Canadian wireless companies are gouging customers with unnecessary cancellation fees when a nominal charge can do.
OTTAWA– The government must stand up for consumers and put an end to prohibitively high cell phone contract cancellation fees, said Liberal Industry and Consumer Affairs critic Geoff Regan.
“With more than 26 million cell phone subscriptions in Canada, it is clear that cell phones have become a near mandatory mode of communication,” said Mr. Regan. “Unfortunately, the Harper Conservatives have refused to rein in the excessively high cancellation fees that are preventing Canadian consumers from getting the best value for their dollar when it comes to cell phone plans.”
Because of the federal government’s failure to address this issue, many provinces – including Quebec, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Ontario – have tried or are in the midst of trying, to fill the void by passing laws to help cell phone users get out of long-term contracts for a reasonable fee. While this has been positive for consumers living in those provinces, this patchwork system has left many consumers unprotected.
“The Supreme Court ruled unequivocally in 1991 that regulating the telecommunications industry is the federal government’s jurisdiction, yet the Harper Conservatives have been conspicuously absent,” said Mr. Regan. “It is time that this government lives up to its responsibilities to Canadian consumers and introduces legislation to protect Canadian cell phone users from this kind of price gouging.”
