Unlimited Plan - 5G Start - usage charges in Canada?

[capathmo]

I have the Unlimited "5G Start" plan and one of the features of the plan is listed as:

"Talk, text and use unlimited data when traveling in Mexico and Canada.
Also includes Unlimited talk and text to Mexico and Canada when you are in the US."

I recently took a day trip to Canada and received a text message indicating that Canada is not included in my plan:

"Verizon Msg: Welcome to Canada. You can make calls for $0.99/min, send texts for $0.5/text, receive texts for $0.05/text and use data for $2.05/MB. You also have the option to get 100 mins, 100 texts and 0.5 GB of data for $100.00/mo. To add the INT TRVL 5GB/250MIN/1000 MSG FOR 1MO to your line, reply PLAN to this text. Need help? Visit www.vzw.com/intltrvl or call +1.908.559.4899. Enjoy your trip."

My wife has the Unlimited "5G Play More", which includes the same feature verbiage, as my plan, and did not receive this text message while in Canada.  Neither of us have a Verizon "TravelPass", since Canada and Mexico should both be included in our plans, and roaming was turned on, on both of our phones.

I immediately turned my phone off to avoid any unexpected charges, and luckily, we were able to continue using my wife's phone/plan for the rest of our time there.

I'm wondering what the difference in regards to our two plans would be.

Has anyone else experienced an issue with "5G Start" when traveling to Canada or Mexico?

[vzw_customer_support]

We know how important it is to avoid any unwanted charges, and we are always here to help out. In this case, the 5G Start, does include free service for Canada and Mexico, so it is not necessary to use the TravelPass feature. The text message you received, normally is sent to let you know that you are now roaming. If you have any questions, let us know.

~Freddy

[capathmo]

Thanks Freddy, any thoughts as to why one phone number would receive a message like this, when the other does not?

[vzw_customer_support]

This is definitely a great question. There are multiple factors that can impact these messages such as location, network connectivity, or even notification settings. Does this help? ~Geo

[Bargle_Nawdle_Zouss]

This exact same scenario happened to me last night while travelling across the border into Canada for a concert.

Even though I have the 5G Start plan (which is supposed to include free service in Canada), I received this extremely disconcerting message that seemed to indicate that I was about to be charged for every text, call, and MB of data that I used in Canada:

"Verizon Msg: Welcome to Canada. You can make calls for $0.99/min, send texts for $0.5/text, receive texts for $0.05/text and use data for $2.05/MB. You also have the option to get 100 mins, 100 texts and 0.5 GB of data for $100.00/mo. To add the INT TRVL 5GB/250MIN/1000 MSG FOR 1MO to your line, reply PLAN to this text. Need help? Visit www.vzw.com/intltrvl or call +1.908.559.4899. Enjoy your trip."

This is a vastly different text than the one I previously received the last time I travelled to Canada (back in September 2023) -- the message I received at that time was much clearer and more reassuring:

"Verizon Msg: Welcome to Canada. As talk, text and data is included in your domestic plan you'll have no additional charges while roaming. You'll get 2GB of high speed data. Then enjoy unlimited 3G data until 12:00 AM EST. For help, visit www.vzw.com/intltrvl or call +1.908.559.4899. Enjoy your trip."

Is this a glitch in the system? If so, it would be very much appreciated if this can be corrected to send the previous (correct) text rather than the current (incorrect) text.

[vzw_customer_support]

We would be happy to review your usage Bargle_Nawdle, Have you had a chance to review your account online? To you see if international travel included? Have you recently changed your plan? -Joe