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National Post

Court approves class-action lawsuit against Canada Post alleging illegal 'drip pricing' on shipping

Article content A B.C. small business owner's complaint that Canada Post uses illegal 'drip pricing' in online shipping services has been certified by the Federal Court as a class-action lawsuit. Article content The lawsuit seeks compensation from the troubled national postal service for adding a mandatory 'fuel surcharge' late in the purchase process, after showing shipping rates. If successful, customers who used Canada Post's online shipping tools in the last few years could be eligible for reimbursement. Article content Article content Marci Deane filed a civil lawsuit in Federal Court last year alleging that three of Canada Post's online shipping services failed to disclose the full price of shipping by adding a required additional charge for fuel after advertising a purchase price, in violation of the Competition Act. Article content Article content She accused the Crown corporation of using banned 'drip pricing' and 'double ticketing' in its sales. Article content The additional charge to the price is significant. Article content Canada Post denies using 'drip pricing' or 'double ticketing.' The Crown corporation opposed the certification of Deane's lawsuit as a class action. Article content Making it a class-action case means that if the lawsuit is successful, any damages assessed by a judge can apply to a wide group of people who suffered similar losses, rather than just Deane. Article content Article content In court, Canada Post argued all pricing information is disclosed on a single webpage, during a single stage of the purchasing process. The company said customers are unable to complete their purchase without agreeing to the fuel surcharge, so they can change their mind before paying if they objected. They also argued that when opening an account to use its services, customers agree to terms that would allow fuel surcharges. Article content Article content Deane complained of three of Canada Post's online shipping services, called Snap Ship, Ship Online, and Shipping Manager. They allow online users to create, pay, and print shipping labels to send parcels. Article content Deane, as a small business owner, has been using Canada Post services and programs for businesses for more than 15 years, court heard. Article content While deciding whether Deane's lawsuit should be a class-action suit, Justice Jocelyne Gagné was shown screen shots and videos of the Canada Post online purchase process and parsed the experience.