Receive a $400 phone bill for texting. That's ridiculous, but it happened

I wasn't too surprised when I read the news this morning. All the telecom carrier/company want to charge more to their customers as much as possible. They won't really tell you what to be careful. When you find the unusual charge, they will happy to show you in the agreement with very small line.  Good thing is if you talk to them, you probably get the chance to waive the money. If you don't say anything, they will happy to collect from you.  
Be careful on what you do on your phone. There're many hidden cost from the telecom company. 

Dad takes stand against Rogers over texting charges

A B.C. father is refusing to pay a $1,400 bill received from Rogers after his teenaged son was charged for sending hundreds of texts to his girlfriend, despite a contract that includes unlimited texting in Canada.

"I thought he could text a thousand times a day, because that’s perfectly fine. He’s covered for all of Canada," said Alex Dunsmore of Kamloops, B.C. "His girlfriend lives four blocks away."

It started when Dunsmore's son's girlfriend downloaded a "free" texting app — from a U.S. company called HeyWire — to send free texts anywhere. When Dunsmore’s son Ryan texted her back, he had no idea it would incur a charge for long distance texts, routed through the U.S. then to his girlfriend in Canada.

“He was responding to a text.… He thought he was just texting down the street,” Dunsmore said. “Obviously it took a long, different path [via] Arlington, Illinois."

Over 1,000 texts sent

Dunsmore said Rogers allowed 1,300 of those texts to go through in one month — all to the same number — without informing him his son's $35 "unlimited" texting plan was going way over the basic charge.

 “Why was I not notified, as the legally responsible person in this contract, that there was suddenly this atypical spending?” Dunsmore asked.

He said this type of long distance texting should trigger a notice to the customer, similar to the one sent when cellphone customers leave Canada and face roaming charges.

“I think that somebody somewhere has decided not to [notify customers] about this because they don’t have to.”

When Dunsmore got the bill — $400 for one month, including the texts — he complained to Rogers and refused to pay for that portion.

Ryan Dunsmore was replying to texts sent by his girlfriend, who was using a U.S.-based app. (CBC)

“I think it’s a deliberate process on Rogers's part to try to get more money out of their clients,” he said.

Dunsmore continued to pay for the services he signed up for. He appealed to Rogers to forgive the texting charges, he said, but got nowhere. He said the company told him his son should have recognized the U.S. area code on the number his girlfriend was given by the app provider.

Dunsmore pointed out that his 16-year-old doesn’t know all the area codes inside or outside Canada, and that Ryan's girlfriend told him it was a special number for free texting.

“She feels pretty bad. Not that it’s her fault or anything,” Ryan Dunsmore said.

'No charge' to app user

Ryan’s girlfriend had downloaded the app on her iPod through the iTunes App Store. HeyWire’s advertising on its App Store page says there is "no charge to you even if your friends don’t have the app."

"Both parties are thinking it’s free," Alex Dunsmore said. "There is no notification on her end, either. As far as she’s concerned, she’s texting for free."

Because the texting charges went into arrears, Rogers eventually cut off both Dunsmore's son's and daughter's phones — and charged him $800 for "cancelling" the contracts. (Dunsmore doesn't have his own cellphone).

"They charged me $400 [each] because the contract was terminated early. But they were the ones that terminated it because I simply didn’t pay the money in dispute," he said.

Rogers told CBC News in an email that it’s up to parents to monitor their teen’s usage.

"I recognize that the customer may find this frustrating," spokesperson Leigh-Ann Popek wrote. "But the account holder is ultimately responsible for the account. We do not monitor how many texts or calls customers make. But we offer the tools to allow our customers to keep a close eye on their usage.

"Customers are able to see their current usage through our free Rogers MyAccount app on their device or online at www.rogers.com. This is especially helpful for parents."

'A lot of money in it'

Vancouver app developer and industry commentator Ian Bell said he believes it’s in Rogers's financial interest not to inform parents when these kinds of charges are mounting.

"Carriers need to do a better job of helping people understand when they are incurring these charges as they are happening. But they are not, because there’s a lot of money in it."

Rogers said it's up to parents to monitor their teens' usage carefully. (CBC)

Rogers said it has no business relationship with HeyWire and does not share in any revenue generated from people downloading the app. "Rogers would not be compensated by HeyWire, nor would we compensate HeyWire for any downloads, users, usage of their application," Popek said.

However, telecom companies do get a cut of the long-distance texting charges billed to their customers.

"Part of the long distance charge goes to Rogers, part goes to the U.S. carrier," said Marc Choma of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. He said Canadian telecoms don't reveal how much their cut is, even to him.

Choma also said the popularity of texting has exploded, especially among teens. Last year, he said, 78 billion texts were sent from within Canada, compared to 56.4 billion in 2010. He said he doesn't know how many of those texts were sent via apps.

Companies 'always looking for another sucker'

Commentator Bell said telecoms and app marketers count on customers blaming themselves for excessive charges and simply paying the bills.

"People get caught in it, then they stop using the app forever and then they move on," Bell said. "These [app] companies are always looking for another sucker."

Dunsmore’s bill from Rogers — for the texts, contract cancellations and other fees — is now almost $1,400. It’s been sent to a collection agency, but he said he won’t pay it out of principle.

"Cellphone companies are getting a reputation, and I believe rightly so, of actually bullying people around," he said. "This is about what is reasonable and what is right."

Source: CBC news

Be ready for Royal Bank raising bank fee

If you are using Royal Bank, prepare the bank fee will be raised by June 1, 2012. I wasn't happy with the raise, especially I cannot get the free temporary cheque from Royal bank anymore. It's bad.

I found the article below, and it's kind of make sense why Banks want to raise the bank fee. 

As debt-heavy Canadians become more cautious about borrowing, the banks are looking to higher fees to make up the shortfall.

Canada’s largest bank is the latest to announce it is raising a number of fees, including the rate it charges for credit card cash advances.

The new fees, which affect everything from personal banking to business accounts, become effective June 1, RBC said in a brochure mailed to clients.

The move reflects the increased costs of doing business, the bank said.

“We operate in a competitive environment and work hard at keeping costs down; however, we must price our products and services to reflect the increased cost of doing business,” an RBC spokesperson said in an email.

The main impact of the RBC announcement will be on customers who pay monthly services fees on their everyday bank account, known as RBC’s Signature No Limit Banking account. Those fees will rise to $14.95 a month from $13.95.

Interest rates on credit card cash advances will rise to 21.99 per cent from 19.99 per cent.

Seniors will pay a higher annual fee to carry certain kinds of RBC Visa rewards cards. For example, the annual fee for the RBC Rewards Visa Preferred card will rise to $110 from $70.

At least two other banks, BMO and TD, have also raised their fees in recent months, according to David McVay, head of McVay & Associates and a former bank executive turned consultant.

As the economy slows and banks write fewer loans and mortgages, they’re looking for other ways to boost their revenue, McVay said in an interview.

“Raising fees is one way of doing that,” McVay said.

McVay called the monthly fee increase “modest.” Among Canada’s six largest banks, the monthly fee for maintaining a daily banking account ranges from $12.95 to $21.95, he said.

In some cases the new fees come with added value, he noted. Seniors who hold RBC Visa rewards cards will get free 7-day out of province/out of country emergency medical coverage.

RBC said its clients can reduce their banking fees by using online banking and bank machines and also by picking the service package that best suits their needs.

Written by Dana Flavelle

Source: Moneyville

Get Your Finances Organized in 12 Steps

I watch a TV show called Til Debt Do US Part from SLICE channel last night. This is a reality show, and they picked a family who have many debt. Then, A financial adviser, Gail Vaz-Oxlade, will help them getting out of the debt.  It's clear that most of the debt is due to the bad spending habits. In each episode, Gail will  show the family using different tricks to change the spending habits. It's pretty good show. I recommend you to take a look when you get a chance. 

I also went to slice web site to learn more this show, and I found Gail wrote "Get your Finances Organized in 12 Steps". It's quite simple and doable. 

INITIAL SET-UP

1. Gather all your paperwork. Create a file folder for each of the following:
   • Chequing accounts
   • Savings accounts
   • Retirement accounts
   • Investment accounts
   • Credit card accounts
   • Loans
   • Personal lines of credit
   • Mortgage
   • Insurance (life, disability, health, critical illness, home, car)
   • Estate (wills and powers of attorney)
   • Tax returns
   
   
2. Welcome to 21st-century banking. If you don’t already have it, set up telephone or internet banking for your accounts.
3. Reduce fees by setting up a buffer. If you can afford it, transfer a $1,000 float to your chequing account (pretend it isn’t there) and use that to minimize your banking costs. 
4. Save automatically. Create an automatic withdrawal from your chequing account to a savings account that will not be touched. Most people won’t put money into a savings account on a regular basis and opt instead to wait for a tax refund or bonus before setting aside money for the future. Establish an automatic savings deposit every month and your nest egg will accumulate faster than you think. Opening an account under two names will require approval from each person for withdrawals. That way, you can keep each other in line. 
5. Create a monthly bill summary. List your bills according to when they need to be paid to keep from missing a bill. If you have bills that are paid automatically from your account, write an “A” beside these bills and remember to deduct them from your spending journal when you pay bills each month. 
6. Set up your in-baskets. Create an in-basket with two bills folders labelled “1–15” and “16–31.” When a bill comes in, look at the due date and put the bill in the appropriate folder. Recycle all the marketing crap in the envelope. Create a second in-basket with three folders labelled “bank statements,” “bills paid,” and “tax receipts.”
   
   WEEKLY 
7. Make a date with your money.
   
   Set aside time in your schedule on the 12th and 28th of each month to pay bills. You’ll need anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on your bills.
   
   Designate one place in your home where you always pay your bills and keep it equipped with bill-paying supplies: your spending journal, envelopes, stamps, pens, pencils, a calculator, tape, a stapler, return address labels, and a recycling bin for all that junk mail you’re going to dump.
   
   When you pay a bill, write the cheque or transaction number, the amount paid, and the date you paid it on the bill. Put the paid bill in your “bill’s paid” file. Deduct the amount you’ve spent from your spending journal. If a bill has not been paid in full (tax bills are paid over several months, for example) put it back in your bills folder so you don’t forget it.
   
   MONTHLY 
8. Reconcile your bank statements. When your bank statements come in, put them in your in-box folder. Make a date when all your statements are in (it will depend on when you receive them) to:
   
   a) Review your statements to make sure there are no mistakes.
   b) Reconcile your spending journal. Clearly mark the cheques that have been returned to you and highlight the ones in your spending journal that haven’t yet cleared the bank. A cheque that takes a long time to clear the bank can lull you into thinking you have more money than you do. Go back at least one month to make sure all previous cheques have cleared.
   c) Talk about anything unusual.
   
   QUARTERLY 
9. Update your files. Once every quarter, file all your paperwork to keep your system current.
10. Keep in touch. Have dinner with your business partner to talk about the bumps, your goals, and how you’re doing.
    
    ANNUALLY
11. Re-vamp your budget. Review your budget using last year’s credit card statements and bank statements to see what you actually spent. If you spent more on a particular category, make sure you know why or look for ways to trim. 
12. Clean up. Go through your files at the end of each year and throw out bills and receipts that are no longer needed for auditing/budgeting purposes.

Written by: Gail Vaz-Oxlade, host of Til Debt Do Us Part

Source : Slice

Very interesting song Baba Yetu (Lord’s Prayer) by Christopher Tin

Last Sunday, I learned a new song Baba Yetu that presented by my church English choir. Even though I had no idea what they are trying to sing because this song sang in Swahili, a African's language, I still really like this song.  With relax and happy rhythm, all different instruments and great voices, English choir sang it so great, and they are very talented. Since I don't know what they were singing, I did some research about this song. I was very surprised on my finding.

1. Baba Yetu sings in Swahili, so more likely the composer comes from African. However, I am wrong. He's a American born Chinese Christopher Tin. His parents are from Hong Kong.
2. Baba Yetu is a theme song for one of the famous video games Civilization IV.
3. Baba Yetu is a first video game song received Grammy award for "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)" from 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011.

Baba Yetu, Swahili translation of the Lord’s Prayer.

Swahili	English
"Baba Yetu"
Baba yetu, Yetu uliye Mbinguni yetu, Yetu amina! Baba yetu Yetu uliye Fu jina lako litukuzwe. Utupe leo chakula chetu Tunachohitaji utusamehe Makosa yetu, hey! Kama nasi tunavyowasamehe Waliotukosea usitutie Katika majaribu, lakini Utuokoe, na yule, muovu e milele! Ufalme wako ufike utakalo Lifanyike duniani kama mbinguni. (Amina)	Our Father, Jesus who art in Heaven. Amen! Our Father, Jesus Hallowed be thy name. Give us this day our daily bread, Forgive us of our trespasses As we forgive others Who trespass against us Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one forever. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done On Earth as it is in Heaven. (Amen)

Official Music Video - Baba Yetu

This is a music Fountain from Dubai, and they did a good job by matching the song. 

Getting a tax refund is good, but Beware of fraudulent communications

I and my wife recently filed the tax for 2011. Within two days, my wife got an email from Canada Revenue Agency subject as Tax Refund Notice! We were sure that this email is a fraud. Here is the email.


From: refund@office.com
Subject: Tax Refund Notice !

This e-mail has been sent to you by Canada Revenue Agency to inform you that are eligible to receive a tax refund of 410.00 USD.  Kindly complete the tax refund request and allow 3-4 working days.   A refund can be delayed for a variety of reason.   For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.                                   To access the, form of your tax refund we request you to confirm and update your information today by following the link below http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/taxpayers/refundation.html_verify_your email address (I change it to your email address instead of my wife email address)    If you have already confirmed your  information then please  disregard this message.    Regards, Canada Revenue Agency  Thanks for your cooperation.

Here are the lists of why we thought this is a fraud
1. The email address from refund@office.com. If Canada Revenue Agency sent me email, they will send under something@cra.ca
2. Receive a tax refund in USD. What I joke, I file tax in Canadian dollar. 
3. I believe CRA has all of my personal information again, why do I need to update it again? 
4. The link looks so weird, at the end showing verify_your email address. Later on I found that the actual link is http://52weeksof25.com/wp-admin/js/sulf/index.php

After my first investigation, I went to Canada Revenue Agency official web site to find more information regarding to the fraud. 

Occasionally, taxpayers may receive, either by telephone, mail, or email, a communication that claims to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) but is NOT. In all these cases, the communication requests personal information, such as a social insurance, credit card, bank account, and passport numbers, from the taxpayer. These fraudulent communications are also referred to as scams or phishing.
Invariably, the communication argues that this personal information is needed so that the taxpayer can receive a refund or benefit payment. Another common scam refers the person to a Web site resembling the CRA's Web site where the person is asked to verify their identity by entering personal information. Taxpayers should not respond to such fraudulent communications.
To better equip taxpayers to identify those communications that do not come from the CRA, the following general guidelines are provided.
The CRA does not do the following:

• The CRA will not request personal information of any kind from a taxpayer by email.
• The CRA will not divulge taxpayer information to another person unless formal authorization is provided by the taxpayer.
• The CRA will not leave any personal information on an answering machine.

When in doubt, ask yourself the following:

• Am I expecting additional money from the CRA?
• Does this sound too good to be true?
• Is the requester asking for information I would not include with my tax return?
• Is the requester asking for information I know the CRA already has on file for me?
• How did the requester get my email address?
• Am I confident I know who is asking for the information?

The CRA will continue to post notifications of fraudulent communications as we become aware of them and encourages you to check our Web site should you have concerns.

You will find examples of a fraudulent letter, emails, and online refund forms on the CRA's Web site. As per telephone calls, the CRA will occasionally leave messages for taxpayers on their answering machines. In these cases, a callback number will be provided along with a request to have the taxpayer's SIN available upon callback. However, it is important to note that not all telephone messages purporting to be from the CRA are genuine. Should taxpayers wish to verify the authenticity of a CRA telephone number, they should contact the CRA directly by using the numbers on ourTelephone numbers page. For business-related calls, contact 1-800-959-5525 and for individual concerns, contact 1-800-959-8281.


There's always fraud email around. Do not want to be a victim, beware of the email you receive from someone ask for "update," "validate," or "confirm" your account information or face dire consequences with the link. 
Want more information about Email Fraud. Royal Canadian Mounted Police has full details. 

Tesco Opens Worlds First Virtual Store in South Korea

I heard about shopping in virtual store last year. The idea is great. People can buy groceries while they are waiting for subway at the station. You can simply use your smart phone scan the code shows on the screen. It will ship it to your home at the time you request. At that time, I didn't really pay attention, and I thought it just an concept. Now it comes true.  For me, I will stick shopping at the real store. I like to see the real products, especially for meat. 

Read this article from Archello.com 

Tesco Homeplus in South Korea is opening the world’s first virtual store today in the Seoul subway to help time-pressed commuters shop on the go using their smartphones.

The walls of the Seonreung subway station in downtown Seoul came to life today with virtual displays of over 500 of the most popular products with barcodes which customers can scan using the Homeplus app on their smartphones and get delivered right to their doorstep.

The beauty of the idea is that busy commuters can scan their groceries on their way to work in the morning and, as long as their order is placed before 13.00, their items will be delivered home that same evening, creating even greater speed and convenience in the whole shopping experience.

DW Seol, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Tesco Homeplus, said: “I am extremely proud of the great work the Tesco Homeplus team have done to launch this idea in the Seoul subway. We are always looking to make the shopping experience easier and more convenient for our customers and the introduction of the virtual store is a great achievement. This is a real triumph for the Korean retailing industry as it continues to be at the forefront of technological innovation.” 

The displays, which include a range of different daily items from milk and apples to pet food and stationery, will be placed on the pillars and the screen doors at the subway station. Commuters can then scan the QR code beneath the desired item via the Homeplus app on their smartphone and the item will then be delivered direct to the customer’s home at a time of their choosing.

Tesco Homeplus is actually owned by Tesco and Samsung. It is the second largest discount retail chain in South Korea. Back in 2008, the Homeplus CEO Lee Seung-han had the vision of starting virtual store at Seol leung station. He chose this location because over 200,000 commuters use it every day. Also, he foresaw the number of smartphone users is expected to skyrocket and noticed that the smart phones usually use at subway and bus stations. The virtual store works under a "order-and-delivery" model. Delivery time is flexible based on the customers' requests.