Canada's Wonderland accused of misleading online pricing by Competition Bureau
A federal tribunal has been tapped to decide whether Canada's largest amusement park operator has been taking consumers for a ride with deceptive sales tactics. The case, says a public policy expert, could set a record fine.
The Competition Bureau filed an application against Canada's Wonderland on Monday, alleging that the theme park has been using 'misleading tactics' to lure the public into buying not-so-cheap thrills.
The bureau's legal filing states the park ignored a formal cease-and-desist notice in July 2023 and continued to promote cheaper pricing on its website and social media channels that excluded mandatory processing fees, ranging from $0.99 to $9.99. These fees, the bureau alleges, were incrementally revealed during the purchasing process — 'dripping' into the final price.
'(Drip pricing is) intended to deceive and to trick and to nudge people towards spending where they wouldn't otherwise,' said Vass Bednar, executive director of the master of public policy program at McMaster University in Hamilton.
The bureau's lawsuit alleges 'Wonderland has engaged in this deceptive marketing practice, known as drip pricing, since at least June 2022 ... The processing fee is an ongoing source of revenue for Wonderland.'
Canada's Wonderland, located in Vaughan and owned by the U.S.-based Six Flags Entertainment Corp., said the charges were 'unfounded' and 'unsubstantiated,' in a written statement on the park's website.
'Canadians should always be able to trust the initial advertised price,' competition commissioner Matthew Boswell said in a statement.
In 2024, the Competition Tribunal
ruled against Cineplex
in a similar case brought forward by the Competition Bureau. The movie-house chain was ordered to pay a record penalty of more than $38.9 million, as well as legal costs. The fine was equivalent to the amount it collected from consumers through a $1.50 online booking fee between June 2022 and December 2023.
Cineplex is appealing the decision.
'I would expect to see the bureau seek something similarly meaningful, especially considering Wonderland has been given substantial notice and warning,' said Bednar, co-author of 'The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians.'
It's 'very intriguing,' Bednar said, that the bureau's case cites alleged examples of the park's misleading ads on social media. A screenshot from one of the park's Instagram posts is 'Example A' in the bureau's filing with the tribunal.
'Get ready for thrills all season long,' the post stated. 'Grab your Silver Pass now for just $89 and enjoy unlimited visits until Labour Day.'
The park's website still features the $89 pass, the Star confirmed on Monday. To learn the final price, a consumer must click past a page of optional upgrades to get to another page with a green button that states 'pay in full' with the amount owing listed as $88.97. Clicking on that green button leads to a final page where the actual final price is revealed. The pass doesn't cost $89 but $107.56, which includes HST and a $6.99 'processing fee.'
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