O O Ø O O O O
Arf
I’m travelling to Europe in May and I’d like to have a cellphone with me. In particular, I’d like to have my cellphone, since I know it inside and out. Apparently Fido offers “the most extensive international coverage available, thanks to [their] international roaming agreements with more than 300 GSM roaming partners in over 180 countries.”
They also have “very competitive international roaming rates.” However, I don’t really feel like paying C$2 per minute, incoming and outgoing , featuring by-the-minute billing. Since I paid full price for the phone almost a year ago and didn’t sign a multi-year agreement, I figured I should be able to get it unlocked. In fact, Google found several posts saying that this is basically Fido’s policy.
Which is to say, it was Fido’s policy.
“Hi! Thank you for calling Fido. Can I get your phone number, starting with the area code?”
“4 0 3 x x x x x x x”
“For security purposes, I need your birthdate and postal code.”
“(censored)”
“How can I help you today?”
“I need to unlock my phone. I’m travelling to Europe in May and I’d prefer to use a prepaid SIM card, rather than roaming with Fido.”
“We don’t unlock phones anymore.”
“Really.”
“Yup.”
“Since when?”
“When did that stop?” Papers shuffle. More papers shuffle. “Fido changed its policy about a month ago. We used to refer people to our retail locations, but as of last month, we no longer unlock phones.”
“…”
Since I was near one, I stopped in at a retail store. They never could unlock phones. You had to call customer support. But at least the guy at the store gave me a card for a local company that will unlock my phone.
It’s almost as though Fido isn’t interested in retaining my business.
That makes the both of us.
Alan Silvester
April 24, 2007
OOØOOOODCCCXIII