Customers who had unwanted premium texts in the past will get full refund
TORONTO, March 16, 2015 /CNW/ - Rogers today announced an agreement with the Competition Bureau related to premium text services. As part of the agreement, Rogers will issue credits or refunds to customers who were charged for third-party premium text services provided by Jesta between January 1, 2011 and August 31, 2013 and MMS between January 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012.
"We've worked with the Competition Bureau to come to an agreement because it's the right thing to do. We heard from customers in the past that they had concerns with these third-party premium text services and between 2011 and 2013 we took action to protect our customers," said Raj Doshi, Rogers Executive Vice President, Wireless Services. "Last summer we stopped the program all together and today we're going even further. Though we've issued many refunds already to our customers, now all affected customers will get their money back."
Premium texts provide information like quizzes and fun facts, horoscopes and ringtones for which customers pay a transaction or monthly fee. In the past, Rogers acted as the billing agent for the third parties who provided the premium texts, much like charging a purchase to a credit card. In 2011 and 2012, we took a number of actions in response to customer concerns. We made the sign up process clearer, capped the amount of monthly charges, terminated problem vendors and provided a service so customers could block premium texts altogether. Rogers ended its contracts with MMS and Jesta, the premium text vendors that were the subject of the Competition Bureau settlement agreement, in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Rogers terminated all other premium text programs in August 2014.
"With this settlement, we are making sure that any former or current customer who may have paid unauthorized charges receives compensation," added Doshi. "We could have handled this better in the past. As part of our Rogers 3.0 plan we are very focussed on improving the customer experience and we want our customers to know that this is the way we'll operate going forward."
Current Rogers customers who were charged for premium text services provided by either Jesta or MMS, which includes services such as Mind Quiz, Love Crush and Joke a Day, will get an automatic bill credit in the next few months for the length of time they were charged by these services. Former customers who were charged for these services will be contacted to complete the refund process. More information is available at:
www.rogers.com/premiumtext
www.Fido.ca/premiumtext
About Rogers Communications Inc.
Rogers Communications is a leading diversified public Canadian communications and media company. We are Canada's largest provider of wireless communications services and one of Canada's leading providers of cable television, high-speed Internet and telephony services to consumers and businesses. Through Rogers Media, we are engaged in radio and television broadcasting, televised shopping, magazines and trade publications, sports entertainment, and digital media. We are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI).
SOURCE Rogers Communications Inc.
Patricia Trott, Rogers Communications, patricia.trott@rci.rogers.com, 416-935-7359Copyright CNW Group 2015