Canadians are paying from $495 million to $734 million annually to receive paper bills they received free prior to 2010, according to a study by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
The burden of the pay-to-pay rule implemented by telecom, internet and other firms falls heavily on low-income people and seniors who are less likely to have access to the internet, PIAC says in its report. An estimated 15% of Canadians do not have internet access at home.
The federal government has twice promised to end pay-to-pay policies, first in its October 2013 throne speech and later in the 2014 budget.
PIAC agrees that charging fees for paper bills should be eliminated and has filed a joint application with the Consumers Association of Canada to the CRTC requesting an end to such fees.
But consumer advocacy groups have been shut out of a hearing into the paper bills issue being held tomorrow in Ottawa. Instead, the CRTC will consult behind closed doors with industry representatives to work out an approach to fees for paper billing.
"A majority of consumers have indicated their disapproval of being charged extra for a paper bill," said Jonathan Bishop, author of the report.
"Most Canadians believe supplying a paper bill in the mail without having to pay an extra fee is part of the company’s cost of doing business," he said.
The advocacy group’s study was done with funding from Industry Canada and references the CRTC’s probe into the extent of paper billing by telcos.
But it also includes the costs of bank statements, a fee that may be buried in the overall transaction fee levied for an account.
A bill is part of the contractual relationship between a service provider and consumers, Bishop said in the report.
Low-income Canadians and seniors are paying an estimated $77 to $102 million per year for paper statements and bills, a cost they can ill afford, Bishop added.
In a probe of paper billing by telcos conducted this year, the CRTC found most telcos, cable, internet and wireless companies said the move to e-billing was a means of being environmentally responsible. However, a U.K. study found that most consumers were printing out their paper bill after they access it online.
The telcos have offered online billing since 2001 but moved to add fees for paper bills in 2010.
While there is no charge for credit card bills from Canada’s big banks, the CRTC also found most banks levy a fee of $2 to $3 for a paper bank account statement. Seniors are often able to negotiate an end to these fees.
