…but it has worn thin!!!
April 19th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Where to begin?
I was a Bell ExpressVu customer from approximately December 2003 until 12:00 a.m. on December 10, 2010.
The first few years, we had no problems of note.
On July 14, 2007, we purchased a new dual tuner HD PVR from a Bell Store and had someone from Bell come install it. It was for a brand new area of our home that we’d just built on and it needed to be wired correctly.
We still have the original receipt for it, along with the carbon copy sheet from the service guy who noted “installation of a customer-purchased unit.”
However, Bell ExpressVu immediately started charging us $20 monthly rental for this unit (along with $10/month for one of our regular receivers, if I remember correctly). After many phone calls every single month for about six months, we finally got this sorted out. They’d refunded all the rental payments, had provided us with a few “customer satisfaction credits,” etc. They indicated that they switched it in their system from a rental to a customer-owned unit.
All was fine until early summer 2010. In May 2010, we purchased a second brand new PVR. Not as a replacement but for another TV area in the house. A month or so later, I noticed we were again getting billed $20 rental for a PVR.
(Side note: *love* Bell’s practice of “We don’t have to prove to you that it’s a rental – it’s up to you to prove that you own it!” for charging rental fees.)
I called Bell, assuming they had done the same thing to this new unit. “No problem,” they told me. “Please, just fax over your receipt so we can be assured you actually own this unit.”
(another side not: this is 2011. They only accept faxes! they would not give me an email address where I could scan and send them the document instantaneously.)
So I did what they said. I have fax confirmation that it got sent to the correct number. I followed all instructions so that it would be sent to the correct person.
The next month, I was still charged a rental fee. I called them up and asked why this was because I had sent over the receipt for the new unit purchased in May 2010.
This is when they decided to figure out that it was actually rental for the unit that we purchased on July 14, 2007. I explained that I’d already been through this before, that this was not a rental, that I’d proved in 2007 that I owned it. Not good enough. I would have to prove it again. Once again, faxing was the only option provided to me despite my protests.
So I faxed over the old bill (thankfully, I had the presence of mind in 2007 to hang on to it!). I called them up numerous times in the next few weeks to ensure they got the fax. I had to fax it several times before finally making it clear to another rep that I would NOT be faxing it again (I don’t own a fax machine – I had to fax from work). A CS Rep finally broke protocol and gave me her work email address to send her a scan of the bill from July 14, 2007.
There were other billing issues going on at the same time involving billing wrong prices for channel packages, not giving us what was promised, etc. I won’t get into those because those issues pale in comparison for what was yet to come.
Anyway, this goes on for MONTHS in 2010. Finally, it seems to get resolved. But not before I’d quietly resolved to leave them just as soon as we used up the last of the credits owed to us. I figured we might as well use up much of our credit on our account. In October, I calculated that we had enough credit to have free service until approximately December 15. I researched the cancellation policy and found that they required 30 days notice. I decided the best day to pull the plug would be Dec. 10 (I lined up Shaw to come that day for hookup of THEIR service).
I called Bell ExpressVu on November 8 (it was a Monday and the most convenient day for me to call), and gave them 32 days notice, exceeding their 30 day policy by 48 hours. 😉
Service was cut at midnight on December 10. December 14, I receive an eBill that I don’t bother to look at. After all, I should have a $8-9 credit remaining. I figure it’s just a formality.
December 20 or so, I receive a paper bill demanding I pay for full service for the next cycle of December 21-January 21. WHAT? A bill issued a full 4 days AFTER my service was cancelled for service up to and including 42 days AFTER cancellation!? I called them up, they assured me this was normal and not to pay the bill, that it would be adjusted in the January bill. The excuse was the billing dept. didn’t get notice from the service department until after the Dec. 14 bill run had been completed.
December 21 or 22, I come home from work and see a big box on my front porch. My first thought – a surprise Christmas present from someone!
My excitement was short-lived when I picked up the VERY light box and saw that it came from the Bell equipment recovery department. Inside, styrofoam for packing up a PVR along with a letter stating I needed to return the “rental” PVR (along with the serial # of the piece of equipment I purchased on July 14, 2007). They gave me 30 days to do this or I would be charged $534.45 for failure to return the equipment. In mid-January, I wrote them a nice little letter explaining my situation. I included the name, employee #, time and date of every phone call I’d had with someone from Bell since the latest fiasco began in 2010. I included photocopies of my bill from 2007, photocopies of the fax send-receipts, photocopy of the carbon copy form from 2007 with the technician stating that it was a customer-provided unit. ETC ETC ETC. I made a second copy of this package. I placed the first package in the box and sent it back to the receiver recovery people. I sent the second package to the Bell Executive Office.
On January 20, I received an eBill, showing that I had a $9.31 credit. Finally, everything is as it should be. I didn’t even care if I saw the $9.31 in the mail. I was just DONE.
On Feb. 20, I received an eBill that zeroed that out (they had, at the time, ACTUALLY SENT ME A $9.31 cheque!!) But, now they were charging me $2.73 for a “late payment fee unregulated” ?????? they were charging me a late payment fee for a CREDIT on my account from the previous month!?! I called them up, told them to remove it. They tried to argue that it was a charge for I have no iadea what. Finally they agreed to remove it. Good, DONE with HELL ExpressVu!!
March 20, 2011 – I receive another eBill from bell, charging me $534.45 for non-return of equipment.
I call them up. I ask for a supervisor. at the supervisor level, I ask for a manager. I get transferred but am hung up on before reaching a manager. I call back. Same thing happened. I call back. FINALLY get through a CSR to a Supervisor to a “Manager” who claims he can help me but not right now because it was the evening and some other dept. is closed right now. and that HE could not help me because HE could not confirm that I owned the machine. I rattle off all the names and CSR #s and dates/times of ALL phone calls to bell from the last 6 months. He repeatedly tries to interrupt me, but I wanted to be heard out. ALL of these reps/supervisors/managers claimed they could help me. Yet, here I was 3 months after closing my account.
I have a perfect credit rating. I wanted this taken care of immediately. I will NOT have Bell tarnishing the credit rating I’ve worked VERY hard over the years to keep perfect.
He tells me he WILL call me back the next day to confirm that the charge of $534 WILL be removed from my account that very day.
He does call me back. I still have the voice mail from him confirming all has been taken care of.
April 19, 2011. This morning, my inbox greets me with another eBill from Bell demanding I pay $534.45… for the equipment that I’ve established numerous times over the past 4 years that I OWN. And if I don’t pay up, they make it clear that they are ready to sic a collections agency on me.
I am tired of the consumer harassment. I am tired of the HOURS spent sorting this mess out. For months, I have been telling my story to everyone I know.
I’ve done a lot of research in the past year. Stories/reviews from other frustrated consumers; My consumer rights; my legal rights, etc. I am ready to go to the national media to put an end to this once and for all.
April 20th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
Bell TV Programming team are absolute MORONS! Removing HD Net , probably the MOST popular HD channel available. They claim because of low viewers but that is an ABSOLUTE LIE! Bell TV wanted HD Net on a different tier and HD net refused, even offered bell tv a lower price but bell tv preferred to drop HD Net.Agents at Bell TV admit they have received countless complaints regarding HD Net yet Bell will NOT satisfy it’s customers. Like many of my freinds I have switched to Shaw Direct who carries HD Net and even their customer service people say they have signed on many former Bell TV customers when Bell dropped HD Net.
Good Luck to Bell trying to get new HD customers without having HD Net …. IDIOTS!!!!
But Shaw direct, Rogers and other providers must be very happy with Bell Tv dropping HD Net.
As for customer service ??? “we are receiving more calls than normal” ,,,, which means we do NOT have enough people in India answering the phone!Good luck understanding one IF you are lucky enough to get answered!
April 27th, 2011 at 1:22 am
This is unlike some of the other complaints I’ve read here but, i need some help, and I’m sure other Express Vu customers in the GTA feel the same. I’ve e-mailed Express Vu, and written them letters. now I need the present customers of Express Vu to help me.
I was raised in Toronto, and I now live just north of T.O.
I am a huge sports fan, I cross boarder shop, I used to watch Buffalo TV sometimes, just for the winter weather report. What ever they get, we usually get.
Here is the request. I love the Bills, I follow the Sabres, I do a lot of cross boarder shopping. Why does Bell Express Vu give is Boston? We don’t care about Boston, and do not shop there.
Can I get the customers of Express Vu, to e-mail the “[email protected]” and tell them to change their programing to NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX networks, out of Buffalo? It seems to make much more sense. I grew up with Ed Kilgore, and I miss Buffalo sports, and cross boarder sales deals.
Can I get some help please?
sincerely;
Don Thompson
April 29th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
First of all, dealing with someone in Asia or wherever, and trying to get them to understand where you are when you are in Nunavut is ridiculous. They will not sell any Bell Expressvu products over the phone, or online, and ship them to Nunavut. You have to have someone go to a Bell store for you, and send it to you in the mail. It took 3.5 hours on the phone with someone who spoke barely any English for me to set up an account, and the result was that for two of the three years I had satellite service with Bell, whenever I got mail from them, it was to Mrs, not Ms, and my name, Heather, was spelled Heaqthqr. Every time I called to have it fixed, the person on the phone would repeat all the information back to me, again and again, and insist that it was fixed, and then the next time I would get mail, it would be the same. Eventually, one miraculous day, I got someone on the phone that was actually from Canada!!! It finally did get changed.
I also love that you can make changes to your channel subscriptions online, but only if you are INCREASING channels, not to cancel.
Every single time I needed a new card, I would have to call four or five times to get one sent in the mail. I would always be told the card was on the way, but they would always take months. All the while, I was paying for services I did not receive.
When I found out only a week before I was being transferred to a new job, I called right away to cancel my satellite. Apparently, it takes Bell a whole month to cancel an account. Funny, I bet of someone didn’t pay their bill, it wouldn’t take 4 weeks to disconnect their satellite. But, no matter, I didn’t argue, I just agreed to pay the extra month (for which I wouldn’t be getting service).
I thought I’d paid my bill. I logged on to Bell’s website to make sure, and for a good two months, my account showed a credit of $63, so I assumed everything was great, and when they got around to closing my account, they’d send me a cheque. Not so. Today, I got a FINAL NOTICE bill. I hadn’t received any other bill. I immediately called, got someone who spoke barely any English (surprise surprise), and told her what my account says online. She told me it must be wrong, that my account has been “in collections” since 3 months for over $200. How my account is “in collections” before it is even closed and I received the bill, I do not know.
I have never had good service with Bell Expressvu, save that one lucky day when I got that nice person on the phone who spoke English, and understood what I was saying.
On the other hand, I have never had anything but wonderful customer service from Bell Mobility. Go figure.
May 16th, 2011 at 4:56 pm
I haven’t heard anything from anyone, about my complaint about Express Vu. I, and many of my family, friends, and neighbours, who are Express Vu customers, want a programming change done.
We don’t want any stations from Detroit or Boston. We want all the American stations:ABC,CBS,NBC, and FOX tv, out of Buffalo. We cross border shop in Buffalo, we attend the sports events there: Bison’s, Bandit’s, Bills, and the Sabres. We follow their weather patterns, and we look for sales in stores in Buffalo, not Boston. We need Express Vu to change it’s programming. If you agree, e-mail [email protected]
Tell them you want some changes made. Rogers offers Buffalo stations…..why can’t Express Vu?
Thank you….Don
July 12th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Bell is a joke, period!
July 26th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
Years back I called to inquire about a cell phone & contract……as I was getting pissed with my long term provider..”telus”…last thing I said to the bell agent…was “hold on” let me think about this offer….I will get back to you…….well with-in 5 days I had 2 new cell phones at the post office, sent them back real quick….un-opened……today, I was looking at redoing my programing for my bell tv……first off the web site sucks balls now….can’t reach certain functions….cant print pages for comparison……talked to a agent…she was nice but playing “Ive only been here 1 year”….I hate that HD nets gone…..now I get french channels ive never had before……”I DONT KNOW” she sezs, ive only been here 1 year….or the goverment mandated it B.S……sure honey…..asked how come when I rent a movie…it only plays 1 time & not for 24 hrs like shaw does……got the “its the broadcasters” that determine how long it plays for, thought I would check out the blogs for complaints….wow is all I can say……I was thinking again of switching to bell mobile….& internet…..but after reading whats been happeneing here…..I wont be using there services…..I will suck it up for a while longer with bell t.v. as I own my equipment, too bad the customer service is low grade, & the programing has been going down for years…..its true they do treat there new customers well…..but after that….its downhill…so Im gona down grade my programing by 20 to 25.00 bucks a month……one more thing…..I remember that when I signed up….any HD channels you got…”if they were in the digital package you subscribed too”…..now bells boneing another 15 beans from me each month just for HD CHANNELS..jerks…..WHAT A JOKE….the bell auto survey just called to ask about my experiances talking to the rep……..btw…you have to answer the call or it will auto dial you till someone answers……thanks crtc oh mighty saviors of canadian bla bla bla
September 4th, 2011 at 12:11 am
to think I was actually considering going back to bell for an HD subscription (cancelled internet connection months ago and had a terrible experience), stupid me!
after reading all this, yup sounds like the bell i know. thanks all. wont be getting any bell services for sure now!
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:31 pm
I am trying to get rid of bell and cancelled my TV service and now being sent a new ‘replacement’
I rented my receiver, which needs to be shipped back to Bell where they are to supply the box and postage labe for return. However, in sending the package to Purolator they failed to include the unit # as per billing.
The correct address needs to be authorized by Bell and not directly with the customer.
So trying to get ahold of Bell, during ‘work’ hours was placed on hold waiting for CSR to answer. I figured the online CSR area would be much speedier and less irrating – not at all.
Apparently they straightened out the address, however somehow they also arranged for a new receiver to be shipped.
So now I have a receiver on the way which I don’t have a use for, but don’t want to give Bell the satisfaction of returning it.
I figure they need to be accountable for their errors – They have too many CSR reps that handle one client and this is what happens.
Should I do the ethical thing and just send it back or let them continue to call?
September 27th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
My problem is with finance charges. Even though I pay in full on time they continue to asses finance charges. Can’t get a real answer. Prev. bal. 75.00 amount pd 75.00 on bill and paid well ahead of due date but got a 2.25 finance charge. Has happened repeatedly. Customer service cannot answer why just that they’ll credit it.CHECK YOUR BILLS CAREFULLY!!!!!
October 1st, 2011 at 1:30 am
I paid for the NHL package so I would be able to watch more Leafs games. They are blacked out because I’m from their “area” – Thunder bay – a 2 day drive away. They say they are on local/regional channels – no they are not… The leafs game shows up on the guide, but says it’s blacked out. You have to get shaw cable to watch those games. The NHL package is for people who would like to watch columbus vs pheonix…. as long as they don’t live anywhere near columbus of phoenex… those people are allowed to watch leafs games. One more thing.. the price is wrong… and if it rains.. there goes our columbus game….a real rip off.
December 11th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
A couple of weeks ago I had called Bell Sat TV as we just purchased a new big screen HD TV and still had not upgraded to an HD receiver. The first agent I spoke to said that there we no promos available to me. I mentioned that we have been a Bell/Express Vu customer for many, many years and it was too bad they could not do anything for us. She was happy to transfer me to the cancellation department and I was okay with that. The agent to whom I spoke to was great! First thing he did was reduce our programming fees down $20, then he offered me a HDPVR free and a second one for a rental of $6.92 per month, free install and no contract. Prior to ending our conversation, I mentioned HD programming and he said he would give us 6 months free HD programming as well, sweet deal, or so I thought. The install was done yesterday and shortly after the tech left we received an email from Bell, our programming fees went up $35, install was not included and not only was there no HDPVR deal they were charging me for 4 units instead of the 2! I have made several calls from yesterday through to now and I am more frustrated than ever! What was I thinking?? I fell for Bell’s bait and switch and I can see now that I am going to have an extensive battle with this company. Buyer beware, anything that sounds too good to be true most likely is!
December 14th, 2011 at 12:36 am
I am totally frustrated with Bell TV customer service. I signed up this summer and because I was shopping around I was promised rent free PVR receiver and free installation.
Bill came with 150.00 installation charge and rent charged for PVR. I immediately called customer service and they agreed to credit the account. That was 2 months ago. Two more unchanged bills, three more calls to customer service each promising to give me credit for their mistake, 4 calls a day from their overdue accounts reps, and today a disconnection notice. Their departments don’t communicate with each other AND despite my request they don’t call and inform them of the other department’s promises I am still harassed. Now looking to get out of this mess..not worth the stress and anger it brings.
January 12th, 2012 at 4:03 pm
SERIOUSLY!! How can we escalate all these horrible CS to get BELL attention?!! Media maybe?! How? anybody got an idea??!
I’m not going to even put my story here, it’s pretty much the same, they keep promising credit and saying not to worry..but never resolved anything!
This is frustating! I’m a new customer since Nov 22, 2011. Can you imagine that!
January 17th, 2012 at 1:29 pm
So, I have been a bell customer for almost 4 years. At first everything was great. then in the last year & a half, started to get phone calls from bell. I was 4 days late in payment. Nasty lady on the phone wanted to know when I am going to pay. ok.. I paid next day. Next month 5 days overdue, on a Saturday morning. 8:02 am. I’m still sleeping and guess who.. Bell Collections again. OMG .. 5 days overdue. This is stupid. They obviously need thier money NOW … so, last 12 months, and every month, a phone call, not just once a day, 7 times a day and I’m typically just ignoring the calls now.
DONT GO WITH BELL … THEY ARE WORSE THAN BILL COLLECTORS …
After reading all this, I hope my cancellation doesn’t end up like others on here. I’ll let you know.
January 20th, 2012 at 11:42 pm
Bell it self is just a rip off,they lie,and there customer service is terrible.
January 28th, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Killed the ExpressVu Service. Talk of Bell as as ripoff! Overly pricey PVR receiver offered as free of charge as promo but after 6 months pay department starts charging supposed rental fees. Demands that I prove it was free of charge. Bell adds services I never wanted or asked for to bill including movie channels and time shifting in U.S. to bill and cannot get them deleted. Massive run around from the service department. So I terminated the service. Now the firm not only wants $100 early termination charge but $50 termination for each receiver and threatens a $593 bill if if I do return the receivers. Firm is about to lose the Internet as well after this nonsense. All sorts of issues with other providers but I decided Shaw Direct offered a better package at lower cost and with no rental charges. Catch = wants to charge a $6 cost for a second receiver per month, which also is silly.
January 30th, 2012 at 11:24 am
how do we stp these morons ..i dread getting my bill from bell.i know im getting f…ed ,but i have to set aside one to two hours for a phone call.my blood pressure rises just thinking about it.they must make millions off people who dont have the time to waste.does bell monitor this site.
January 30th, 2012 at 2:54 pm
I had similar dealings with bell. I moved and told them of my move date etc. They sent my dish before my move date to the new house and the people who look after internet sent my motim before i moved to the new address and then was charging me for it. Nobody wanted to help me. Bell Expressvu lifted 180.00 off my mastercard and when i asked why 180.00 they told me it was for the month i cancelled..i said a month of programming was not 180.00…long and short they got some of my money. BELL IS/ARE CROOKS. Im now free of bell and would have a dog house serviced by bell. I hope they suffer tough times…that is exactly what they deserve. To read everyones posts make me sick to my stomach that they are able to get away with this!
January 31st, 2012 at 3:23 pm
I too have had many numerous problems with Bell, from incorrect billing to wrong package provided, the list goes on and on. However the immediate issue I have is the constant repeat shows all year long (not just in spring and summer) as was the normal practice but constantly, as well as the so called marathon shows where they show all the episodes of a certain show, examples: pawn stars, American Pickers, Canadian pickers, crime shows on ID channel, Food Network just to name a few and why are we provided with 7 or 8 channels showing the same show at the same time plus the premption of CSI shows or deletion of same and again when a new episode should be on the station shows another repeat. They should be audited. The money they saved over December by not buying or choosing not to show the new episodes of many regular shows is staggering. For those of us who live below the poverty line and rely on TV as our only source of entertainment it sucks big time. What is going on. Does anyone else agree
February 8th, 2012 at 1:44 pm
Last Sept.(2011)I switched from Shaw to Bell Express Vu because they offered a bundle(phone ,Internet Bell t.v or satt.) for $89.99.I NEEDED to save money so I signed up-thinking my monthly bill for all,would be $89.99 + tax.
What I did’nt know(&what I was’nt told when I called to sign up)was that Bell Aliant & bell Express Vu are 2 seperate bills.I was paying (what I thought) was the full amt.for all services,Then I recieve a bill from Express Vu saying I owed them $160.00(2 months)!This was on top of my phone & internet at $60./month.So instead of all 3 equalling $89.99,they equaled over $130.00/month!!!!
So ,I called.NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!!!This was on a sat.morning and I was on the phone,passed back & forth,between agents from Bell Aliant & Bell Express Vu,trying to explain to all of them the deal I signed up for.None of them seemed to understand what I was talking about!!So I finally was passed to someone in Resolutions & she explained to me that,on my Bell Aliant bill,would be $50 +tax/month and on the Express Vu bill it would be $27.+ tax /month,equalling $89.99/month.Plus she gave me 2 months free programming for all my trouble!
Finally!I thought everything was straightened out!
WRONG!Last month I recieved the same bill from Express Vu-$69 + tax and my Bell Aliant bill was right.But my total STILL added up to over $130.00/month!!
So,I called agin.,did’nt take 2 hrs.s this time and she said my next bill would be correct.Have’nt gotten it yet-so we shall see!!
February 16th, 2012 at 8:11 pm
I recently got a call from bell express vu saying that I was late on a payment. I asked what I needed to pay to get it up to date. He said 135 so I payed the bill online. 2 weeks later I get a notice of termination from bell saying that I have not payed my bill and now owe 212. I told him that I have proof of payment and he called my a lyer and that there information does not lie. I will be cancelling my bell subscribtion soon and will never go back!
February 21st, 2012 at 9:06 pm
I wonder if you start phone conversations with Bell “I am recording this call for my records” if service would improve.
March 4th, 2012 at 1:01 am
To all Bell customers
Always document the date and time of your call. When you have an error that the company is disputing have them pull up the recording of the date and time of your last call….request that. EVERY call is recorded for their purposes and when you request this they change their attitude very quickly. I have done this on numerous occasions and I have been able to resolve problem quickly. Good Luck.
By the way….I have had many of the same problems noted on this site.
March 16th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
We we’re moving out of provice so we called to cancel our Bell TV. We we’re advised to put it on a temporary suspension and pay $15 rather than cancelling because that would cost us $50 just in case we wanted to reactivate because then we would be charged a reactivation charge. So we put it on a 6 month suspension just to be safe. So my first months bill showed the $15 charge. The second month I get a bill for our regualr amount again. When we called it was because our suspension was up. After much argument we then went back on suspension. I then noticed that we we’re being charged $15 every month. When I called I was informed it was billed monthly. I told them I was not told that, and had that been the case I would have paid the $50 to cancel. Nothing I could do about that now. We finally settled into our new house and decided to go with a different provider because they had a great package deal. I have now just received another Bill from Bell. Apparently there is a 30 day cancellation notice, which of course we weren’t told. Kay fine. But apparently our suspension was up 7 days prior to us calling to cancel service. Instead of “customer service” looking at our account and seeing that we’ve been on suspension then asking us if we’d like to continue, they just send us another bill for services we are not and have not used in 5 month! But not only do I have to pay for next month, even thou my service is cancelled (due to the fact they bill one month in advance) if I do not pay the bill for again, service I am not using, when they send me a new bill with adjustments, I will also be charged a late fee, on the amount they’re billing me for services I have cancelled!
March 19th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
I live out in a rural area and after waiting a few years decided to sign up for Bell sat services. I had a bad experience with Bell Mobility but was hoping this time would be better. (silly me) They gladly signed me up for their service but could not understand why I had a legal land description and a postal box! After a few hours (and two trips to the local Bell store) they finally released my order. The technician showed up late, used my bathroom twice in a two hour time period. Sat in his car for about 30 minutes then told me that he couldn’t get a signal and left. Bell then called me to set up another time for installation, I told them to forget it. We since went with shaw direct and installed all of the hardware ourselves, we get a great signal. Shaw is more expensive but their customer service is better.
I will never sign up with Bell ever again!
April 10th, 2012 at 6:46 pm
One late bill and your account is sent to a 3rd party collections agency, that of course has Bell letterhead.
Seeing as in Alberta we pay in advance, how is it the actual payment is late?
Customer Service is a Gong Show! As you are passed from one department to another and one has any answers EVER!
I pay $118.74 a month, without any extra movies or PPVu.
This to me is outrageous! And yet to switch to another carrier seems like it wouldn’t be any better.
Perhaps this is why the Bell staff basically doesn’t care one iota about whether you cancel.
C’mon Canada, step in and REGULATE this industry!!!!
April 30th, 2012 at 6:05 pm
My bill used to be 93$ a month, but mysteriously they raised it to $117.00. In March 2012, I decided to cancel my services as I have been offered Great service from another company! I talked to an agent & was notified that they need “1 months notice” to cancel my services which no where on the bill it states. Anyways, I was like whatever, they need money that bad I’m going to let that BS slide. I told them here’s my “notice” I don’t want services anymore and would expect my final bill! To what they said “definitely” Today, I got a bill, but it’s not my final bill….. they sent me a bill for the next month! So like any person would do I called them, and asked them “My services has not been canceled why” the agent “Roxi ” said ” she can’t find the log saying my request” I smell Bs. Magically, logs and notes get disappeared but when it comes to payments, that doesn’t get messed up. So I call them again, asking I want to talk to someone superior, they tried so hard to change my mind. But I kept saying “I want to talk to a manager” When I spoke to this fake incompetent manager by the name of Adam he said he found the logs. What?! My logs were found. Oh no, last I checked I was a customer and the money came from my pocket, so when customer requests they don’t want services they exactly, mean that. They conveniently made the so they would try to charge me for another month!
May 2nd, 2012 at 11:43 pm
We got a new package from bell. We just had satellite before. Now we have Internet, phone and satellite. We had more channels before we got the new receivers yesterday. We pay about $150 for the 3 services but we had to add more channels and we still don’t have all the ones we had before. That’s bull. We thought we would have the same Chanel’s but we don’t. Very disappointed and thinking of sending a receiver back. Not good service. We want all the channels we had
May 19th, 2012 at 11:48 pm
How do we get a petition going or an investigation into this abuse by Bell? I have had nothing but problems as well and they will NOT let me out of a contract I didn’t even know I was getting into even though they recorded the call and I told them to go back and listen to iy. There has to be something we can do???
May 25th, 2012 at 10:22 pm
i cancelled bell expressvu in march 2012. after 3 months i’m still waiting for a credit of 80.60dollars
June 22nd, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Incredible how Bell has managed to stay in business!
How many times does a person have to say the same thing over and over to several different people?
The BS they call customer service has driven me away. Off the Shaw.
June 26th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
I just got off the phone with Bell after being on hold for 1 hour because they were receiving a lot of phone calls… No kidding. There service is absolute garbage and I cannot believe that I have my home phone, internet, cable as well as 3 cell phones hooked up with Bell and stuck it contracts I cannot get out of. In the last 2 years I have researched and found over $1000.00 in money they have taken from me without my consent on my bills. I have been told with each customer service rep I speak to that my conversations are recorded and noted. When I actually requested a copy of all history and conversations had they put me on hold for another 30 mins and explained I needed to e-mail them requesting this. I plan to go over this and anything that is left out I will be continuing on actions to prove to them that they truly are a rip off. At the end of my phone call I told them that I will be putting all the bell equipment cell phones included on my front lawn. I refuse to give them another penny. This is the only industry that gets away with this robbery. It is organized crime and I have had enough. We need this figured out…..
July 23rd, 2012 at 11:37 am
Last month (6/21 @ 3:07 PM), I complained to Bell TV about a minor extra charge on my account for Standard Definition US Time Shifting as I get HD time shifting with one of my packages. Bell’s “customer service”(sic) rep was loath to give me a crummy $1.00 credit but eventually after leaving me on hold for a while did so. When I asked to speak with his supervisor, I was again put on hold (for quite some time) and finally was told that the supervisor was not available but he would phone me back. Much to ny surprise, I got a call (6/23 3;24 PM EST) from someone who identified himself as “Marc” (french accent) from Bell. He was very querlous, argumentive…and downright rude, just short of hostile. He asked me in an offensive manner: “Why do you want a credit?”…….I told him:”You are very rude!” No apology….just static. So I asked “What’s the name of your supervisor?” His reply “I don’t have a supervisor” Incredulously, I challenged Marc “You’re in charge of everything?” His reply. “Yes”. Mystifiied, I then asked (rather sarcastically) “I suppose you’re in charge of programming too?” Marc’s answer “Yes, that’s right”. Clearly, I had a problem…..so I thanked him for returning my call and hung up. A lousy $1.00 a month credit for SD time-shifting that I never used was not worth the hassle of dealing with this insolent meglomaniac…….Needless to say , I was absolutely livid and decided not to complain until I had cooled off……which still has not happened. I’m still with Bell because: 1) as a retiree, I have a substantial investment in equipment; 2) my french-Canadian wife likes her french programs in HD; 3) I need my NCAA sports packages……..However,dealing with Bell’s rude, unapologetic, callous, lying supervisor irks me no end.
October 24th, 2012 at 10:15 pm
Bell TV has the worst customer service, I moved to a new home and purchased new reicevers and booked an new installation with Bell TV customer reps. The Bell TV represntative gave me an exact day that the repairman would complete the install. Well the day came and went so I called customer service to complain and they informed me of the new date….which came and went….then after my next call I was on hold for 1/2hr after which I was informed that there is no one in my city that installs Bell TV for some time and that I would need to contact someone else to install my dish and wiring. They also informed me I would need to go purchase everything needed for material and supplies. In the end I found someone to install dish and wiring and Bell TV took numerous calls to get them to credit my account for the cost of the dish and switch to run all the recievers. After all this they started hassling me about connecting all my dishes to phone lines to verify them. I told them to cancel all my services with them. I will never go Bell anything again. Not sure who is stupider, me or them, been customer since 1999 with average of $80-120 per month. Do the math $12,480 paid to them at minimum and if they had not been so poor service I probably would have never switched…….My story is not unique, many others are or have switched to other providers and are happy.
June 24th, 2014 at 5:32 pm
Bell TV offers three packages to their customers. The GOOD, The BETTER and The Best. The Good being their least expensive package starting at roughly $45 per month. You can add other channels individually for approximately $2.50 a month per channel or upgrade to the next package for roughly $25 per month. Bell also states that you get roughly 253 channels many in HD..LOL…wouldn’t that be nice eh! They neglect to tell you that 200 are channels that nobody would ever watch. Another 100 channels are their PPV or there Vu channels.
After being with Bell for 2 years I decided I had enough….I was paying to much money for to little TV. Not that my life is made of watching TV but when I do watch TV I don’t want to watch 50 channels with the same programming. When I contacted Bell to tell them I wished to cancel my service they asked why. I told them they were to expensive for the ten or twelve channels my wife and I watch. I told them I did not like to pay for programming we did not watch.
The CS rep tried to keep my business and I was informed that he would be able to offer me another package that no one tells you about. He also offered me the Movie Network for one year at no charge, as well as one free receiver for two years.
He then directed me to do a search on Google for “Bell Satellite Echelon”. Low and behold, a link to a Bell pdf file that gives customers a very flexible plan for their programming.
It would have cost us approximately $35 per month to get the programming we wanted instead of the $80 per month we have been paying for 2 years now…..
Thanks Bell for being up front and honest with your customers when they sign up with you…..
Unfortunately your devious methods of doing business has left me with a bad taste in my mouth and will be cancelling my services first thing in the morning.
Bell needs to value their customers, not treat them like they don’t matter……Good Bye Bell…..Hello Shaw!