I am asking the community for help again.
TLDR Summary: What is the per min call forwarding charge when one is outside Canada when one has the $3 Call Forwarding add-on and the call forward is setup prior to departure to a Canadian number? What about forwarded to a US number? Also, is incoming SMS text message free to receive while outside Canada? (regular INT Voice Roaming enabled, no EasyRoam)
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I think it is a fairly common use case, that you are traveling outside Canada and want to have a way for people to reach you, while trying to reduce cost and not pay for expensive Pay per Day (EasyRoam) or ridiculously expensive Pay per Use roaming fees.
A very common strategy is that before you leave Canada, you set up an unconditional call forward to a phone# that you can access while traveling. This could be a no cost or low cost VoIP service with a Canadian number like Fongo, or even in some case if permissible a US based phone number if your travel destination is in the USA.
You also might want to continue to receive text messages, particularly short code verification messages if you need to access your Canadian banks or other services that require SMS short code base 2FA.
Given this service providers should provide clear guidance on fees as related to this common use case, but I am finding it incredibly difficult to get clear and verifiable answers from any provider, including Koodo.
It is stated on the website Call forwarding can be enabled on post paid Koodo account as long as the forward to number is in North America format. Under this link it is stated the pay per use cost for Call Forwarding is 60 cent/min. One can add the $3/mo call forwarding add-ons, the Nitty Gritty on this says “For incoming calls forwarded to a U.S. number, pay-per-use long distance charges apply. Add-ons that include minutes to the U.S. do not include Call Forwarding”.
So many questions due to the ambiguous wordings.
- Does the $3/mo add-on provides free unlimited call-forward minutes for plan with unlimited Canadian wide calling if forwarding is to a Canadian number? In other words, does the add-on eliminates the 60 cent/min charges?
- What is the per min charge if forward to a USA number, with the call forwarding add-on? Does the addition of the $3/mo Long Distance Saver add-on have the effect of reducing this charge?
a) No additional charge to forward to US number (unlikely)
b) Additional LD charge at standard Pay per use rate even if you have the LD Saver plan? The current Pay per Use LD rate to US is 80 cent/min!
c) Will be charge at 5 cent/min as the lower LD rate applies with $3/mo LD saver add-on? - Does call forwarding still works if you have International Voice roaming on and the phone make connection with a non Canadian cell tower? (This is require to receive SMS while aboard).
- Is there any differences in charges for conditional call forward when call is not answered/unreachable vs unconditional call forward?
- Can we assume we still have FREE incoming text message while outside Canada? (as long as you don’t send any)
A Telus/Koodo store rep can was unable to help me with these questions. He is not sure but think even with the $3/mo call forwarding add-ons, one still pays the 60 cent/min charge for all forwarded calls.
I really appreciate some official answers, if this is not too much to ask. From searching this forum, it seems plenty of customer has the similar questions, and while I have seen responses from volunteers (thank you!), none I considered definitely and I never see confirmation from official source.
Sorry for the long post.
