Best Mobile Provider in Canada

Tonto86

Aquila wrote: »

Was thinking of going with Virgin in Calgary,is it decent for someone wanting to keep in touch back home?looking to get a smartphone too,any ideas?

For the love of god don't, worst company I ever dealt with. Bills are wrong arrive late and are wrong then they call you daily demanding payment immediately. Bad network aswell.

You'd be better off with two tin cans and some string

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Helix

koodo

Panthro

Helix wrote: »

koodo

I went into what would be our version of Carphonewarehouse and asked which was the cheapest one to suit my needs. She recommended Koodo.
I basically want internet (skype home) free texts and a few mins worth of calling a month.
Not too bad.

Helix

best customer service out there too

NoelAPM

I went with Helix, Apart from a bit of drama getting set up I think there Good. Its all very simple, the website lets you easily follow your monthly caps as well as pay bills and change your plan. so there's no need to have to ring customer service ever really.

So the drama at the start was cause I needed my SIN number, so went and got that and then was told I needed the actual SIN card... WTF!? Anyway, went to a different Koodo shop and they had a issue with my credit history. Being new to Canada I obviously did not have a credit history, why that's a problem I'm not sure, Its a month to month contract anyway. So then I went to another Koodo shop, I had my SIN card at this stage and was told that after checking with a manager, they could not accept my Irish passport for ID and they needed a Canadian ID. I'm pretty sure that's discriminatory but whatever. I then went to another Koodo shop and no problem's. He had to make a phone call to approve my lack of credit history, but my Passport was accepted as ID along with my Irish Driving licence.

Helix

get yourself a canadian drivers license and you'll save any id related issues. just do the theory test and you'll get a license in the mail about 2 weeks later which is good for id here

Panthro

I went in to get signed up with Koodo, they wanted my SIN number to do a check of some sort. As I had my SIN number but not the actual card (they give you a number but the card comes out a few days later) they wouldn't give me a sim card.

The guy in the shop that rang them on my behalf gave them a right going over saying that's the first he's ever heard of such (and fair play to him, I tuned in to the whole conversation) but would they fcuk give me a sim card without doing a SIN card background check.
So off I went to Chatr. Who were down.

So off I went to Wind, bought their cheapest prepay (50 dollars) and topped up 25 dollars a month. That gives me unlimited local calls (calls in and around Vancouver) unlimited local texts (same as calls) and free international texts home.
Small bit of internet but feck it, I needed a number to be contactable over here so it does the job.Skype does the rest for me.

NoelAPM

N1 Helix, I've got my licence but i'll get the misses on that right away. what is it the equivalent of a provisional?

When I got my first Koodo rejection I went into Rogers which was next door. It pains me to talk about it...

I just needed a number quick for job searching. So In my head was thinking whatever just give me it. The guys in the shop were useless for a start, signed me up for the wrong package, which he then changed over the phone. I later found out he hadn't changed it before I was charged for it.. so my first top up was robbed $20. There was a $30 set up charge or something, $15 just for a sim card. All in I think I paid $110 to get set up including my first top up of $30, $20 of which went to my monthly mins, text, data. 24 hours later I had to top up again as I had gone over my minutes...... Mental. took them about 30mins in the shop to set me up as well.

Also if people are getting new phone numbers from any network ask them for a number starting with 778. my GF was given a 604 number. We found out later that they ran out of these a few years ago, so if your offered one its a disconnected number that has been used before. My girlfriend gets several phone calls a week from randomers, many of which are at mad o'clock in the morning from automated marketing surveys and stuff.

Moral of the story, God bless Ireland and do not even walk into a Rogers shop when you arrive in Canada.

Helix

equivalent of a provisional is called a g2. it's $85 in ontario anyway, and you have to do the theory test to get it

the test is really, really easy to be honest, but you'll need to pick up a book for it, because some of their stuff is a little different like the alcohol limits and all that kinda thing. honestly though, a quick read through the book and spending 2-3 hours doing the example tests online and you'll nail it

Helix

noel, first thing you do when you get a job is you get rid of the pay as you go phone

it'll cost you 3 times as much as a monthly bill jobbie

retalivity

note: the only vehicle in ontario with a blue flashing light is a snowmobile!

that question always comes up, allegedly.

You dont evenneed the book, most of it is common sense, and the rest can be covered on free online tests

Helix

retalivity wrote: »

You dont evenneed the book, most of it is common sense, and the rest can be covered on free online tests

yeah i agree, but there's no harm getting the book for the more up to date blood alcohol questions. i got one of those wrong when i did mine

you're never gonna get more than 2 or 3 of them i suppose, so if you had any prior driving experience in ireland you'd still pass handily enough

beks101

Helix wrote: »

yes

avoid like the plague unless you like huge phone bills


fido is rogers budget brand but you're as well avoiding them to be honest. i was with them before and you can look forward to 3 figure monthly bills for even modest usage

over here you get charged for incoming calls as well as outgoing ones, so there's no getting a prepaid phone and sitting on your credit. basically do NOT sign up with bell, telus or rogers directly unless you have an aversion to saving money

Oh please listen to this advice.

I was with Rogers for my first year, didn't even have a smartphone but had to put up with $100+ bills every month for ridiculously modest usage - I wasn't even using data!

So my second year I cancelled with them - after a nightmare ringaround process of bitching, arguing, threatening, complaining etc because they wanted to charge me $300 cancellation fee for a contract they signed me up to without my knowledge - and got an iPhone 4 with Fido.

Haven't had a bill under $100 since I signed up and that includes 500MB of data, unlimited city calls and texts etc, fairly standard plan. They charge for incoming calls, they charge for voice mail, they charge for caller ID, they charge if you call a number and hang up before it even connects...they charge for the steam of your p1ss. And I'm locked into them for the next 2.5 years because the plan was sold to me as the best option and I stupidly bought into it.

PLEASE don't go to the big 3, you WILL regret it!

Mossyman

Go with Koodo if you're new to the country.

They have a rolling month to month contract and no roaming charges across the country like other networks.

I pay $55 a month for unlimited texts (including international texts), 100 minutes and 2GB of data which is more than enough for skyping etc.

They also have a thing called a TAB, which basically takes $150 off the price of your phone. Then 10% of every phone bill goes towards this until it is paid off.

I've been with them for over three months with no problems and they seem to be much cheaper for a whole lot more.

retalivity

beks101 wrote: »

I was with Rogers for my first year....

So my second year I cancelled with them......and got an iPhone 4 with Fido.

Fido are owned by Rodgers

Haven't had a bill under $100 since I signed up and that includes 500MB of data, unlimited city calls and texts etc, fairly standard plan. They charge for incoming calls, they charge for voice mail, they charge for caller ID, they charge if you call a number and hang up before it even connects...they charge for the steam of your p1ss. And I'm locked into them for the next 2.5 years because the plan was sold to me as the best option and I stupidly bought into it.

PLEASE don't go to the big 3, you WILL regret it!

This. Im with fido too, and was offered to switch to a monthly plan for 25 a month. I steadfastly refused to get a data plan even though I have a smartphone as i had heard stories about costs.
got my first bill and it was 50, because it costs $8 a month to see who is actually calling you, and as I called a friend of mine who lives 15 mins outside the city, I was calling countrywide which wasnt covered by my minutes and i was charged 30c a min.
I cancelled the caller iD on principle, and am looking to switch now, but all the companies are the same. Complete robbing b*stards and thats not even bringing into account the fact they charge you for receiving calls. I have not heard of anywhere else in the world that does that

Helix

the states charges for receiving calls too

go for koodo. they're owned by telus but everywhere in canada is local, and for the price you're paying with fido you should be able to get unlimited minutes

hdowney

The mobile phone industry in Canada shocks the shiz out of me. I mean seriously the stuff they charge for over there is redonkulus

hickeydermot

I went into a Wind shop today and the sales staff informed me that in order to get a contract phone I need a credit card , is this the case with every network?

Helix

not sure on that actually... ive always paid on cc myself, so it could well be the case

hickeydermot

Opened an account today , have to have a certain amount in the bank for my credit card so it will be a few weeks

hickeydermot

Actually I'll post it here might help others. Bank Of Montreal offer temporary credit cards for those of us on visas , you just have to have the matching amount in your chequing account , i.e a credit card with 500 dollars limit , you'll need 625 or something close in your bank account at all times if you're using the card.

bstar

hickeydermot wrote: »

Actually I'll post it here might help others. Bank Of Montreal offer temporary credit cards for those of us on visas , you just have to have the matching amount in your chequing account , i.e a credit card with 500 dollars limit , you'll need 625 or something close in your bank account at all times if you're using the card.

All of the banks will do this its called a secured credit card but most don't ask for extra they just put a permanent hold of the credit limit on your savings account. If you want to build credit if you are staying there, sears card is the easiest to get and will build credit very quickly.

Also on fido I had a $35 a month plan and it was never above that. But I did make sure the plan included incoming calls and all that so as long as your plan includes it all you will be fine.

Currently paying $60 to fido for 300mins, unlimited evening and weekend, voicemail, caller id, 6gb data and unlimited texts and international texts. oh and all incomingcalls

Helix

you can buy pay as you go, top up visas at money mart if you can't get one at the bank

NoelAPM

Really, have you used one? Money mart scares me!

Helix

yeah i have one that we use as a company card since we haven't had our scotiabank account for long enough to get a credit card with them. money mart one is grand. fees are far lower than a regular cc if you play it properly

you don't need to be scared of money mart unless you're doing a payday advance, in which case you've hit the bottom of the barrel and are currently trying to dig your way through it

hickeydermot

Helix wrote: »

you can buy pay as you go, top up visas at money mart if you can't get one at the bank

Oh right that's just like a 3v card thanks , will look into it.


Is there a way around getting a bill phone without having a credit card? So fresh here it will be a couple of months before I save up the extra funds for a credit card.

bstar

Helix wrote: »

. fees are far lower than a regular cc if you play it properly

Other than interest there are no fees on my visa at all. normally only fees if you get certain reward cards but depending on your account you can get some of these free aswell.

BMO's prepaid visa is a $10 fee for a year if you are going to get a prepaid one.

Helix

bstar wrote: »

Other than interest there are no fees on my visa at all. normally only fees if you get certain reward cards but depending on your account you can get some of these free aswell.

BMO's prepaid visa is a $10 fee for a year if you are going to get a prepaid one.

no fees on my prepaid either, and no interest at all

if only my personal TD one was the same

bstar

Well as with any credit card you only get interest if you don't pay the balance within 21 days. With the prepaid you have no interest cause you have to pay the money upfront anyway. My interest rate is only 4.9% so I don't mind it lol. Haven't had to pay any yet though.

Helix

aye i never pay the interest myself, but there are fees on my own personal card unfortunately. it's not much but it's still a nuisance. might take a look at scotia. we use them for the business, but because we haven't got 2 years banking with them they won't actually extend unsecured credit to the business account, which is nonsense, but there's feck all we can do about it