[colchar]

Earlier today I called Rogers to negotiate a new package and, despite technical problems with their services, I was quoted a price that is higher than we were paying last year. When I questioned that, and the fact that a new customer could get a better deal, I was basically told to take it or leave it and that the only other department I could speak to was their disconnection department. So I said no problem, I'll be canceling all of our services within the next 24hrs.

Although I would like to cut the cord entirely, I have my elderly mother living with me so that isn't an option right now. Based on today's conversation with them, I have finally gotten her to agree to ditch Rogers but since completely cutting the cord is not an option that means going with Bell.

I would be getting TV, internet, and home phone with them (might switch my cell too). Can anyone here who has Bell tell me what they think of the services? I am undecided about satellite TV or Fibe TV, but am leaning towards Fibe. Since that uses your internet bandwidth, has anyone experienced problems with using TV and internet at the same time? My Roku uses internet bandwidth and I haven't noticed any problems while with Rogers, so doubt there would be problems with Bell but figured I might as well ask.

And speaking of internet, how are your speeds? My speed with Rogers is terrible, and the service drops several times each day so I am sick to death of it.

Home phone is a minor thing, and even Rogers and Bell can't really screw that up so it isn't of any concern in this decision.

 

[player99]

Where are you? The Bell website should tell you what speeds are available at your address.

I am in a rural area and my speeds are low. I get about 3.5. Lots of people get 25 and 60 now. At 3.5 I can stream movies and surf the we.

Bell is OK but they have consistently upped their prices regardless of my contract. It's in the contract that they don't have to honour the contract.

When you call for help you usually get overseas help.

Their bills are purposely confusing.

 

[JeremyP]

I live out in the country and we were under Bells thumb for years as they were the ONLY internet we could get. I think they are just as bad if not worse then Rogers. Finally about two years ago execulink ran fibre optic past our house, when I saw them digging the line I ran outside and found out which company they worked for. They did a free hook up to our house as a promotional thing. I get 2gbps for $100 a month. It’s crazy fast and always good speed. Plus last year when they won that lawsuit where bell and Rogers were forced to share their lines with them, they lowered my bill by $27

 

[knight_yyz]

I hated Fibe. The freaking modem needed a reboot every day. Every day.

 

[rockinbluesfan]

If you are in rogers cable area you can go with a smaller provider that uses rogers cable. I am currently with teksavvy cable 150m service - cheaper than rogers and very reliable. My mother has start.ca internet service, after having rogers and is very happy with their service also. You can check out canadianisp.ca for a list of providers and links to their websites. There are better options than the "big" robbers.

 

[iamthehub]

I'm with bell. Internet performance is relatively stable and good.

I just checked their site and thier packages are named different from when I signed up. Basically I have a package with unlimited Internet, 60 dl and 10 ul speeds. When I check the speeds it's pretty close to thier claims - 50-55dl, 8-9ul. We had the "Better" package. I don't see it on their site now.

For tv I have thier basic package. We were going to cancel tv, but with their bundled pricing, I'd land up saving less than $15/mo so we decided to keep it. You never know when I want to watch live TV.

Here's the kicker... THEY RAISE THEIR PRICES ALL THE TIME!!

In the 4-5 years we've had them I think we've had about 8-9 price increases with no warning. Sometimes wife calls when price increase seems rediculous (increase of $30) or they have back to back months with increases... Sometimes they give us some loyalty credits. Sometimes not. I don't really look after the bills (wife does), but I believe our cost had almost doubled since we joined. I do know they raised their pricing before our 1 yr promo package expired. Sometimes they say the reason for the increase is due to hardware upgrades in my neighbourhood. My neighboured is 20 yrs old and we got the fiber upgrade about 10 years ago... So not sure if those claims are true or not.

I've been thinking of leaving bell so many times but because performance is stable (I run a small business from home), I'm reluctant to move based on price alone.

Would I recommend them? Yes and no. Yes based purely on the fact they seem to be reliable and have delivered speeds close to what they claim.

Definitely NO because of their constant price increases.

But we don't have much alternative do we...?

It's a case of "would you rather burn to death or drown?".




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[iamthehub]

If you are in rogers cable area you can go with a smaller provider that uses rogers cable. I am currently with teksavvy cable 150m service - cheaper than rogers and very reliable. My mother has start.ca internet service, after having rogers and is very happy with their service also. You can check out canadianisp.ca for a list of providers and links to their websites. There are better options than the "big" robbers.

Just a heads up... My father in law uses a cheaper company that uses Rogers lines. When Internet goes down his provider always blames Rogers, and Rogers blames his provider. Eventually things get sorted out. But a headache.


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[iamthehub]

One more thing... For Internet only, Fido had a package for $50, unlimited Internet. Speeds are good enough for steaming.

My mom has used them for a while. And since Rogers owns Fido, any technical issues shouldn't be passed off to one another.

My mom has had it since 2017 and I believe all is good. I would've heard from her if there are any technical issues


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[boyscout]

Earlier today I called Rogers to negotiate a new package and, despite technical problems with their services, I was quoted a price that is higher than we were paying last year. When I questioned that, and the fact that a new customer could get a better deal, I was basically told to take it or leave it and that the only other department I could speak to was their disconnection department. So I said no problem, I'll be canceling all of our services within the next 24hrs.

Most of our experience is with Rogers (about 30 years) but we've been with Bell for short stints a few times, most recently with Bell Fibe for a year about three years ago. Experience and *many* reports by others suggest that while the grass may at times seem greener on the other side between those two companies, it rarely is. I usually find Rogers much easier to deal with in terms of customer service and repairs than Bell.

The Bell Fibe service, after *quite* a bit of trouble getting Bell to install it and then get it working properly, worked very well. Not a trace of hesitation when using both internet and TV at the same time and - after paying them a crapload of money each month - they delivered a huge selection of crystal-clear TV content and reliable internet. You would not do as well on quality, and probably not on quantity, using their satellite offerings.

Re: your shaky internet, that is likely a local issue. Rogers had our internet down at least 75% of the time for over a MONTH about 25 years ago (after about a dozen eventually-angry complaint calls they offered to refund the $30 fee for that month!!) because they were working on the "head end" in our neighborhood but we've generally found internet service with them to be reliable. If you stay with them complain frequently - there may be something they can change in your neighborhood to get the pain-in-the-ass Scotsman to stop calling them.

Home phone? TV? We've given up both. Cell and internet (including streaming) are all we use now.

One final bit of advice: it's the disconnect department that can make the best deal for you. Probably wise to investigate the Bell alternative and know what you *might* have to do so you can evaluate options during your conversation with Rogers disconnect, but I'd guess that in the end you won't have to make a change unless you want to for internet reliability reasons. If that came up in your conversation with Rogers disconnect, that might help something too!

 

[keto]

I've watched threads involving Bell, here and elsewhere, over the years. The absolute conclusion is they have the worst customer service in the industry, usually at the worst price. I wouldn't sign up with them for *anything*.

But yeah, disconnect. Yesterday I phoned Sirius to cancel my upcoming renewal. They offered me a price of less than half of what I had been paying. They are the people with the power when it comes to price, call and say you're going away. If, like me, you're going away no matter what, the offer of a lower price just pissed me off. If they wanted me to stay that badly I'd already be paying the cheaper price, they can go screw.

 

[blueshores_guy]

From my experience two years ago.....one more thing to consider before you pull the plug on Rogers...........if you use their email service (i.e. you're [email protected]) be aware that disconnecting from them kills your email. Immediately. Rogers will not supply any conversion options from their email to, for example, gmail. Not the end of the world, but if you're a big email user, this is a nasty surprise for you to deal with.

 

[JBFairthorne]

I never understood the logic behind giving deals to entice new customers while refusing deals to keep unhappy ones. Backwards thinking.

Have you considered cancelling your current service and putting it in you Mother’s name to take advantage of the new customer promotions? At the very least it gives you some time to find alternative solutions.

That being said, I dumped both Rogers and Bell more than 15 years ago...for the same reasons people hate them now. They’ll never change (for the better).

 

[boyscout]

Yesterday I phoned Sirius to cancel my upcoming renewal. They offered me a price of less than half of what I had been paying. They are the people with the power when it comes to price, call and say you're going away. If, like me, you're going away no matter what, the offer of a lower price just pissed me off. If they wanted me to stay that badly I'd already be paying the cheaper price, they can go screw.

At the expiration of the free term that came with my vehicle, when I refused to start paying for the service Sirius offered me six months for about the price they had wanted to charge me per month. At the end of the term it would roll into a full-paid plan. I took it, and before the term expired called to cancel.

It was SUCH a hassle to cancel - at least fifteen minutes on the phone - that when the rep near the end of that process offered to repeat the deal I was ending I refused - didn't want to repeat the hassle of calling to cancel again. Since then they've mailed me the same offer five or six times.

$18 per month to improve radio choices in my vehicle is crazy spending in my book. You heard it here first: when the economy tanks, and it's going to do that, Sirius will be one of the early casualties. So will a whole lot of the companies making apps for our mobile devices that also have little monthly stings attached to using them.

 

[DaddyDog]

it's the disconnect department that can make the best deal for you

This is true. It's the customer retention department. My buddy's daughter worked there for a bit.

You'll find great and horrible experiences with all of them. FWIW we're on Fibe TV and Bell Internet. The two do not interfere with each other (separate wire feeds).
Internet: we get about 40mbs on average. Seldom down. My son connects via ethernet to the router, and does online gaming.
Fibe TV with a PVR: works very well. Love that I can now watch TV on the Ipad app while sitting in the kitchen.

Yes we've had problems with each. Getting help is very very difficult. We now have the direct line to second level technical support.

 

[player99]

Watch out with Bell and if they do disconnect or even alter your plan a little. Once they alter your plan, you have no plan, then you are crying to them to get back the rip off deal you did have. And they will tell you your plan doesn't exist anymore.

 

[colchar]

I live out in the country and we were under Bells thumb for years as they were the ONLY internet we could get. I think they are just as bad if not worse then Rogers. Finally about two years ago execulink ran fibre optic past our house, when I saw them digging the line I ran outside and found out which company they worked for. They did a free hook up to our house as a promotional thing. I get 2gbps for $100 a month. It’s crazy fast and always good speed. Plus last year when they won that lawsuit where bell and Rogers were forced to share their lines with them, they lowered my bill by $27

I lived in KW for ten years so am familiar with Execulink. The only problem is that in my area, they simply resell access to Rogers internet which is exactly what I want to get away from!

 

[colchar]

If you are in rogers cable area you can go with a smaller provider that uses rogers cable. I am currently with teksavvy cable 150m service - cheaper than rogers and very reliable. My mother has start.ca internet service, after having rogers and is very happy with their service also. You can check out canadianisp.ca for a list of providers and links to their websites. There are better options than the "big" robbers.

But as mentioned above, the smaller companies simply resell access to Rogers and I want to get away from that. My internet from Rogers dies several times each day, and I am sick of it.

 

[colchar]

I'm with bell. Internet performance is relatively stable and good.

I just checked their site and thier packages are named different from when I signed up. Basically I have a package with unlimited Internet, 60 dl and 10 ul speeds. When I check the speeds it's pretty close to thier claims - 50-55dl, 8-9ul. We had the "Better" package. I don't see it on their site now.

For tv I have thier basic package. We were going to cancel tv, but with their bundled pricing, I'd land up saving less than $15/mo so we decided to keep it. You never know when I want to watch live TV.

Here's the kicker... THEY RAISE THEIR PRICES ALL THE TIME!!

In the 4-5 years we've had them I think we've had about 8-9 price increases with no warning. Sometimes wife calls when price increase seems rediculous (increase of $30) or they have back to back months with increases... Sometimes they give us some loyalty credits. Sometimes not. I don't really look after the bills (wife does), but I believe our cost had almost doubled since we joined. I do know they raised their pricing before our 1 yr promo package expired. Sometimes they say the reason for the increase is due to hardware upgrades in my neighbourhood. My neighboured is 20 yrs old and we got the fiber upgrade about 10 years ago... So not sure if those claims are true or not.

I've been thinking of leaving bell so many times but because performance is stable (I run a small business from home), I'm reluctant to move based on price alone.

Would I recommend them? Yes and no. Yes based purely on the fact they seem to be reliable and have delivered speeds close to what they claim.

Definitely NO because of their constant price increases.

But we don't have much alternative do we...?

It's a case of "would you rather burn to death or drown?".




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With Rogers I see increases (or fluctuating bills) and shitty services.

 

[colchar]

I've watched threads involving Bell, here and elsewhere, over the years. The absolute conclusion is they have the worst customer service in the industry, usually at the worst price. I wouldn't sign up with them for *anything*.

I despise both Bell and Rogers and would love nothing more than to be done with both of them, forever. But it was a big enough discussion to get Mum to agree to learn new TV channels, and there is no way I could get her into streaming. Plus, I would constantly be doing tech support for her which would do nothing but lead to arguments.

 

[colchar]

From my experience two years ago.....one more thing to consider before you pull the plug on Rogers...........if you use their email service (i.e. you're [email protected]) be aware that disconnecting from them kills your email. Immediately. Rogers will not supply any conversion options from their email to, for example, gmail. Not the end of the world, but if you're a big email user, this is a nasty surprise for you to deal with.

Nah, I use Gmail and Outlook.