# Fido 100 dollar Talk and Text Plan



## Tom Dl (Feb 15, 2011)

My daughter who is 17 and does not have a credit card or any depth in her savings account, would like to spend 50 bucks to buy a phone, and 100 dollars to purchase a Fido Talk and Text Plan. She figures she is Ok for the year, if she never uses the phone and only texts.

I used to have a cell phone, and my wife just buys cards, so we are completely at sea as to whether these contracts are for real, and if for real what the pitfalls may be. I have no problem about her spending the 150, it isn't that kind of issue, I just wonder whether anyone has used such a plan, in the GTA, and what is the downside. It seems in the category of too good to be true. If it is too good to be true, there is the one side like lousy service, and poor reception, and there is the other side which is all kinds of credit problems, our being responsible for her bills, etc... Roaming might be an issue if Fido coverage were so spotty that even in the GTA/out to Whitby, there were holes that might generate fees.

Any help appreciated.


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## Tom Dl (Feb 15, 2011)

Another question is whether there is a really great forum that handles this kind of issue, that I should post to instead. I have seen some great internet forums relative to those plans, but am not familiar with where to go to get info on cell plans.


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## bayview (Nov 6, 2011)

Fido is part of Rogers so coverage "should" be fine, I guess. Not sure outside of GTA. Is it a "pay as you go" plan whereby the $100 value expires after 12 months?


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

Sounds like the $100/yr Unlimited Canadian Texting plan: http://www.fido.ca/web/page/portal/Fido/PrepaidPlans?forwardTo=prepaidPlans&service=rates

Texting is unlimited and plan comes with 100 minutes of talk time. Talk time is billed per minute, so even if a call lasts 10 seconds you get charged for 1 minute. There are also charges for roaming and long distance.

After 1 year, any balance remaining on the plan will expire if you don't renew.


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## leoc2 (Dec 28, 2010)

I pay $15 per month for a koodo prepaid plan. It has unlimited texting. I buy voice and data minutes called boosters. The boosters never expire as long as you keep your plan active. I bought a pile of boosters last winter when they were on a 2 for 1 sale. Still haven't used up my boosters. Hoping the double booster sale returns this Xmas. Roaming is not an issue as the talk minutes are nation wide.

http://koodomobile.com/en/on/plansandboosters.shtml


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Reading the web page, it sounds OK. As long as she isn't making any voice calls. Realize that the way this works is that you pay the $100 (plus tax) up front and the clock starts ticking for one year. I haven't used this particular plan but my reading of it is that any texts sent and received within Canada will be free, once you've paid $100. Call Fido and double check but if she's really just going to text, this sounds pretty good for an average cost of $8 per month.

Personally, I hate Fido. It turned bad when Rogers acquired them. I have a relative who insists on keeping her Fido phone, so I've helped her maintain and refill it for many years now. The problem I've had with Fido is that I find their fine print very tricky and sometimes money magically disappears from the pre-paid account. When I say magically disappears, it's probably due to some subtle loop-hole that's very non-obvious. At times I've carefully tracked per minute voice calls, inbound/outbound, and their pre-paid billing still doesn't add up. I never had this problem on Bell, PC Mobile, or Virgin Mobile so I know there's something specific and quirky going on with Fido.

I have very little faith in Rogers/Fido billing practices, especially in pre-paid. I am 100% positive that they carefully design the systems to slip through hidden or non-obvious charges as prepaid has very little recourse and poor tracking. Rogers/Fido is particularly bad for that.

*Be careful when activating this $100 plan*. From what I recall, the type of plan has to be specified at the moment you add the $100. If you do it incorrectly, they'll take your $100 and you may end up with the wrong plan. For instance you may end up pumping in $100 and be stuck with a 40 cent per minute voice plan with no texting. This is one way pre-paid gets you.

DO NOT USE THE VOICE PROMPT SYSTEM. Not only will it madden you, but it's also very easy to hit the wrong prompt and fail to get the desired result.

Personally I would never use Fido (or Rogers) for my own phone, due to the reasons above. But the actual plan reads well.


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

james4beach said:


> The problem I've had with Fido is that I find their fine print very tricky and sometimes money magically disappears from the pre-paid account. When I say magically disappears, it's probably due to some subtle loop-hole that's very non-obvious. At times I've carefully tracked per minute voice calls, inbound/outbound, and their pre-paid billing still doesn't add up. I never had this problem on Bell, PC Mobile, or Virgin Mobile so I know there's something specific and quirky going on with Fido.


It's probably the monthly 911 fee, which is .75 a month. Rogers does the same thing. It's in the fine print.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

For someone that will just use texting with a rare voice call now and then it looks like a good plan. And for only $100 you're not trapped to stay with Fido if problems arise. A few friends of mine use Rogers/Fido and other than a couple of rare large area outages for a few hours they've been happy with them.


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

If it wasn't for SpeakOut Wireless, I'd probably even consider this plan for myself. As it stands, SpeakOut is slightly cheaper for me, but I'm a pretty low-use customer. I'd say the Fido plan is ideal for a heavy texter.


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## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

Howard Forums is what you're looking for:

http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php/48-Fido


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## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

...


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## Tom Dl (Feb 15, 2011)

Addy said:


> Howard Forums is what you're looking for:
> 
> http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php/48-Fido


I found that forum just after posting here, though I have to say this discussion has proved more useful. Howard forums seem to be for power users of cell phones, moreso than those of us with a frugality need. They have one 36 page prepaid thread going, but it seems to be retention plans only. I only read some of the first and last pages.

Thanks for all the responses so far.

Update: Seems my wife found a Howard forum response that was useful though the same stuff identified here.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

Just to add, Rogers has the same plan available if you feel more comfortable with them.


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## wendi1 (Oct 2, 2013)

I use the Fido pay card system. I have had no problems with it, except that texts seem to be pretty expensive. $100 can last me over a year, or 3 months in heavy usage.

I am in Ottawa, but Fido and Rogers have the same coverage - GTA should be fine.


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