Expired Minutes.... not! CRTC(7days grace) + Application of Alberta Gift Card Law (never?) | Technical service details | Consumer forum

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Expired Minutes.... not! CRTC(7days grace) + Application of Alberta Gift Card Law (never?)
December 13, 2013
4:50 pm
JJones
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December 25, 2009
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Speakout made a big deal about the favour they were doing me by reinstating the $40 balance on my card that had expired the day before. I began to realize how ridiculous this was. I had an account with them specifying a balance in Canadian dollars.

To top it all off.. I would've expected an sms warning the day before. their business after all is "communications" ?

I've seen reference here to the new CRTC 7-day minimum grace period for expiring of pre-paid phone minutes but it also crossed my mind that because the account is held in Canadian Dollars and allows you to purchase a variety or services that it should fall under Alberta's Gift Card law?
"The regulation applies to ... electronic cards or vouchers with a specific dollar value..."
reading more it seems like it does!

Anyone else looked into this?

If so.. if your Speakout account expires you shoudl be able to get a refund of the balance ( in Alberta at least ).
Other provinces also have gift card laws ( B.C. etc ) but Ontario specifically seems to exempt telecom as it's federally regulated. Alberta, and others don't.

FYI: CRTC grace period states at http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/info.....ht/t15.htm
Do you pay before you use your wireless service? If so, you use prepaid services, and you have the right:
-to a minimum seven-day grace period in order to “top up” your prepaid card account and retain your balance

Alberta Gift Card:

ServiceAlberta: http://www.servicealberta.gov......_cards.pdf

Phone Cards not exempt in Alberta ? http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/.....-1.1407452

December 19, 2013
8:10 am
RGM
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I do not want to sound callous, but you have 365 days from the moment you add time to your phone. If you can not add more time before the 365 days are up you should not start whining.

They should send me a SMS to remind me!!!
Typically of todays generation which needs handholding and does not take responibility for themselves.

Set up your electronic calendar to remind you 10 days before the expiry of ANYTHING!!!!!!

December 19, 2013
10:41 am
bridonca
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I can see a hole a mile wide here. Sure you can buy them, and sure, they will not expire, that is until you use them! Then the clock ticks, and it is perfectly legal like!

You have to wonder if if these consumer protection agencies are in cahoots with the phone companies sometimes.

December 31, 2013
1:39 am
JJones
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December 25, 2009
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RGM said:

Typically of todays generation which needs handholding and does not take responibility for themselves.


I'm sorry if it sounds like whining to you. Must've caught you on a bad day.

Do you have any comments as to the application of the Gift Card laws or the CRTC regulations? I did provide links.

I should add that I respect Speakout for giving us an alternative to the lock-in contracts and short-leash pre-paid options of the other providers. I would prefer to see, if indeed applicable, the GiftCard law used against one of the abusive providers and not speakout.

December 31, 2013
1:44 am
JJones
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bridonca said:

I can see a hole a mile wide here. Sure you can buy them, and sure, they will not expire, that is until you use them! Then the clock ticks, and it is perfectly legal like!

You have to wonder if if these consumer protection agencies are in cahoots with the phone companies sometimes.


I'm referring to the unused credits ( in Canadian Dollars).
This may be directly addressed by the Gift Card law ( in Alberta at least.. others I don't know).
Once the credits are used to buy a 30 day package or by making a call they are of course spent and in the case of the 30 day package the benefits of that expenditure expire in 30 days.

But if you have a $ balance in the account it should be covered by the gift card law ( in Alberta, theoretically - not yet tested ) or the CRTC 7-day grace period.

Did I misunderstand you?