Canadian Wireless Companies Sued Over Misleading SMS Services Competition Bureau Says They've Violated Competition Act Tipped by elwoodblues 
Canadian regulators are suing Canadian wireless companies for misleading charges related to various text message, ringtone and other frequently-shady services that can carry hidden fees. According to a report in the Globe and Mail, Canada's Competition Bureau is suing Telus, Rogers, BCE and the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association for violating the misleading advertising portion of the Competition Act. Specifically, the Bureau claims the carriers help "facilitate the sale" of a lot of junk services with hidden fees and little to no protection for the consumer: The bureau alleges that Bell, Rogers and Telus directly profited from a slice of the revenues gleaned through the sale of those premium texting services. In doing so, Commissioner of Competition Melanie Aitken chastized the carriers and the CWTA for giving consumers the impression that there were adequate measures to shield them from unauthorized charges. The lawsuit highlights that while Canadian regulators have in many instances mirrored the deregulatory, incumbent-friendly policies of their neighbors to the south, once in a while they highlight their stark differences. Similar services and misleading charges have been a constant presence in the Unites States for some time, perpetuated in part by carriers who often get 30-50% of the profits made. Generally, U.S. regulators only crack down on these kinds of services if they're so so disgusting and small/weak enough the case will be a slam dunk (see: Jawa), but they've traditionally let the incumbent participation in these scams and services slide.
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  LinklistPremium
join:2002-03-03
Longport, NJ
kudos:5
1 edit |  How widespread are these scams?
I have been on Sprint for the past 6 years and Verizon Wireless for a couple years before that and have never run in to any bogus charges related to some SMS scam or other type of 3rd party scam.
Do the users that get hit with these charges get involved by signing up, on purpose, for these awful 3rd party services? I doubt most get slammed in to these bogus 3rd party scams.
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»www.gop.com/2012-republican-platform_home/ | |
|  |  MashikiBalking The Enemy's Plans
join:2002-02-04
Woodstock, ON
kudos:1 | Re: How widespread are these scams? These aren't "scams" these are "normal operating procedures" for the big 3 providers in Canada. | |
| | |  elwoodbluesElwood BluesPremium
join:2006-08-30
HarperLand | Re: How widespread are these scams? That's about right, have a look in the Telus forum, now Telus has decided that contracts are no longer under price protection.
In other words, you lock into us for 3yrs and we'll do what the hell we want. | |
| | | | brad
join:2007-09-06
Etobicoke, ON | Re: How widespread are these scams? Only fools sign contracts for cell phone service. | |
| | | | | MashikiBalking The Enemy's Plans
join:2002-02-04
Woodstock, ON
kudos:1 | Re: How widespread are these scams? Pretty hard to find a provider in Canada that doesn't offer a non-contract service for a cellphone unlike pretty much every other country in the world. | |
| | | | | | | | Re: How widespread are these scams? koodo is contract less along with -- solo -- wind -- etc | |
| | | | | | | MashikiBalking The Enemy's Plans
join:2002-02-04
Woodstock, ON
kudos:1 | Re: How widespread are these scams? Koodo requires a contract if you don't already have a phone. So does Wind and so does Solo. | |
| | | | | | | | brad
join:2007-09-06
Etobicoke, ON | Re: How widespread are these scams? Not true for all of those carriers. | |
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| | Chicken Little: The Sky is Falling From the Globe & Mail article
For its part, the CWTA stressed that carriers have no control over the text messaging services, adding their only role is to manage the billing process for those third parties. Moreover, it says that carriers, unlike the bureau, lack the legal authority to stamp out misleading advertising by third parties.
The industry group also warned the bureau’s legal proceedings could “disrupt” other text messaging services including severe weather alerts, charitable donations, flight status updates or sports scores, while also creating a hurdle to the introduction of new e-commerce technologies.
“It is most unfortunate that the Competition Bureau’s actions could potentially impact the ability of Canadian consumers to access the text messaging services they have come to enjoy and rely on,” said CWTA president and chief executive officer Bernard Lord. “CWTA and our members will do everything we can to ensure our customers can continue to choose to access these services.”
Canadian customers of these carriers will soon see three new line items on their bill......
Item A - Recovery of Competition Bureau Penalty Fee
Item B - Legal Fee Recovery Fee for Fighting the Competition Bureau Penalty
Item C - It's a Shame Youse Could Lose Access to Da Stuff Youse Use Protection Fee
Customers will begin writing Bell, Rogers, & Telus, begging them to just pay the fine because the Legal Fee Recovery Fee will be 10x larger than the Penalty Fee. Carriers will continue to apply Item C irrespective of the outcome. | |
| | elwoodbluesElwood BluesPremium
join:2006-08-30
HarperLand Reviews:
 ·Cybersurf Intern..
| Re: Chicken Little: The Sky is Falling This is the straw man argument.. OH if you clamp down on our profitable text messaging services, then we'll have to stop all these other things too.
Those poor poor charities, not able to get any money via a text message.  | |
| | | | | Re: Chicken Little: The Sky is Falling There are laws on Canada's book that are the functional equivalent of the US RICO laws. Mebee we ought to look at something like that 
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From Wikipedia.......
Under RICO, a person who is a member of an enterprise that has committed any two of 35 crimes—27 federal crimes and 8 state crimes—within a 10-year period can be charged with racketeering. Those found guilty of racketeering can be fined up to $25,000 and sentenced to 20 years in prison per racketeering count. In addition, the racketeer must forfeit all ill-gotten gains and interest in any business gained through a pattern of "racketeering activity." RICO also permits a private individual harmed by the actions of such an enterprise to file a civil suit; if successful, the individual can collect treble damages.
When the U.S. Attorney decides to indict someone under RICO, he or she has the option of seeking a pre-trial restraining order or injunction to temporarily seize a defendant's assets and prevent the transfer of potentially forfeitable property, as well as require the defendant to put up a performance bond. This provision was placed in the law because the owners of Mafia-related shell corporations often absconded with the assets. An injunction and/or performance bond ensures that there is something to seize in the event of a guilty verdict.
In many cases, the threat of a RICO indictment can force defendants to plead guilty to lesser charges, in part because the seizure of assets would make it difficult to pay a defense attorney. Despite its harsh provisions, a RICO-related charge is considered easy to prove in court, as it focuses on patterns of behavior as opposed to criminal acts. | |
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 linicxCaveat EmptorPremium
join:2002-12-03
United State
·CenturyLink
| Good Luck to Canada I hope your Competition Bureau wins. The US has no such protection. It was pointed out in these forums before by Karl that text messaging costs carriers nothing. It seems to me as if there is something fundamentally wrong if Canada's three major Wireless carriers are forced to buy texting services from a third party.
There is a big disparity in the US among what the Wireless carriers actually offer. I paid Sprint $1 for 1000 text messages
every month. Verizon charges $10 for the same 1000 messages, unless of course should I buy an everything plan -- in which case the actual text messages that costs VZN absolutely not one half-penny would be included at no extra charge.
I bought an iPhone from Verizon only to find an extra 24% in end user fees tacked on to the usual monthly state and federal taxes. Does Verizon tell customers? Of course not. We are all young, yuppies with great wads of disposable income to throw at US Wireless carriers that only provide a bare minimum service. If I ever get another cell phone it will be a no contract and a no name carrier. Sprint does the best job of all.
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Mac: No windows, No Gates, Apple inside | |
| | elwoodbluesElwood BluesPremium
join:2006-08-30
HarperLand Reviews:
·Cybersurf Intern..
| Re: Good Luck to Canada said by linicx:I hope your Competition Bureau wins. The US has no such protection.
I thought Obama appointed a "consumer protection czar" ? | |
| | | linicxCaveat EmptorPremium
join:2002-12-03
United State Reviews:
·CenturyLink
| Re: Good Luck to Canada Hope springs eternal. We always "hope" for the best. If there is a CPC I haven't read where any action has ever been taken, and of course we know the FCC has no power to enforce anything without Congressional blessings.
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Mac: No windows, No Gates, Apple inside | |
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 JuggernautIrreverent or irrelevant?Premium
join:2006-09-05
Kelowna, BC
kudos:2 | Premium Text Block Last year, Rogers made a premium text blocking service available. It's free, and all you had to do was call in and have the SOC added to the account.
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Better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it. | |
| Reviews:
·TekSavvy DSL
| a long time coming I remember these bull premium texts being around over 5 years ago. "Quizzes" and other useless services that really should never be allowed to have the capability to bill customers through the carrier.
Nice to see something finally done about this. | |
| | | Funny Rogers Wireless Texting story So I'm a Rogers wireless customer for maybe 8 or 9 years. At the start I had the option of not accepting text service, just phone. Suddenly my bill has text message charges. Nothing important, less than a buck. I call Rogers and a pleasant young lady makes me jump through the usual hoops. Then she verifies that I have text messaging disabled so I can not receive or send them. Looking at the bill she quickly determines I should not have been billed for these calls. She is quite reasonable until I ask a dumb question to the effect of "So you'll take them off?"
"You'll have to go to a Rogers office, produce identification and the bill and they'll take them off no problem."
So I explain I don't really want to drive across town, produce ID and a bill, all for something under a buck that shouldn't be there and point out that Rogers (she) agrees it shouldn't be there and her screen shows it shouldn't be there...
She points out that I could be anybody with access to my bill that has called.
In a flash of insight I say "Hey, how about I call you back on my Rogers cellphone and you'll then know who I am?"
Undaunted she advises me that I could very well have stolen the cellphone and will have to go to a shop and ...
I interrupt, laughing, and ask "So I could be anyone who broke in and..."
"Yes...exactly" she confirms
"...and stole my phone and my bill and decided to call and contest some minor charges on the bill?"
"Exactly!" she seems quite proud at having gotten through to me.
So I go out a couple days later and switch to Koodo. I mean why not, right?
A month or so passes and I get curious. What were the text messages anyway. Turns out they were notifications from Rogers via text that I had a yahoo originated spam text mail sent to them and if I wanted to see it I had to sign up for texting.
:-} | |
| | | | Re: Funny Rogers Wireless Texting story In Canada, SMS = "Short Message Scam". | |
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