Rogers customers are raising concerns over unexpected increases in TV box rental fees, a story first reported by iPhone in Canada last month that’s now gaining wider attention.
Cathy Cooper from Sidney, B.C., says she was promised a fixed monthly rate for two years but saw her bill rise just three months into her contract.
Cooper discovered the price of her TV boxes had jumped by $7 each, except for one included in her package. Rogers explained the boxes are rented separately from the base service, and rental fees can change. “It feels like gouging,” Cooper told CBC’s Go Public.
Paul Greenberg, another Rogers customer, saw his rental fees increase from $10 to $17 per box. While he negotiated a credit, Greenberg felt misled.
Vass Bednar, from McMaster University’s Master of Public Policy in Digital Society program, called the fee hike a “bait and switch” targeting customers locked into contracts. Rogers claims the increase reflects rising technology costs, though customers say their equipment is outdated.
Complaints about Rogers have surged following its merger with Shaw, despite earlier promises to lower prices. Cooper, still grappling with billing issues, said, “I have not had one bill that has made sense since Rogers has taken over,” adding, “The last one came yesterday and it still isn’t right.” She returned two of her six TV boxes and was able to get a $315 credit from Rogers, after calling “countless” times.
Rogers told us last month, “The majority of our TV customers are not impacted by the change.” Well, it seems there are enough being impacted and coming forward to the media.
Compared to Rogers, Bell charges $8 per month to rent a TV box. For some Shaw customers—who are now under Rogers—they saw their TV boxes increase from $5 to $12.
Did your Rogers TV bill increase due to the price of TV box rentals lately? Send us your bill increases to ti**@************da.ca so we can share with the community.
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With Telus, if your TV can download the Telus app, you don't need to rent a box.
The App on tvOS is incredibly buggy tho, almost to the point of being unusable. Some things as basic as scrolling are incredibly glitchy. You also lose out on code features like voice control/search. I’m glad they are offering it, but they need to put in more effort.
Had the same experience. I have 4 TV boxes and 1 year remaining on my contract. My bill increased by $21 ($7/box) however 1 box is included in the "monthly contract fee". They claim its not part of the contract and can increase them whenever they choose. Others in my family have experienced the same thing. We have called Rogers and they will reduced your bill, but we could never succeed in getting the entire increase removed…just reduced. My boxes are from 2018, so they haven't really improved in tech. I asked what it would cost to cancel my contract and its $30 a month. I've been told Telus *may* pay part of your cancellation fee if you choose to swap…but I'm guessing they will eventually screw you over as well 12 months into their contract.
Ya Telus boxes are the same, you rent them too. I think they start at $10 a month.
Telus is not much better. Be careful what you agree on. I bought my boxes from Craigslist, and they tried to charge me rental price. After a few talks ove the phone, they sent me an email stating the TV boxes (all the hardware) are mine. Also I have the phone conversation recorded, too. Why? For proving purposes! 🥂
I gotta say, you’re doing the public a disservice by writing this article and not listing the other TV options available from ISPs such as VMedia, Freedom and Teksavvy.
Ya once my Shaw contract is done I will be switching to Teksavvy, they have a Apple TV app.
Is the Teksavvy tv app buggy like Telus or actually good?
I tried pricing out with Teksavvy but their prices weren’t competitive. They wanted $95 (after discount) just for 500 mbit cable, and TV package was gonna bring the total to $190! And that was only for the basic channels, sports, and my pick of only 10 channels. With Telus I pay about $105 for gigabit fibre and way more channels (like around 40 to 50 specialty) and they pay for my Netflix premium too. Shaw I could get similar but with every channel available for about $150. Worst of all, Teksavvy locks you into a 2 year contract, but the discounted rate only lasts 1 year! Their prices were insane, quite frankly. And only 50 hrs recording for PVR? Is that a joke??? With Shaw it’s 200 and Telus is unlimited!
Ya I had 7 boxes and in August they increased them from $5 to $12 each. Bill went from $35 to $84 for TV boxes lol. I called in and they couldn't do anything, I ended up returning all of them and bought Amazon Fire Sticks instead as the Shaw TV app works on there. LOL they lost $35 a month because of that. Who comes up with this at Rogers/Shaw LMAO.
Is the ignite app for Fire stick like the mobile (phone/tablet) app or more like what you get on the boxes? Can you set and edit recordings? Can you use all of the voice features (eg “skip ahead 3 minutes”) and so on? Does it support 5.1 audio?
app is like the tv/tablet app. not voice control, no idea about 5.1.
Why is anyone still paying for cable ?
how many Chanel's do you actually watch?
There are so many other options including free ones.
I sent all but one box back, and then added Firesticks. With the ignite app, it’s exactly the same experience
Is the ignite app like the mobile app or more like what you get on the boxes? Can you set and edit recordings? Can you use all of the voice features (eg “skip ahead 3 minutes”) and so on?
Coming a day or two after the CRTC was claiming how it was bringing down Canadians bills.
The irony is real.
The only times my youtube or spotify prices have increased is when this clown show of a government has interveened with their nonsense. Meanwhile the so called Canadian companies just increase prices whenever they want and everyone else follows suit, and we're just supposed to lay bback and get shafted, time and time again.
Netflix came to Canada in 2010 for $8 a month! Years before the government introduced this new tax! Look how the price has gone from $8 to $24 without government intervention! Did Spotify also rise its price in the US and worldwide only because the Canadian government is taxing them now! This has nothing to do with Canadian government! And if you wanna blame raising food prices on government too, there’s countries with conservatives majorties facing the exact same food issues as us too! Stop defending capital! It’s corporate greed that’s ruining everything right now, and people like you who can’t see what’s actually going on, but always come here to vent instead of actually making this world a better place!
My Netflix went from $12 to $6 with ads, and I hardly see any ads.
By corporate greed you would include the liberal mps who funneled 400 million dollars to companies they are involved with under the guise of climate change?
Everyone should look into the Comcast xfinity X1 platform. It’s what had Roger’s write off $500 million in R&D on their own in house IPTV platform! It’s what Shaw (now Roger’s) used for blue sky before Roger’s uploaded the IGNITE interface file. It’s also what Videotron uses for Helix (their boxes which are the same as everyone else’s are still $5 monthly…. For now) and Comcast uses their own platform too obviously. What every market has in common is that you CANNOT purchase any set top X1 boxes! They are rental FOREVER, no purchase option ever! People in the west think it’s bad now at $12, just wait tilll Roger’s aligns you with the east’s pricing for $17 per box lololol! And I’m sure videotron will jack the price soon too! Here’s hoping I don’t get killed by all the families that own the cable companies in the next few days lmfao 🤣
At $17 monthly, if Roger’s is renting only 100,000 of these boxes, they’re making $20,400,000 yearly off just that box, which is worth like $80, and that’s being generous! 🤷🏻♂️