The Ottawa-based Public Interest Advocacy Centre is calling for the elimination of the slate of extra charges that are levied by a variety of industries, including financial services firms.

A report released Wednesday from the consumer organization looks at the practice of levying extra fees and charges, such as system access fees or account opening fees, in the airline, telecom and financial industries.

“These charges usually represent expenses that are really just part of the cost of doing business,” notes Michael Janigan, executive director of the PIAC, and author of the report. “There’s no reason to have them presented like they are mandatory costs passed through to customers separately.”

The report argues that these practices harm consumers by misrepresenting actual costs, preventing comparison shopping, harming competition and impeding efficiency, and it calls on policymakers to put an end to the practice.

“From a consumer standpoint, the most preferable course of action would be an outright ban on the practice,” it says. “At a minimum, consumer protection legislation should be introduced requiring any advertising or representation to include an ‘all-in’ price that is prominently featured.”

“The report submits that market forces alone are unlikely to be able to rid the marketplace of these practices,” it concludes. “Increased efforts to both enforce existing laws coupled with strategic law reform at federal and provincial levels are certainly required.”

IE