p2pnet - rss feed: Bell Expressvu nailed for overcharging
p2pnet news view | Products:- What does Bell have in common with the corporate music and movie industries?
None of them give a monkey’s sexual intercourse about the people who keep them in business.
Bell has already lost countless thousands of customers because of its traffic throttling and anti-Net neutrality activities.
Now it’s been found guilty under the Criminal Code of illegally charging ExpressVu TV users a monthly late fee, says the CBC.
Ontario Superior Court justice Paul Perell found the company’s $25 late fee, “tacked on top of interest charges,” was illegal , says the story, going on:
“The company has been charging the fee to about 33,000 of its 1.7 million ExpressVu satellite customers each month, according to court documents. The class-action lawsuit was filed in 2005 by Peter De Wolf, a resident of Braeside, Ont., near Ottawa.
“De Wolf said he paid the fee 10 times between January 2001 and May 2006 and, coupled with interest charges, it totalled more than 60 per cent of his bill, an amount that is illegal under federal law.”
The class action was launched on behalf of current and former ExpressVu customers who’ve paid the late charge, says the Toronto Star, continuing:
“The satellite TV service has about 1.7 million subscribers in total, roughly 33,000 of whom are charged the administration fee every month, according to court documents.”
The fee is on top of a monthly interest rate of 2 per cent charged by Bell on overdue amounts, it says.
A Rogers Communications spokesperson said it, too, charges a similar $25 fee, but is “reviewing” the Bell decision, the story says, adding a Telus spokesperson said the company doesn’t have a similar charge.
CBC - Bell Canada guilty of illegally charging ExpressVu late fee, September 16, 2008
Toronto Star - , September 17, 2008
Use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site. It’s really easy!Subscribe to p2pnet.net | | rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile - http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for details.
September 17th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Shaw cable also charges a $20 processing fee. It isn’t every month. I’ll be behind a couple of months and then i’ll pay the bill, then next month there will be the $20 processing fee. I wonder if that is also illegal.
September 18th, 2008 at 3:27 am
Yes, it is indeed illegal. Launch a copycat suit against Shaw.
September 18th, 2008 at 10:59 am
http://www.shaw.ca/en-ca/AboutShaw/TermsofUse/JointTermsofService.htm#q5
“You agree to pay all amounts by the due date indicated on your invoice by using any of the payment methods accepted by Shaw. Payments made after the statement date on your invoice will be reflected on your next invoice. Amounts owing after the due date are subject to a late payment interest charge calculated on the outstanding amount at 2% per month (not to exceed 15% per year) calculated monthly (for the number of days that the unpaid balance remains outstanding in any given month) and applied monthly. Over due accounts are subject to termination of the Services by Shaw. You agree to pay Shaw an administration fee of $20.00 if your account is delinquent, if your credit card is denied or if your cheque is returned due to non-sufficient funds. Payment of the full amount due will be required before the Services may be restored, provided Shaw is not under any obligation to restore the Services to any person who continues to fail to make timely payment of the amounts due or abuses Shaw’s Acceptable Use Policy applicable to the Services. “