Rogers Customer Frustrated After ‘Free’ Gifts Cost Him $420

Howard Cracower was getting pretty annoyed and frustrated when his cellphone kept dropping calls. After reaching out to Rogers for help, the company’s tech support team couldn’t solve the issue and said to visit a store for assistance.

Living in Meaford, Ontario, this meant a 35-minute trip to a Rogers-branded store located in Collingwood.

Upon arriving, a store clerk began typing quickly on a computer and soon advised him to trade his old phone for a new Google Pixel, which he did. However, upon returning home, Cracower realized he’d unknowingly paid $420 for accessories—charging cables, cleaning spray, screen protectors—that were presented as “free gifts.”

Frustrated and confused, Cracower reached out to the Toronto Star’s consumer reporter for help. “She misled me,” Cracower told the Toronto Star. “I thought I was a cautious shopper.”

Cracower discovered later the store wasn’t directly owned by Rogers but operated by Beyond Wireless, a third-party dealer. Rogers explained to the Toronto Star that the traded phone had a credit value of $420, which was applied toward the accessories without Cracower’s clear understanding of other options.

“When a customer has a device credit, they have two options,” Laura Crochetiere, Rogers’ senior manager of communications, told the Star. “They can apply it as a bill credit on their monthly statement, which can be applied to their service charges, or redeem it as an in-store voucher.”

Despite weeks of communication with both Beyond Wireless and Rogers, confusion persisted. Initially, Beyond Wireless offered a $400 credit, but clarity about returning the accessories remained unclear. Rogers eventually stepped in, offering $590 in credits and special discounted Canada-US phone plans for Cracower and his wife.

However, the story gets a bit weirder. When Cracower tried returning the unwanted items to the Collingwood store, he was asked to leave. Rogers later confirmed he wasn’t banned from the store but did not clarify if returning accessories would result in additional refunds.

“Rogers the company seemed to come through for me,” Cracower said, “but the store was the problem.”

Beyond Wireless is not a small chain by any means. According to its website, it operates a total of 38 Rogers and Fido authorized dealer locations across Canada. This includes 27 locations in Ontario, 10 in New Brunswick, and 1 in Prince Edward Island. ​Beyond Wireless President Jamie McNain called Cracower’s situation a “miscommunication,” adding that the company had addressed his concerns.

Cracower said he initially accepted the Rogers deal before the Star got involved, because he wanted the situation to be over. He only went public because “I wanted other people not to get screwed like I did.”