Hidden fees 1, students 0
Posted on 04/09/08
Written by Alyssa Friesen
(The Eyeopener) - Students at Ryerson University find that if they fail to keep a careful watch on their cell phone and credit card bills, extra fees pile up and cost more than expected at the end of the month.
Ryan Clement, 25, a second-year master's student in communication and culture, found his cellular provider charging him $200 worth of fees he had to fight to successfully reverse.
After losing his cell phone in July 2007, he asked his server, Bell Mobility, to discontinue his old plan as he bought a new plan with a new phone with them.
However, four months later, he discovered that he was not only being charged for the new plan, but for the old plan as well.
"It was supposed to be free." Nady said.
Jacob Ziegel, a law professor at U of T and a specialist in consumer affairs, said that students need to be careful to avoid being ripped-off, especially when it comes to credit card spending.
"There will be challenges and temptations. So my best advice to students is that they make sensible decisions," Ziegel said.
Facebook can also be a source of collecting additional charges if users are not careful.
Arash Nady, 19, a first-year civil engineering student, found this out first-hand when he joined a group on Facebook that sent him daily suggestions for flirty messages on his cellphone. Nady didn't realize that for every message the group sent him, he was charged $4 on his Rogers account.
At the end of the month, Nady discovered more than $100 dollars had been added to his monthly bill. Nady called Rogers, and after a lengthy discussion got the charges reversed.
Credit card users find they too need to keep a wary eye on their monthly bill. Kamille Morgan, 19, a psychology student, said that she was ripped off when she ordered some nutrition books online after watching a TV infomercial.
The $50 fee for the two books was immediately charged to her credit card. However, three months later, she discovered that the company had been charging $6.75 per month to her credit card for vitamin supplements that she had not agreed to purchase.
Morgan straightened the problem out with TD Visa, and the charges were reversed.
"I didn't pay attention, and because I rarely use my Visa, I was vulnerable. Go figure the books weren't good either!" Morgan said with a shake of her head.
Canada's Office of Consumer affairs lists suggestions on their website for keeping unnecessary fees from building up on your monthly cell phone bill. The website encourages consumers to carefully read over each line of their bill.
Canada's Office of Consumer Affairs also warns cellular customers to remember that the more features they select on their plan, the higher their costs will be. Providers may catch unwary customers by offering a few months of free features. Customers need to be aware when that free period ends, or they may be charged for features they did not intend to buy.
Calls to Rogers and Bell Mobility were not returned.
