A North Vancouver law firm has filed a class action suit against Shaw Communications, alleging that the telecom giant hasn't adequately disclosed interest rates on unpaid balances.
Shaw's bills say the company charges two-per-cent interest per month compounded monthly, but federal laws require that annual interest rates be disclosed. Shaw's annual rate is more than 26 per cent.
Lawyer Jim Poyner says that because of those disclosure regulations, Shaw's interest rates are required to be rolled back to five per cent per year.
"It's very simple. These bills come out -- it stipulates two per cent per month compounded, but it doesn't stipulate what the annualized rate is, so we are seeking recovery of that difference between five per cent and 26.8 per cent," Poyner said.
Shaw does display the annual rate on its website, but the suit alleges that the information should be explicitly displayed on bills.
A registered letter informing Shaw of the suit was sent last week, but the company has yet to respond. None of the allegations in the suit have been proven in court.
As a class action, the suit only has the potential to benefit customers who don't pay their full bills each month. Affected consumers are automatically including unless they opt out.
More information is available on the Poyner Baxter website.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen
