GOODBYE KOODO!!!

UPDATE IV: Wow, this post is STILL the highest traffic post I think I've ever written, so a clarification is in order... I've since had GREAT service from Koodo.  I have to chalk things up to a single issue with an account, in part because I was the technical contact who set up the account, while someone else was the one paying the bill.  I'd signed up for a paper bill, and since the payee never got one, I didn't know anything about it until Koodo sent me a "FINAL NOTICE" before going to collections.  Anyway, I got it all cleared up, but this post went up because I had a bad experience with a customer service rep.

If you're looking for Koodo, check them out here: KoodoMobile.com

ORIGINAL POST


Well, being an IT guy, and being the resident cell phone expert amongst my friends and political circles, people ask me for advice on who's got the best deals for cell phones. And invariably, for average usage folks, I've always spoken well of Koodo... low cost, and great value for what you get.

BUT NOT ANYMORE!!! Thanks to their low cost, or rather, cheapskate billing practices, I nearly ended up getting a collections black-eye thanks to the folks at Koodo... because THEY never bothered to send me an electronic bill, which is what I'd signed up for! You see, their way of doing things is that instead of sending your monthly e-bill to your e-mail, which is what I "thought" I was signing up for, you actually have to go and register on their website in order to get access to the e-bill.

The real kicker is when you cancel your account (which I'd done, because it was an Election 2011 campaign phone)... you'd think they'd send you a final invoice in order to get their money, right? WRONG!!! All I got from them was a PAST DUE notice, and a threat of getting sent to a collection agency! How's THAT for "Customer Service"???

Funny thing is, if they'd just sent me the bill, paper or electronically, they'd have had their money MONTHS AGO!!! (say, May 3rd?) Instead, cause of their backwards billing processes, they've had to wait an extra two months for their cash, AND have gone and lost me as a customer, AND a whole whack of folks to whom I'll be making recommendations in the future!!! Did I mention that I've already steered two people today away from Koodo?

Plus, I seem to recall that there's a campaign coming up soon... guess who's NOT going to be getting our cell phone contract! And likely this post will influence a few other campaigns to go elsewhere too!

WELL DONE KOODO!!!


UPDATE: Oh the power of the blog... got a response:
"Looked at your account & from what I can tell the issue seemed to have been that your bills have not been received by you. I can see that they were sent to Canada Post with your address that we have on file. As long as our records are correct I don't have a ready answer why they haven 't arrived even prior to the CP strike. Because of privacy and security concerns we don't email invoices and I don't think anyone else does. Since you were set up to receive a paper bill no email notifications were sent out. I also see that you called and now have access to your bill through our self-serve site. Disappointing that it took us this long to solve things, but I think we have learnt from the experience and will make a few reccos to our team. Thanks for your feedback! Bernard from the Koodo Team"

Thanks for the reply Bernard... you're right, I never got a bill, not even once, even though I paid the extra $2 a month for them. Guess I need to call back for a credit?

UPDATE II: It's been a while since I posted this, and a number of people have found it online and commented on it. Thought I should post an update, because I've since had another, and MUCH better, experience with Koodo, and didn't encounter these kinds of issues. I may have to chalk it up to a one-off issue, as opposed to their customer service as a whole.

UPDATE III: Well, it seems I'm still getting LOTS of traffic to this post (it's one of my higher hit count posts) so it looks like I have to do YET ANOTHER update to clue people in on a few things.

1) Koodo has improved their processes since this post, so the main issue has been resolved. I have dealt with them a number of times since (though NOT during the 2011 Ontario election, as I promised) and have been satisfied. With several of their new plans and phones, they are, in my opinion, once again one of the best options on the market.

2) The issue WAS ON THEIR END, it had nothing to do with me, where some commenters have tried to lay blame. Though I set up the phone for someone, I was NOT supposed to be dealing with the bills... therefore, I didn't even know there was an issue until I got the FINAL NOTICE before going to collections. But the root cause was the fact that there was an issue with Koodo, NOT with me.

So here's a FINAL NOTICE to commenters... anyone who posts stating that "it was your own fault" simply won't get their comments posted. So now you've been warned.