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Canadian receives $1,400 Rogers bill after downloading free texting app

By: , IntoMobile
Monday, April 16th, 2012 at 3:33 PM
texting-teen

Ah yes, the classic tale of a seemingly innocent wireless carrier customer doing seemingly innocent things with the network, only to find that he or she is slammed with an unbelievably expensive or lengthy phone bill.

Ryan Dunsmore, a 16-year-old from Canada, recently got hooked up with a $35 per month Rogers unlimited texting plan by his dad. His girlfriend, who lives four blocks away from him, downloaded a free app called HeyWire to her iPod touch so they can text back and forth to their hearts’ content. After a month of sending and receiving over 1,000 text messages, Ryan’s father Alex Dunsmore gets an overwhelming bill in the mail from Rogers for $400 citing roaming charges.

As you can imagine, Mr. Dunsmore was furious. He contacted Rogers requesting (or perhaps demanding) an explanation for the bill and was told that the app HeyWire only sends free text messages to people within a same country. The text messages are routed through Arlington, Illinois, which is a roaming location for Rogers customers. After he refused to pay the high charges, Rogers cancelled his and his son’s account and, factoring in the $400 termination fees, brings the total bill up to $1,400.

Rogers isn’t backing down. “I recognize that the customer may find this frustrating. But the account holder is ultimately responsible for the account. We do not monitor how many texts or calls customers make. But we offer the tools to allow our customers to keep a close eye on their usage,” said spokeswoman Leigh-Ann Popek. “Customers are able to see their current usage through our free Rogers MyAccount app on their device or online at www.rogers.com. This is especially helpful for parents.”

HeyWire does say in the description of the app that standard rates apply to send texts to a U.S. phone number from Canada.

Should Rogers back down on the expensive bill or did the Dunsmore family overlook the roaming charges? Weigh in below with your comments.

[via MobileSyrup]

About The Author

George Tinari

George has followed technology news for quite some time, but he only started writing about it a few years ago. He particularly enjoys covering Apple, but that doesn't stop him from reporting on a wide range of topics in the mobile area. When he's not reporting for IntoMobile, you can usually find George listening to a wide array of music, trying to be funny and sarcastic, eating, or voicing his opinions about all things tech on his personal blog, GT Daily.

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HeyWire Free Texting 45+ Countries, Facebook Chat, Twitter & IM
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HeyWire Features Free Texting (Real SMS) to 45+ Countries from a real U.S. phone number, Smartphone Messenger Worldwide, Twitter, Facebook Chat, IM + More... HEYWIRE SOCIAL MESSAGING HUB! 7 Great Text…Read More »

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  • bananagram597

    If the girl is on an iPod Touch then why didnt she just use the Facebook app to send messages to mobile?

  • http://www.theandroidsite.com benmarvin

    Rogers should back down from purely a PR standpoint. This is just bad for them.

    But yeah, those kids really need to come up with a better communication method than some off-brand shady app. There’s a billion IM apps out there that are actually free in that they only use data.

  • http://twitter.com/rodedwards rodedwards

    The boyfriend and girlfriend need to pay the bill and learn to be accountable for their decisions. Tough lesson, but come on: if you’re going to use the technology, understand it, or deal with the consequences.

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  • Cityhunter

    I’m not the worlds biggest fan of Rogers or Bell Canada at times but I really think Rogers should stand their ground on this one. The amounts on the bill had nothing to do with them or their services, Heywire clearly states in the app description that if you are not using the Heywire app that standard text rates to the U.S. apply.

    If the kid did this without his father knowing consider this the digital equivalent to a kid breaking a neighbours window playing baseball, have him pay it back or work it off and consider it a life lesson, demanding Rogers a 3rd party in all of this wipe out the bill then cancelling his contract (which means he no longer gets his free phone credits the extra $800 well actually Rogers terminated the contract for non payment on the 2 subsidised phones he had) and going to the CBC with a sob story about it doesn’t make me think that this man has been the most reasonable person in all of this. 

    So really his final bill would be $1200 not 1400 and from the articles wording $400 was the original bill, Rogers family plans lowest plan with unlimited texting is $104 a month leaving about $300 in overage fees less once you factor in BC has a 12% tax rate.

  • Shirondale Kelley

    He had an Android and she had an iPod Touch. Somehow Google Voice, IRC, Free Instant Messengers, Facebook Chatting, and a myriad of other ways were not chosen to keep in touch. The girl had to have access to wifi and I don’t want to assume this but the boy more than likely would have had access to wifi also. Even if he didn’t, there’s still a ridiculous amount of ways to text or communicate in text form for free.

    It sucks that they have such a high bill but they were told about the charges up front and directly while having access to tools to help out with this type of issue.

  • AlaskaDude

    Phone companies should not be allowed to charge for incoming texts as it is.  I have never understood how this can be legal,  you can’t control if someone is going to send you a text message.   Considering SMS costs the phone company NOTHING it’s highway robbery.  

    • Joy

      He wasn’t being charged for incoming texts, his son was replying to an American number and therefore being charged to text outside of Canada.  This is not the fault of Rogers – his girlfriend should have read the terms and conditions on the app. 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MAIBHIN7ULRK556W4XMW473YAQ Very

    If I signed up for a $35 plan, and got a bill for $400, I’d be talking to the police. 
    That sounds like criminal fraud. 

    But, then, Rogers has more lawyers than customer service staff, so, shouldn’t be surprised.

  • Dl036

    What I don’t get is how I can be on Telus and get a $17/month unlimited North American texting plan, and this poor kid on Rogers pays $35/month for Canada only?  Surely there’s something fishy going on here.  It’s not like Telus has secret connections to the US that are unavailable to Rogers.  This has to be a money grab, pure and simple.