Monday 24 October 2011

Rogers Data Hub Excessive Usage Price Cap

Update Notification:  The information in this entry was reviewed on 23 Nov 2012. There may have been changes to the amount and manner in which Rogers is now applying the price caps. Readers  should review the comment and reply section at the end of the main entry for details. Hermes

The information in this blog supplements information published in this blog concerning Flex Plan data rates costs.

The subject of whether or not the Rogers data hub Flex Rate Plan has a $50.00 excess usage price cap came up during a recent discussion.

The following is the exchange of correspondence between myself and Rogers that took place on 24 Oct 11.
I wrote to Rogers:
This is the cost of service as printed on my monthly bill: “Your services
include: Rocket Hub Internet Flex Rate Data Tiers $35 up to 3GB $45 up to 5GB $60 up to 10GB Data usage exceeding 10GB will be billed in increments of $10.00/GB. This additional charge will be added to the monthly fee.”

I have heard from other users that the maximum overage charge per month is $50.00 regardless of the number of GB’s. This link http://www.keepingpace.ca/faq.html#2 is often cited as the source of this information.

Can you please confirm whether or not the $50.00 maximum cited in the reference applies to the Rocket Hub data plan? If so, does this mean that in theory the maximum I would have to pay per month is $110.00 plus fees and taxes?
Thank you
Rogers Wireless Customer Service wrote in reply:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for taking the time to write us, we strive to provide you with the highest level of customer support, and we appreciate your use of our online customer service.

I can certainly assist you with this; at this time we do have a $50 overage cap for the data flex rate plan. If you were to exceed the 10GB of usage you would be billed the $60 for the top tier of the data flex rate plan along with the $50 overage cap and applicable taxes.

Please note Rogers will monitor for excessive usage and you will be notified by a letter if your usage becomes excessive.

While this reply addresses my 3 tier plan , I assume the $50.00 cap would apply to the 4 tier plan as well.
If anyone has verifiable information as to whether Bell or Tbaytel have a similar price cap, please let me know so I can share the knowledge.

7 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this - it is good news however the "official" response seems a bit ambiguous - it seems to suggest that you get billed an additional $50 as soon as you cross the top tier (10GB @ 60$). In other words, 11GB would cost $110. I don't think that's the intent but it does read that way (to me anyway).

    I thought I also read somewhere that users were reporting bills in the $130 range (I can't confirm, but seem to recall). Just adding this to the discussion.

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  2. I agree that a better wording would have been something like “$10 per GB to maximum of $50 per billing period.” which is similar to the language in the FAQs referenced in the main blog. However, I think this was the intent.

    I am aware of one individual that reported costs in the range of $130.00 but he had additional charges for a static IP assignment as well as GB usage.

    I guess this whole discussion of rates, caps, plans and options means one has to work at getting the right combination of options for one’s personal circumstances. For example, if have a 3 tier plan and are using around 15 GB or less per month, than moving to a 4 tier plan may be beneficial. On the other hand, if you are using over 15 GB per month, I think one is better off staying with the 3 tier plan.

    To each his own.

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  3. Yeah I guess it's a bit of trial and error, figuring out typical usage, and doing the math. In any case if there is a max, that helps me sleep a bit better. Thank you for keeping us up to speed - any further clarification or info is also much appreciated.

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  4. I know for a fact that Bell does not. I've received one warning letter from Rogers after exceeding 70GB in a month on a Rocket Hub but otherwise no problems, and always maxing out the $50 cap for overage.

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  5. anonymous - just saw your update in this post. belated thanks for the confirmation on the overage cap.

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  6. Don't test this theory out at least now as of writing Nov. 2012. I've been billed upwards of $240.00 for using around 35 gigs. They seemed to throw the cap of $50.00 out the window as of late so beware! Fortunately when I signed on awhile ago I have a $5.00 per Gig over 10 Gig plan.
    In essence I was charged roughly $100.00 for 20 gigs useage over, that's criminal considering what users on Shaw or Bell DSL get to use for $50.00 month.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the heads up on this issue. I have added warnings to the original blog entry. While the information was correct at the time of writing, keeping track of current pricing models is becoming more and more difficult as the carriers respond to competition.

      After reviewing the source document at http://www.keepingpace.ca/faq.html#2 it appears that Rogers has changed the maximum overage total from $50.00 to $100.00. This may well have occurred when they increased the cap limit for the $90.00 top level from 15 GB to 20 GB as noted in this blog entry: - http://adnetinalgoma.blogspot.com/2012/08/data-hub-flex-rate-summary-21-aug-2012.html.

      Like a lot of the changes vendors make to their terms and conditions, their actions are not well advertised unless they are compelled to so by existing laws. In this case the maximum cost of cap overages is sort of like a "silent warranty" in that the information is hidden away in the FAQ section of the site and not stated in the Rogers Terms of Service where one might reasonably expected to find it. Also, while the original response received assurances in writing from Rogers that the then upper limit of $50.00 applied to the Rocket Hub as well as their cable service, the Rocket Hub is not specifically referenced in the FAQ page.

      If the new cap limits apply to the Rocket Hub, then the 35 GB of service would have been billed at $90.00 for 20 GB plus 100.00 for the extra 15 GB for a total of $190.00 plus taxes. The $240.00 is approximately the charges for a full 15 GB at the overage rate of $10.00 GB (i.e. $150.00) plus the basic charge of $90.00 for the first 20 GB.

      I am not aware of the specific circumstances surrounding your situation, my understanding of how Rogers works is that if you are consistently and significantly over the 10 GB data amount that equates to the $100.00 cap limit they will send a warning letter or message a couple of times and if the extra usage continues they will start charging for the extra GB's.

      I agree whole heartily with your assessment about the cap limits being applied to data hubs when compared to wireline systems. I am at a loss to explain how Bell can offer 65 GB caps for less than $50.00 under the CRTC approved Deferral Account program using data hub technology but charges over $600.00 for the same amount of data transfer outside the designated Deferral Account areas.

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