Telus customers ‘flabbergasted’ over new bill payment fee
Canadian customers are venting their frustrations over a new credit card processing fee that Telus is set to introduce next month.
Beginning Oct. 17, the telecommunications giant will charge a 1.5 per cent processing fee to anyone who pays a bill using a credit card.
“This is completely outrageous,” wrote Twitter user Maria Lantin.
“I’m done with you,” exclaimed another.
The change affects both home and mobility customers, and includes those who have set-up pre-authorized monthly payments.
“They make hand over fist, and I was just flabbergasted,” said realtor Robb Aishford . “You’ve got to be joking me!”
Telus declined an interview, but wrote in a statement that it needs to charge the fee to “help recover a portion of the processing fees we pay to accept credit card payments.”
Another Telus customer told CTV News he switched to paying bills directly from his chequing account to avoid the fee.
“They are a big company, and I do think it’s a little bit cheap,” he said.
The move comes when inflation is high, and interest rates are climbing.
“Taking money out of the pockets of Canadian consumers at a time when we are attacked from every other direction, is very poor timing,” said Bruce Cran, President of the Consumers’ Association of Canada.
Telus is a multi-billion dollar company based in Vancouver, and in May reported a 21 per cent rise in profits.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.