Christmas in May? Not at all
By John Mohan

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I've seen the homeless get free condoms, clean needles and day-old donuts from well-meaning, social-minded people before. But I'm amazed at the level of generosity a company would have to give people with "no fixed address" free cellphones.

People who normally frequent Siloam Mission and other inner-city agencies for meals, clothing and shelter were excited and proud about their new cellular toys.

Calling each other inside the drop-in centre just for fun. Leaving messages. And reconnecting with friends and family via long distance. It was like Christmas had come to the inner city in May! Too bad it wasn't as good as it looked. Siloam Mission staff noticed two things: First, an inordinate number of regular patrons who normally didn't have two nickels to rub together were showing up with shiny new cell phones. Second, some kind-hearted soul was actually coming by the Mission to offer free rides to homeless people to pick up their free phones. When staff put the two together, something wasn't adding up. It was time to make some calls.

One of our directors called a manager at Visions Electronics on St. James to ask, "Why are you signing up homeless people for free cellphones?" He didn't know he was.

It turns out this Visions store, in conjunction with Telus Mobility, was part of a western Canadian cell phone service promotion. The basic idea was if you brought in a friend or family member for a new cell phone contract, they'd get a new cell phone and four months of free service. All that was required were two pieces of ID and an address to send future billings. In appreciation for the referral, the referrer would get a $60 Visions gift certificate. In a perfect world, this should have been win-win for everybody. But in these 30 or 40 cases, there were problems. Some of the new cell phone owners claim they didn't actually produce any identification when applying -- only reciting their social insurance and health card numbers. (This sounds like an easy opportunity for identity theft or credit fraud.)

Many wondered what address homeless people used. Mysteriously, Siloam Mission at 300 Princess St. has recently been getting an unusual amount of new mail from Telus. Why did Visions continue accepting the applications when they suspected the promotion was being abused? Because they couldn't discriminate based on suspicions of what was happening or an opinion those being brought in might not be able to pay their bills.

After we contacted Visions, they did immediately respond to the facts we presented and stopped the promotion.

Will the cellphone bills be paid? Probably not, even by those who honestly believe something will work out so they can honour their obligation. Regardless, they should do the right thing and turn them in sooner rather than later. Just because you're poor doesn't mean you're entitled to rip off a large company.

Did the guy who searched out prospective cell owners do anything wrong?

Perhaps not legally, but if you believe he "simply wanted to make the world a better place by getting wireless phones into the hands of the homeless," I've got a free cellphone to sell you.

Originally printed in the Winnipeg Sun, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.
Reprinted with the permission of Sun Media Corporation.