As a former marketing guy with Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile, that fee is the ultimate of weaselish. Carriers charge customers around $10-15 for a replacement. They're worth about a dollar. And, you can bet DCI wll not recycle/re-use them.

I would avoid any company with such draconian anti-consumer policies.

I will have to review our terms & conditions to make sure it explains that a ported SIM can not be returned. However, it has always been our policy to refund any customer who does not agree with our terms and conditions upon delivery of the SIM.

To clarify the SIM replacement fees. Our official policy is still to charge $75 for any SIM not returned to us in working condition. However, if you port a number to DCI and then port it away at some later point in time, our unofficial policy is to charge only $25 to replace the SIM in recognition that a number ported in will eventually be ported out again.

... we do recognize that any number ported in to DCI may eventually also be ported out. Thus we only charge $25 to replace those SIMs.

You mean you lowered it from $75 to $25? But only for porting, not in general? Great! Too bad you didn't do this before I closed my account. Yeah I saved $75, but I certainly spent more than $25 in time changing the phone number with all my contacts. But that's my choice.

The web site still only states, though:

The SIM card supplied for use with DCI Wireless service remains the property of DCI and MUST be returned upon account cancellation in good working order or you will be charged $75.- to replace the card.

And says nothing about porting out - as you mention in your first post it's in the instructions you get after placing your order, but that's not really "up front" - it should be in the Terms & Conditions section of http://www.dcitelecom.com/wireless.php.

That said, what this reduction from $75 to $25 for ported-out SIMs does mean, if it's true, is that another difference between the big guys and DC is: DCI listens. This topic, and other complaints from other consumers who thought the $75 excessive, caused them to change.

Yes. A SIM does not cost $75 but Rogers SIMs are expensive and we can not use other SIMs. Any profit we make on this helps to keep our rates low and that is in the best interest of our customers.

I understand your side as a consumer. You simply want to get the best deal possible, but you can't have it both ways. On one hand you want a $500 phone for free and low airtime rates. On the other hand you don't allow us to charge the fees needed to survive in this business. We could eliminate the $75 SIM fee and raise rates somewhere else but we want to keep rates low and reward our loyal customers.

Remember, the $75 fee is not charged for leaving DCI. There is NO CHARGE for that. We only charge the $75 if the SIM is not returned to us or if the SIM is deactivated because the number was ported. So nothing prevents you from leaving DCI if you don't port your number.

We have also relaxed this policy a bit recently. It is no longer mandatory to return the SIM sleeve and we do recognize that any number ported in to DCI may eventually also be ported out. Thus we only charge $25 to replace those SIMs.

We sell a deep discounted service and try to keep our operating cost low so that we can pass on those savings to our customers. One way to do this is by re-using SIMs that are not ported out. Is that really so wrong?

This is a straw man argument. A SIM card does not cost $75. You and I both know that the $75 port out fee is a punitive charge intended to prevent customers from leaving your service.

Declaring that you inform people up front doesn't mean that it's a good policy. Including exit charges is a sales technique that takes advantage of a new customer's cognitive bias. Look at all the Rogers and Bell customers who get upset when they try to leave their contracts and discover that it will cost hundreds of dollars. Buyers aren't always rational and usually don't read the fine print. Your marketing guys have MBAs and are fully aware of that fact.

Not only do we advise our customers repeatedly about all the terms and conditions of our service but we also put it in writing. The $75 fee is mentioned on the SIM sleeve, on the envelope that contains the instructions and again on the first page of the instructions, right underneath the headline "READ THIS FIRST". How is this misleading?

We sell a deep discounted service and try to keep our operating cost low so that we can pass on those savings to our customers. One way to do this is by re-using SIMs that are not ported out. Is that really so wrong?

But $75 for sim card replacement or porting? These deals just become less attractive to speakout customers. $75+$35=$110. That is a free phone w/ sim card plus $15 starter airtime plus $100 voucher.

They can easily assign a new number to that SIM.

That's a bit of a red herring in any case. SIMs are cheap. I doubt they cost even $1 each. (Some carriers, e.g. T-Mobile UK, will give them to you for free on request.)

So the only reason for DCI's requirement is to try to bully a customer into staying by making them pay dearly to move, especially if they want to keep their phone number.

And, honestly, if you stayed away from all companies that lied to you, that would include every single corporation out there. In fact, you would not be able to read this post from any internet service provider.

However, I do have to agree with many others here in saying that not being upfront or clear with an expensive charge that no one expects is VERY sleazy.

And you cannot give them a pass because they are a small company. In fact, that is even LESS of an excuse. Employees at small companies know a lot more than just their specific job - so it is less likely that it could have just slipped by.

Don't get me wrong, I know that there can be encyclopedias written about all the sleazy stuff that Bell/Rogers/Telus have done, but it still is sleazy to hide the $75 exit tax.

I sent an email to DCI and received a prompt and intelligent reply (which I doubt I would have received from Bell/Rogers/Telus). They said that they will not hinder any porting out from DCI (which is good), but they are well aware of the $75 fee that was initially brought in before people were able to port out.

Granted, porting out has been possible for years, and they've kept the charge. And they haven't changed their policy or not made it clear. So, yeah, they may not be as sleazy as Rogers/Telus/Bell, but they're still a little sleazy.

When a much smaller company does, there's reason to cut them a bit of slack, and encourage them to work towards more open disclosure. You can't do that if you just write them off with an insult.

I have absolutely no patience for any company of any size that uses sleazy practices like DCIs' requirement to return the SIM, carrier and phone number in order to "hook" customers.

But you're right, they're less sleazy if they did this out of ineptitude than if they did it intentionally.

bylo said:

Not according to the original poster who only found out about these conditions when he got his SIM package. That's just as misleading and sleazy as "the big guys."

I am the OP of this topic, and I want to say: Look: these guys are not "sleazy" as you put it. They do sometimes leave things out but they are a small company and, while I don't like their style in all things, I am a satisfied customer.

When a big company does something like this, you can be sure it's not an accident. When a much smaller company does, there's reason to cut them a bit of slack, and encourage them to work towards more open disclosure. You can't do that if you just write them off with an insult.

I don't have a problem with the $75 charge since I intend to return the SIM if I ever decide to cancel.

It's not just the SIM but also the credit card sized carrier that most people toss out or lose because it serves no useful purpose. Even so, you lose the ability to port your phone number to another carrier. For most people that is a big deal.

Everything was disclosed up front.

Not according to the original poster who only found out about these conditions when he got his SIM package. That's just as misleading and sleazy as "the big guys."

Thanks, but no thanks.