The B.C. government is using “false and misleading” drip pricing by charging campers an add-on $6 a night as a “reservation fee” to book online, according to a proposed class-action lawsuit.
The fee contravenes the federal competition law because it isn’t included in the original price, but is added instead on the checkout page, according to the lawsuit. It seeks a refund for anyone who’s paid the fee.
The lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court says it doesn’t know how long the reservation fee has been charged.
The representative plaintiff, B.C. resident Danny Kindred, bought a camping reservation for three nights at Bear Creek Park through camping.bcparks.ca on Jan. 1, it said.
He was charged $6 a night for a reservation fee that “was not disclosed until the end of the purchasing process,” said the claim. Instead of $35 a night, he paid $41 a night, which came to $123.90 with tax.
The claim alleges “misconduct” by B.C. Parks because it “clearly expressed that the booking services were available at the first price” of $35 a night. Then it “also represented and clearly expressed that the booking services were available at the second price.”
“The booking services were not available at the first price due to the addition of the reservation fee, which constitutes a fixed obligatory charge and/or fee imposed by B.C. Parks,” it said.
The claim notes that B.C. Parks under the first price states that “additional fees or discounts may apply” but that doesn’t change that the reservation fee amounts to “two different prices for the booking services.”
It says that is called “double ticketing” and is prohibited under the federal Competition Act.
The plaintiff and class members are entitled to pay only the first price, it said.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
On June 23, 2022, when a ban on the practice was passed into law, the federal government also increased fines for offences, of up to $750,000 (and $1 million for each subsequent violation), plus three times the value of the benefit derived from the deceptive concept for individuals.
And for corporations, up to $10 million (and $15 million for each subsequent violation), plus three times the value of the benefit derived from the deceptive conduct or three per cent of the corporation’s annual worldwide gross revenues.
The Competition Bureau said the most common offenders are companies in the travel industry. That includes airlines that add baggage and seat selection fees, hotels that add resort fees at the last minute, Airbnb listings that have hidden cleaning and service fees and taxes, event ticketing that adds service, processing, delivery and instant download fees, and new car dealers that add documentation, floor plan, preparation, advertising, destination, delivery or processing fees.
Businesses that the Competition Bureau has taken action on are car rental companies, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car Canada, which was fined $1 million for what the bureau deemed misleading advertising when prices were not available to Canadian consumers, and laid a total of $5.25 million in fines against Avis, Budget, Hertz, Dollar Thrifty and Discount car rental companies.
Also found to have violated the act were FlightHub, fined $5 million in part for hidden fees, Ticketmaster, StubHub, TicketNetwork, Airbnb and Cineplex, which is also the subject of a proposed class action lawsuit, the bureau said.
