I recently went on a 9 day trip to Curaçao and purchased the Rogers 14 day Caribbean Travel Pass for $70. I wanted to be able to use my data and make calls if needed.
During the trip, I made a few short calls to the front desks of the resorts I was staying at. I didnât think twice about it because the Rogers website clearly states:
âIf you've got a Canada-wide plan, then you won't be charged long-distance fees for calls made or received within your travel destination or to Canada. Long-distance charges only apply if you make or receive a call to a country outside of your travel destination.â
I was in Curaçao, calling local Curaçao numbers, so I had no reason to believe Iâd be charged extra.
Fast forward to today, and I receive my bill with an additional $40 in long-distance charges for calls allegedly made to Sri Lanka.
I have never called Sri Lanka in my life and have absolutely no reason to. I called Rogers to dispute the charges and even provided the names of the resorts so they could easily verify that the numbers belonged to hotels in Curaçao.
They denied my request and said I was responsible for the charges.
I escalated the issue, and their explanation was essentially that the calls could have been routed through Sri Lanka, meaning I was still responsible for paying.
Excuse me, what?
How am I supposed to know how a phone call is routed behind the scenes? As a customer, I relied on the information published on Rogersâ own website, which clearly states that calls made within my travel destination are not subject to long-distance charges. I was calling local numbers while physically in Curaçao. Why should I be expected to anticipate hidden charges based on how those calls might be routed?
In the end, Rogers offered me an $11 credit, leaving me to pay the remaining charges on top of the $70 I had already paid for the Travel Pass.
TL;DR: I paid $70 for a Caribbean Travel Pass, made a few short calls to local hotels in Curaçao, and was charged an extra $40 in long-distance fees for calls allegedly routed through Sri Lanka. Rogers refused to waive the charges, despite its own website stating that local calls within my travel destination would not incur long-distance fees. They offered me an $11 credit and called it a day.
Save yourself the headache and get an eSIM from another provider. If youâre using Rogers, Iâd seriously consider keeping roaming off and using an alternative for calls and data even if youâre enrolled in Roam Like Home. The whole experience has been incredibly frustrating, and the customer service has been disappointing, to say the least.