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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.