Rogers to refund $5.4M in premium texting fees charged to some customers
Rogers will issue up to $5.42 million in credits or refunds to customers who were charged for premium text services for things like horoscopes, jokes and special ring tones by third party companies over its network.
Premium texts provide information like quizzes and fun facts, horoscopes and ringtones for which customers pay a transaction or monthly fee. It is added on top of their regular wireless bills.
Two companies, Jesta and MMS, charged Rogers wireless customers for premium text-based services like Mind Quiz, Love Crush and Joke a Day, over the Rogers network.
Although the two companies charged the fees, the payments were collected through customers' Rogers bills.
The fees were charged by Jesta between Jan. 1, 2011 and Aug. 31, 2013 and MMS between Jan. 1, 2011 and Sept. 30, 2012.
$5.4 million worth of rebates coming
In a release, the media conglomerate says it will refund customers their money after working with the Competition Bureau on the matter.
Canada's Competition Bureau had previously sued Rogers, along with Bell and Telus, claiming that customers were misled with advertising that promoted costly "premium texting services." In its investigation, the competition bureau concluded that those telecom carriers, along with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, sold customers premium rate digital content for fees that were not adequately disclosed.
Rogers has agreed to pay $5.42 million in refunds to customers, according to a release issued by the Competition Bureau on Monday.
Will be contacted
"It's the right thing to do," Rogers vice-president Raj Doshi said in a statement on Monday on the decision to rebate customers. "Last summer we stopped the program all together and today we're going even further.
"Though we've issued many refunds already to our customers, now all affected customers will get their money back."
Anyone affected who is still a Rogers customer will get an automatic bill credit in the next few months for the length of time they were charged by these services.
Former customers who were charged for these services will be contacted to complete the refund process.
For its part, the Competition Bureau says the $5.4 million is the largest amount it's ever received for consumers resulting from one of its investigations.
"We are pleased that Rogers has chosen to work with the bureau to ensure that Rogers’ consumers receive money back for the inappropriate charges and obtain clear information when purchasing online," commissioner John Pecman said.
"It is important that fees and subscriptions are not hidden in fine print or anywhere else, and that consumers’ right to truth in advertising is not compromised in the digital economy."
Correction : In a previous version of this story, CBC News reported that Canada's Competition Bureau had previously fined Rogers for $10 million for advertising premium texting services to its customers for fees that had not been adequately disclosed. In fact, the competition bureau had previously sued Rogers along with Bell and Telus, claiming that customers were misled with advertising that promoted costly "premium texting services."(Mar 16, 2015 12:05 PM)
