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The original was posted on /r/edmonton by /u/lordnuada on 2024-09-19 17:24:52+00:00.

I’m writing this post because I’m still in shock over what happened to me, and I believe everyone in Edmonton using Telus internet needs to be aware of what they’re attempting to do. I’d also love to hear if anyone else has experienced this, or if I’m just the test subject of this clearly illegal practice.

Here’s what happened (I’ll include screenshots):

Yesterday, around 7:23 PM, I received an email that said, “Thank you for your Order.” It immediately felt like one of those phishing emails we’ve all seen. Since I’m a software developer, I decided to dig into its legitimacy, and after a closer look, it appeared genuine. It was, in fact, from Telus.

I called the number provided in the email. When someone answered, I heard car honking in the background and what sounded like a door closing, which set off alarms for me. The person asked for my name and other details. I responded, “You should know my address since you have my name and phone number, which I’m calling from.” She said she needed my PIN to help me further. I told her I wasn’t comfortable sharing that and suggested she call me back from a verified Telus number. I never got a call back, so I thought, “Nice try, scammers!”

Then today, I got another call, this time from Telus, verified through the *6400 line (used for Telus SMS verification). At first, I was relieved, thinking they had caught the issue and were reaching out to inform me.

But I was very wrong.

It turns out, the ones attempting fraud were Telus themselves.

The conversation I had with them was the most insane and illegal experience I’ve ever had with a service provider in all my 47 years. After talking to the representative, I had to change my PIN—apparently, it had been changed without my knowledge. I updated my PIN through the Telus portal, went through the 2FA process, and finally got the new PIN into their system so they could look into my account.

I asked the rep, “How was someone able to place an order in your system without knowing my PIN?” His response? “We made you that offer.”

Confused, I replied, “No, the email I received said I placed an order on the Telus website.” He clarified, “No, we were making an offer to upgrade your plan from 1G fibre to 5G.”

I pressed further: “So you’re telling me you were going to change my legally binding contract without even speaking to me? How did you expect me to agree to the new pricing? By the way, this upgrade costs an extra $300 a month!” (A factor of 3 increase)

Let that sink in—Telus tried (but failed, thanks to their own anti-fraud tools) to increase my monthly bill from $150 to $500. Now, imagine if I hadn’t caught this for a month or two. I’d be stuck owing Telus $1000+ for services I never ordered or agreed to.

When I told the rep this was clearly illegal and demanded to speak to someone in charge, he dismissed it, saying, “It won’t do anything; it was only an offer.”

TL;DR:

Telus attempted to illegally change my contract, increasing the cost by a staggering 300%, from $150 to $500 a month. They were only stopped by their own anti-fraud tools.

What I am hoping: Has this happened to anybody else? Does anybody here know what legal recourse exists? With the way things are trending in this country, I feel if this happened to more than just me, this is going to be the ‘new norm’ with the big providers in our country. Feeling entitled to increase our monthly rates by astronomical amounts without even a thought of verifying it with us.

If this has happened to you, please post here. Maybe I’m the canary in the coal mine, or maybe I’m here to point out that they could be attempting the same thing with you. If many of us are affected, I think it’s time to organize and stop this dark billing pattern before it takes hold.

Thanks for listening!

This is the Email that says ‘I placed an order on Telus.com’