# Are Rogers collection efforts border-lining on harassment? - rant



## simon (Nov 2, 2002)

Warning RANT ....

My Rogers cable/internet bill is due on the 18th of the month and I usually pay it by the due date or shortly after. This month I forgot to pay it on the due date and starting one week after it was due Rogers started to call. I answered the first phone call because I was home - "This is Rogers calling, please hold ..." the computer lady told me 3 times, so I did for a couple of minutes and nobody came on line to speak with so I hung up.

I knew what the call was for, a "pleasant reminder" my bill was overdue and if I wanted they would gladly settle this with a credit card payment. Since I wasn't able to speak to anyone, it just reminded me that I was on the Rogers Collections Department's radar and I better do something, so I did and I paid my bill the next day.

I didn't panic, mainly because my my bill is only $120. You figure they would be satisfied with reminding me to pay my bill once and call again a week later if nothing was done.

Not Rogers.

Starting with that first phone call that I did try to answer, Rogers called on an average of 4 times a day - in the morning, after lunch, just after supper and then later in the evening - for the next 5 days. We were unavailable for most of the calls so their robo-caller just left a message to call their phone number (which I have once and I have better things to do than waste my time jumping through their phone queues to talk to a human, especially since I have already paid my bill and I don't need to make arrangements to pay). Twice I picked up to be ignored as before. Finally, the phone calls just stopped which means that the electronic payment I sent earlier in the week was finally credited to my account.

So, pay your Rogers bill on time or they will hunt you down and relentlessly phone you until you do


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Am I missing something here?

When I signed my contract with Telus, I agreed to pay my bill on or before the due date. If I don't, they can take whatever action they deem necessary to collect. I pay my bill on time, every time to ensure that does not happen.

Your complaint should be with yourself, not Rogers as it was you who was late with the payment.


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

I see no issue with Rogers' collection efforts. If you are routinely delinquent in your payments, and it certainly seems you are, they are well within their rights to contact you to receive overdue payment. If you can't be bothered (or are incapable), to pay your bills on time, perhaps you should only use prepaid services.


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## polywog (Aug 9, 2007)

My billing period with Rogers ends the 13th, but I get paid the 15th which is when I pay my bills. Sometimes the payment hasn't been processed before I get a reminder text message that my payment is overdue. I think it's great - or it would be had I actually forgotten to pay.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

They come after me when I let the bill slide as well, but like SINC says, I agreed to pay on time. I accept the late fee as a sort of convenience cost. The only thing I don't like is that they also ask me if I'm going to pay next month's bill early--my reply, always, is a succinct "NO."


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

On a side note, the one or two times I've forgotten to pay my bill, I don't hear anything from Rogers until I see it on the next statement, as well as an interest charge. Perhaps I don't get nagged as the account is in good standing?


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## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

john clay said:


> on a side note, the one or two times i've forgotten to pay my bill, i don't hear anything from rogers until i see it on the next statement, as well as an interest charge. Perhaps i don't get nagged as the account is in good standing?


+1


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## bsenka (Jan 27, 2009)

John Clay said:


> If you are routinely delinquent in your payments


Paying within a few days of an arbitrary due date is not "delinquent". Delinquent is not paying for several months. If they always get their money, calling all the time is totally unnecessary. 

Besides, the Simon is getting repeated calls from Rogers AFTER he's already paid!


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## johnnyspade (Aug 24, 2007)

bsenka said:


> Besides, the Simon is getting repeated calls from Rogers AFTER he's already paid!


Assuming this is the sole reason they're calling. Maybe they just want to chat about the fact that this individual has a repeat habit of not paying his bills on time. Remember that all this started because he's late paying the bills. I'm not judging, but it seems to me that if he paid his bills on time, like he said he would, he wouldn't be receiving calls in the first place.


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

I already know that I have a tendency to forget to pay bills on time, so I have all my utilities billed directly to my credit card. As a result, none of my paid bills are ever late, and then I only have to concern myself with paying off the credit card at the end of each month. Works for me.


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## l84toff (Jul 27, 2008)

SINC said:


> they can take whatever action they deem necessary to collect.


So it's ok with you if they harass you? Maybe it's ok if they come and oh I dunno, take your car? Parhaps they deemed it necessary.



SINC said:


> Your complaint should be with yourself, not Rogers as it was you who was late with the payment.


Kind of harsh. Everyone misses a payment in their lives, if you haven't yet, I'm sure you will one day. 

I too would have a problem if after paying the bill they continued to call/harass me.

Personally whenever I've received a call from a machine asking me to hold (for a live person) I've hung up right away. I don't care what its for. If the call isn't important enough to have a real person call me, its not important enough for me to wait until who ever at the other end of the line is ready to talk to me. 

We had a knock at our door the one day. So my wife got up, opened up the door to find a man standing there with his back to the door. Now the door makes enough noise for someone to know it's just been opened. My wife stood there for about 3 seconds, then closed the door without saying a word. The man never turned around.

Both are examples of poor customer service. Sadly this is something that is becoming more common these days.


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## maxipad (Jun 3, 2010)

I have to agree with the OP. Rogers is bordering on criminal harassment and the contract you sign has nothing to with it. The CC trumps any private contract. 

The problem doesn't stop when you pay the bill. They continue calling even days after your balance is $0 and it isn't a person. It's a computer . They can handle 1 million calls at a time but they can't do a simple database update and stop harassing the people that already paid. Their system is awful for a company this size. There is no reason the computers can't do a simple update and clear those that paid and prevent another computer from continuously calling. They also do it twice in a row. I still have my old blackberry that shows rogers calling at 12:01 and then 12:02 , and to top it off they ask you pay your bill that isn't due for another 21 days. 

I dumped rogers a long time ago for telus and then wind. I find that the smaller companies value the customers.


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## MaxPower (Jan 30, 2003)

Case in point. My wife has a Rogers stick that she uses for work. She has to expense the bill. The bill is constantly late coming in or comes in 2 or 3 days before it's due. Since she has to submit the invoice for reimbursement, the payment for the bill is generally later than the due date.

Since bills are typically Net 30, there should be a grace period on invoices that are received late. We pay the invoice within 30 days after receiving the bill. This still doesn't stop the calls, letters, text messages etc. It is harassment. Plain and simple. Rogers would save more money by using regular proven collection methods on delinquent accounts than these new guerilla tactics chasing after accounts that are a few days old or not due yet.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

l84toff said:


> So it's ok with you if they harass you? Maybe it's ok if they come and oh I dunno, take your car? Parhaps they deemed it necessary.
> 
> 
> Kind of harsh. Everyone misses a payment in their lives, if you haven't yet, I'm sure you will one day.
> ...


If the OP had paid the bill on time, there would be no collection procedure initialized. Simple solution? Pay on time. Harsh? Nope, it's YOUR responsibility. Step up and pay on time.

And for the record, I have never had a bill collector call me EVER in 65 years on this planet. I have always paid my bills and will continue to do so in future.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

MaxPower said:


> Since bills are typically Net 30, there should be a grace period on invoices that are received late. We pay the invoice within 30 days after receiving the bill. This still doesn't stop the calls, letters, text messages etc. It is harassment. Plain and simple. Rogers would save more money by using regular proven collection methods on delinquent accounts than these new guerilla tactics chasing after accounts that are a few days old or not due yet.


You agree to this when you sign up and the response to a late bill is within the law. Switch to a company that has a softball collections policy instead.


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## l84toff (Jul 27, 2008)

SINC said:


> If the OP had paid the bill on time, there would be no collection procedure initialized. Simple solution? Pay on time. Harsh? Nope, it's YOUR responsibility. Step up and pay on time.
> 
> And for the record, I have never had a bill collector call me EVER in 65 years on this planet. I have always paid my bills and will continue to do so in future.


I do have to agree with you when it comes to taking responsibility for your actions. I think far too often people wish to absolve themselves of theirs. But shedding this responsibility will have its own cosequences on the persons credit score.

Having experienced missing a payment (once in the last 10 or so years) with Rogers oddly enough, I can attest to not being harassed by them what so ever. One can only guess if the OP has made a habit of missing Rogers payments or not. For all I know being a repeat offender is what causes Rogers to go into harassment mode.


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## MLeh (Dec 23, 2005)

Being on the collections side of delinquent accounts, I wish people would realize that 'credit' is a privilege, not a right. It costs money to run a business, and cash flow is fairly important. It costs money to do collections, but it costs even more to carry deadweight.

And yes, I will harass if that's what it takes to get payment. It's not a charity I'm running.


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

MLeh said:


> Being on the collections side of delinquent accounts, I wish people would realize that 'credit' is a privilege, not a right. It costs money to run a business, and cash flow is fairly important. It costs money to do collections, but it costs even more to carry deadweight.
> 
> And yes, I will harass if that's what it takes to get payment. It's not a charity I'm running.


Not paying a bill on time isn't credit, just to be clear it is only credit if their is a credit agreement. It is a late payment.


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## Sonal (Oct 2, 2003)

MLeh said:


> And yes, I will harass if that's what it takes to get payment. It's not a charity I'm running.


Let me know if you ever want to get into the landlording business....


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## Rps (May 2, 2009)

to be clear, if you don't pay when you pick it up, it is an extension of credit....through the pay terms. Monthly service agreements have an implied credit payment term....


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

I also don't have any beef with a company calling me after I make a bank payment. It's not an instantaneous transfer.


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## keebler27 (Jan 5, 2007)

I don't think they were overboard b/c for every one of you, whom forgot once, they deal with ppl who are consistently late. it's obviously a system generated thing.

It's the same thing with OSAP (ontario student loans).

I hear some ppl gripe about OSAP coming after them, but it turns out those ppl were severely delinquent in paying so of course the govt has all the right in the world to chase them down. I know this is different from your situation, but related.

Of course, now that I re-read what I just typed, I laugh angrily b/c I remember OSAP coming after ME about 1.5 years after graduating. I graduated and started paying, never missed a payment and then I got married. Not only that, I was paying a little extra every month too to knock down the interest!

Sounds ok right? Well the [email protected] wanted to see receipts from our wedding GIFTS!!!!! I'll never forget that conversation I had.

As luck would have it, my wife got a massive bonus after she switched jobs and we paid the rest off to get them off our back. I still have the letter saying it was cleared in case they ever come after us (but that was 15 years ago  lol


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

keebler27 said:


> Sounds ok right? Well the [email protected] wanted to see receipts from our wedding GIFTS!!!!! I'll never forget that conversation I had.


How did they know you even got married? And what made them think you should pay it off faster than agreed?


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## maxipad (Jun 3, 2010)

MLeh said:


> And yes, I will harass if that's what it takes to get payment. It's not a charity I'm running.


Wouldn't that be illegal and contrary to the collections act.

Rogers isn't even extending credit, you pay them before the month, when they call you with the broken harassing computer they are actually asking you to pay for the month you haven't used yet. Nevertheless harassment should never take place since they already charge you a penalty for late payment.


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

Rps said:


> to be clear, if you don't pay when you pick it up, it is an extension of credit....through the pay terms. Monthly service agreements have an implied credit payment term....


Strictly speaking it isn't credit. They charge you a late fee.


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## Sonal (Oct 2, 2003)

maxipad said:


> Wouldn't that be illegal and contrary to the collections act.


Actually, it's a neat little loophole in the law. A collection agency can't harass you--they have well-defined limits on how and when they can contact you. 

But if you are not the collection agency, a lot of that doesn't apply. So Rogers has LOTS of latitude now, and if they put it to a collection agency, they have less latitude AND they have to pay them a fee.

So it's in their best interests to use every available means to collect the money from you ASAP.

I have to say, though, Rogers seems to be really fast at registering items with the credit bureau.... anecdotally speaking, their name comes up more than anyone else on a credit check.


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## maxipad (Jun 3, 2010)

Sonal said:


> But if you are not the collection agency, a lot of that doesn't apply. So Rogers has LOTS of latitude now, and if they put it to a collection agency, they have less latitude AND they have to pay them a fee.


Yes but the criminal code still applies. Really the only loophole is the one rogers uses by saying they use computers that take 72hrs to update. Imagine yourself as civilian telling a judge that it only took you 3 days to stop harassing the person who made the claim against you. While it's true the collections act may not apply, the criminal code always does.


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## Sonal (Oct 2, 2003)

maxipad said:


> Yes but the criminal code still applies. Really the only loophole is the one rogers uses by saying they use computers that take 72hrs to update. Imagine yourself as civilian telling a judge that it only took you 3 days to stop harassing the person who made the claim against you. While it's true the collections act may not apply, the criminal code always does.


Sure I can imagine it, and that depends on whether or not they consider this criminally harrassing behaviour, and it isn't.


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## maxipad (Jun 3, 2010)

Sonal said:


> Sure I can imagine it, and that depends on whether or not they consider this criminally harrassing behaviour, and it isn't.


Not on the first call but if you ask any party to stop calling or contacting you they must stop. Rogers isn't above the law on this. It isn't a charge that is laid often but if you have made several complaints to stop someone from contacting you and they continue to contact you then harassment has occurred. Go to a court and check the docket if you don't believe this charge can be laid. Most often you see it stem from a relationship or dispute when one party refuses to leave the other alone.


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

Lars said:


> I already know that I have a tendency to forget to pay bills on time, so I have all my utilities billed directly to my credit card. As a result, none of my paid bills are ever late, and then I only have to concern myself with paying off the credit card at the end of each month. Works for me.


Dito.


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## MLeh (Dec 23, 2005)

Sonal said:


> Let me know if you ever want to get into the landlording business....


I'm not a masochist.


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

I get my online bills about a couple of days after billing date, so I often have about 19 days to make a payment. *shrugs*


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## MaxPower (Jan 30, 2003)

MLeh said:


> Being on the collections side of delinquent accounts, I wish people would realize that 'credit' is a privilege, not a right. It costs money to run a business, and cash flow is fairly important. It costs money to do collections, but it costs even more to carry deadweight.
> 
> And yes, I will harass if that's what it takes to get payment. It's not a charity I'm running.


This is why I only take credit cards as payment with the exception of a few long time customers who always pay on time.

I used to do collections for one of my companies. I used to go hard on my overdue accounts finding I was just spinning my wheels. I later found that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar and my success rate went up. I don't subscribe to Guerilla tactics that boarder on harassment. Mind you sometimes it is necessary and dealing with the public rather than corporations is completely different.


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## simon (Nov 2, 2002)

HOLY COW! ... looks like I'm judged to be a slacker when it comes to paying my bills - and how some of you tarred and feathered me because I admitted to paying my cable bill a few days after the due date (not always on the due date as I usually do). As a self-employed individual, I'm scratching out a living without the benefit of a regular paycheck - when I get paid, I pay my bills with them mostly on time ... there does that make you happy? For all those who judged me as a peoria on society, I'm giving you a special salute ... 

My complaint still is about how Rogers is becoming very aggressive in calling for their money (as a couple of people pointed out it's for services TO BE RECEIVED not for services I have received). I have been late before, but just a few days, nothing I consider major and I received that "friendly reminder" phonecall - but just one call. 

Last month Rogers called me approximately 20 times in a 5 day window (including the weekend). I received the first phone call on the Thursday, I paid them Friday and they continued to call until Tuesday. Electronic payment is immediate - it goes from my account to their account in 30 minutes. There is no need for them to call me after payment is made.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Great. Rogers just went out of business because six EhMacers failed to pay their bills on time.


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## Sonal (Oct 2, 2003)

simon said:


> Electronic payment is immediate - it goes from my account to their account in 30 minutes. There is no need for them to call me after payment is made.


Not necessarily... it depends on when and how the banks post those transactions, and those are definitely not instant. At best, it's a business day.

We have an electronic rent payment service that works just like an online bill payment. Takes at least one business day, sometimes 2 or 3, depending on how the tenant's bank does things. (I know my bank has a little note online that says that all transactions received after 6PM are not posted until the next business day or something.)

Now, when the transaction is complete, I do see WHEN it was made... however, I don't see THAT it was made at all for a couple of business days.

I agree that Rogers is aggressive, but paying online isn't actually instant.


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## l84toff (Jul 27, 2008)

If a real person had called you in the first place, this could all have been avoided imo. Like I said if it's not important enough to have a representative call you in person...I know I don't bother waiting on the line. Maybe one day I'll miss out on a free cruise or something...

It is possible that it may have been a computer glitch of some kind, especially if your account is usually in good standing and you've never had this happen previously.


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## bsenka (Jan 27, 2009)

maxipad said:


> Not on the first call but if you ask any party to stop calling or contacting you they must stop. Rogers isn't above the law on this. It isn't a charge that is laid often but if you have made several complaints to stop someone from contacting you and they continue to contact you then harassment has occurred.


That electronic caller is probably how they get around that. If you don't get a chance to tell them to stop calling during the call, they can claim to have never been asked.


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