Canada Post is facing allegations that it engaged in “price dripping,” according to a recently approved class-action lawsuit.
The Federal Court certified the lawsuit against Canada Post this week. The class-action lawsuit was brought forward by Marci Deane, a B.C. business owner and Canada Post customer, on behalf of eligible Canadians.
In the lawsuit, Deane alleges that three of the postal operator’s online shipping services violate the Competition Act.
The allegations
The lawsuit alleges that Canada Post customers using its online services were not properly notified of the final shipping price.
The allegations apply to three of Canada Post’s online services: Snap Ship (an online tool for small businesses), Shipping Manager (a service that allows businesses to print labels), and Ship Online (an online service that enables customers to create, print, and pay for labels online).
In the lawsuit, Deane alleges that “those online services fail to disclose the full price of shipping by only later adding a ‘fuel surcharge.'” As a result, Canada Post is facing allegations of “drip pricing” and “double ticketing.”
According to Canada’s Competition Bureau, drip pricing occurs when the price you see isn’t the price you pay, when the true total cost of a product or service isn’t displayed upfront, or when there are additional charges that you weren’t expecting. Double ticketing happens when two different prices are displayed, and a customer is charged the higher price.
However, Canada Post argues that “the Statement of Claim discloses no viable cause of action.” In the court document, it argues that pricing information is disclosed on a single webpage and that customers can’t complete their purchase without observing the fuel surcharge. It also argued that Canadians like Deane, who have business accounts, agreed to the additional terms that fuel surcharges may apply to the shipping services.
We have reached out to Canada Post for a statement regarding the allegations detailed in the lawsuit.
Due to these allegations, Deane is seeking damages for herself and eligible class members. She claims that since she and the class members “were entitled to the first price” they suffered a loss and/or damages equivalent to the amount of the fuel surcharge, in addition to investigation and legal fees.
Are you eligible?
According to the court document, you could be eligible if you meet certain criteria.
To be a class member, you must be a Canadian resident who has used Canada Post’s online services Snap Ship, Ship Online, or Shipping Manager on or after June 23, 2022. You could also be eligible if you were charged a fuel surcharge.
Recently, DoorDash was also sued by the Competition Bureau, alleging that the company engaged in price-dipping.
fotografiko eugen / Shutterstock.com
