by

Taken By TelCel

Well, I encountered my first WATCH OUT in Mexico. Glad it cost me ‘only’ 400 pesos.

This morning, I ran out of bandwidth after using less than 1GB’s worth.  As it turns out, when you buy the 3GB internet plan, you need to send a text to activate said plan. I was paying a hefty per MB price!

When I was at the office Monday and had paid I asked if I had anything else to do and they said no. I am convinced that there was no language barrier issue. The person just couldn’t be bothered to tell the foreigner that she needed to send a text message.

I went back to the Guaymas TelCel office on the way out of town today and wasn’t able to get an English speaker. I argued my case in Spanish and was told that I was being very clear, but too bad, so sad. The woman who had served me on Monday even admitted that she didn’t tell me about the text I had to send and that if I had more questions I should have gotten back in line to speak to a general inquiries person! This is the same woman who very clearly told me I had done everything and was good to go!

I know that bureaucracy in Mexico is maddening to foreigners, but this takes the cake! I was very patient on Monday, waiting in all their lines and speaking their language and I got taken, plain and simple! I am so not impressed and frankly disgusted by my welcome to Mexico by such a large corporation.

14 thoughts on “Taken By TelCel”

  1. I am really sorry this happened to you. I, among many others have had problems from not understanding completely the fine print with Telcel. Carlos Slim is the richest man in the world and this is one of the reasons why. I hope you sent your text and have received a confirmation this time.

  2. Yes, I sent the text. At first, I got a message that said I had no money on my account, after putting on another 400 pesos, and I was just GUTTED, then the message came through that I’m good to go on the plan.

    • Keep watching your usage graph on the site until you have a good idea of how fast it is being used up. I know I am a light user in comparison but I seldom went over 2.5 GB in a month.

  3. Again, not an issue for me. 😀 Having been on mobile bandwidth for so many years, I am acutely aware of usage 🙂

  4. Sorry this happened to you, but I read much the same story on the George & Tioga blog a few years back. Greed is everywhere and scams like this on the unknowing is common. Watch your back, I hear the “police” down there sometimes play these games too. If I remember correctly, George always demanded to go straight to the police station when he was stopped & they attempted to shake him down. Good luck from here on out.

    • This is such a different kind of scam, not a greedy police officer, but a whole corporation. Not unlike dealing with CDN telecom, actually!

      (I know about going to the police station to pay the fine!)

  5. Strange…..I have never sent a text to get mine going, mainly because until 6 weeks ago I had no idea how to text! Maybe someone did it for me.

    Sorry this happened but this might not be the only wake up call to Mexican bureaucracy.

  7. Hi Rae:
    You might try signing up for the MiTelcel website to track your usage, add future funds, and activate plans. I found it a whole lot easier to understand (and verify), than trying to deal with Oxxo and text messages.

    The Guaymas Telcel office told me that my Amigo plan could not be managed online via MiTelcel, but they were completely wrong! After setting mine up, I helped a few others at Tres Amigos set thier accounts and the only one than had a brief complication was Contessa’s (doesn’t that just figure?!!!). But soon enough, her’s was working soon!

    • To me, when something is this systematic with other people having the same issue and the company acknowledging that they should have told me, it’s a scam for lack of a better word. It’s something really obvious that I should have been told! 🙁

      Anyway, I’m smarter now and look forward to no more troubles! 😀

  9. Pingback: Respite’s End |

Comments are closed.