SaskTel pricing change rankles mobile customer
CBC News
Posted: Feb 8, 2012 10:27 PM CST
Last Updated: Feb 8, 2012 10:25 PM CST
A Regina man says the provincial Crown corporation SaskTel has changed the terms of his mobile service contract, which will cost him hundreds of dollars.
Alec Couros says he signed a three-year contract with the phone company to get unlimited mobile coverage in Canada.
'When you sign a three-year contract, that's what you actually should get.'—SaskTel customer Alec Couros
However, barely one year into the term, SaskTel has changed the conditions of the contract so that coverage outside the province can attract hefty charges.
Couros believes SaskTel should honour the deal he signed.
"When you go in purchasing an unlimited data plan and it's specified to be Canada, that should actually be honoured," Couros told CBC News. "So when you sign a three-year contract, that's what you actually should get."
However, officials with SaskTel point out that its contract includes a clause allowing the corporation to change how it charges for service outside the province during the contract period.
Couros, however, contends that SaskTel should live up to the deal it offered in the first place.
He said he was attracted to the plan because he uses his mobile phone a lot.
"I bought it at $40 a month and it could, next month, cost me $140, $240," he figured, noting that could easily happen if he were to use his phone to watch a movie.
He said the new pricing plan defeats the purpose of having a mobile device.
"People go to Manitoba, or Alberta or anywhere across Canada," he said. "[But] you can actually accumulate data charges very, very quickly."
Couros says his only alternative is to cancel his contract, but that will incur an early-cancelation penalty of about $600.
With files from CBC's Dean GutheilShare Tools
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