CRTC Threatens Rogers, Telus and Bell With $10 Million Fines Over Fees

The CRTC is going after telecom incumbents, launching a formal proceeding today that forces Rogers, Bell, and Telus to explain why charges they’ve added recently don’t break new federal rules meant to protect consumers.

The whole thing comes down to a CRTC policy that kicked in on June 12, banning the dreaded $80 activation and modification fees, basically anything that makes switching cellphone or internet plans cost extra. The idea was to make it easier for people to move between plans without getting hit with some random fee along the way. According to the CRTC, though, Rogers, Telus and Bell have now turned around and either introduced new fees or kept existing ones that look like they’re doing exactly what the rule was supposed to stop.

The CRTC today detailed penalties that could run as high as a whopping $10 million per violation for the companies themselves, and individual executives who signed off on these fees could be personally fined up to $25,000. The Commission could order the carriers to stop charging these fees within 60 days of any ruling against them.

Here’s what’s actually being looked at for each carrier.

Bell added a $40 device-handling charge for anyone buying a phone along with their wireless plan. Bell’s argument is that buying a device is its own separate transaction since customers could always buy a phone somewhere else, and that the fee just covers the real cost of getting devices to customers. It already told the CRTC it has no plans to stop charging this fee.

Telus is dealing with a $15 fee tacked onto SIM cards and eSIMs. The carrier says this isn’t really an activation fee at all, since people buy SIM cards for plenty of reasons that have nothing to do with switching plans, like replacing a lost one or grabbing one before a trip. Telus maintains the fee is just there to cover costs, not discourage anyone from leaving.

Rogers has three different fees under CRTC scrutiny: a $40 device setup charge (like Bell), a $25 shipping fee for online orders, and a SIM card fee. Rogers says the setup charge only applies if you go through a store or call customer care, not if you order online yourself. The SIM and shipping fees, Rogers argues, have technically been around for years and are pretty standard across most industries anyway.

All three carriers now have to file formal responses by July 30, with replies due by August 10. If you want to weigh in, the CRTC is also accepting public submissions on its proceeding page up until that same July 30 deadline.

Rogers, Telus and Bell make billions per year in profits. A $10 million fine won’t stop a private businesses from charging fees. The only way to lower fees and prices is to allow foreign competition into the country. The threat of Verizon coming to Canada over a decade ago really freaked out the incumbents.