Rogers and Fido Hit Users With New $40 Fee Days After CRTC Junk Fee Ban

Rogers and Fido have quietly added a new $40 device setup charge for customers who buy or upgrade to a new device, the latest salvo in an ongoing fight between Canada’s big telecoms and the CRTC over junk fees.

The fee showed up on Rogers and Fido’s websites a few days ago, mirroring what Bell has already been doing with its own $40 device handling charge. The one exception is that the fee gets waived when buying a phone online.

This means the CRTC is now potentially facing off against all three of Canada’s biggest carriers over whether these new device fees violate its ban on junk fees that took effect June 12.

Bell and Telus Already Under the CRTC Radar

Rogers is late to this particular party. The CRTC already sent follow up formal warning letters to both Bell and Telus on June 12, the same day the junk fee ban took effect, giving both companies until June 17 to respond.

Bell’s $40 device handling fee and Telus’ $15 SIM purchase fee were both flagged as potentially violating the new rules. CRTC Director of Social and Consumer Policy Nanao Kachi was direct in the letters, asking Bell to “confirm whether Bell has nonetheless ceased its practice of charging a device handling charge” and asking Telus to either confirm it dropped the SIM fee or explain why it believes the charge is compliant.

Both letters carried the same warning: “Commission staff will consider all available compliance options to ensure that fees that are a barrier to switching cellphone and Internet plans are prohibited as intended by the Act.”

Bell has since responded, telling iPhone in Canada on Monday, “We are currently examining the CRTC’s letter. The CRTC’s new rules prohibit fees for activating or changing a service but do not apply to optional purchases a customer chooses to make, such as buying a device. Our one-time handling charge helps cover our costs of providing that device. Customers who do not buy a device from Bell are never charged this fee.”

Telus has not yet responded to requests for comment, and neither has Rogers. We’ll update this story accordingly.

What do you think of this new Rogers and Fido $40 device fee when you purchase a phone in store? Looks like it will likely be unavoidable even at dealers and you can skip it by purchasing online.