Some Telus wireless customers were caught off guard Tuesday after being charged HST on their cell phone bills two weeks before the harmonized sales tax takes effect in British Columbia.
Starting July 1, the harmonized tax will replace separate PST and GST charges on wireless bills.
Telus customer Erin Armstrong told ctvbc.ca she contacted the company's customer service department after the HST charge appeared on her June statement.
"The customer service person said, ‘we're charging our customers early.' I said, ‘hmmm, I don't think so,'" Armstrong told ctvbc.ca.
Telus says the reason the HST charges are appearing early is because its clients are billed a month in advance for wireless services, meaning HST for July's balance will be applied to June's bill.
Spokesperson Shawn Hall says the blip is due to a one-month transition between the billing date and the implementation of the tax.
"The billing cycle is straddling this transition period so customers will be charged the appropriate GST/PST taxes for before July 1st, and then charged an HST amount that corresponds to the charges made after July 1st," he told ctvbc.ca
He says things will be back to normal during the July billing cycle, and customers shouldn't worry.
Armstrong, who says she was refunded the tax after a discussion with a Telus customer service representative, says all customers should have a closer look at their bills this month to make sure they're correct.
"I think everybody should be aware. Now when all my other bills come in I will be checking them over carefully. I wasn't before."
Telus customer Serena MacDonald told ctvbc.ca she cancelled her account with the company after being charged the HST, despite being told it was because of an advanced billing cycle and she wasn't paying any extra money.
"It's just not honest if they don't tell you about it," she said. "There are thousands of customers out there that won't even notice – and that's not fair."
