Camper alleges BC Parks violates Competition Act with hidden $6 fee
A BC resident has launched a class-action lawsuit against BC Parks over the agency’s $6 nightly reservation fee.
Plaintiff Danny Kindred argues in the proposed class action that the hidden $6 fee violates the Competition Act because BC Parks advertised one price but charged him a second price when he completed his online booking.
Kindred purchased three nights of camping at Bear Creek in January 2024. BC Parks initially advertised the price as $35 per night, but when Kindred navigated to the final payment, he was charged $123.90 — or $41 per night.
The class action lawsuit, filed in the BC Supreme Court Friday, includes screenshots from BC Parks’ reservation website showing the $6 charge appears for the first time on the checkout page.
“BC Parks knew or was recklessly or willfully blind to the fact that representing that the Booking Services would cost the First Price when these products were not available at the First Price was false or misleading,” the lawsuit said.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
The lawsuit argues that BC Parks’ pricing violates Canada’s Competition Act. Back in 2022, changes were brought in to address a practice known as drip pricing, where sellers draw consumers in with prices that are unattainable.
“Some companies offer low prices to attract consumers, but then add mandatory fees so that the prices are not attainable,” the Competition Bureau said in a March 2024 news release.
Examples of drip pricing include adding on processing fees, booking fees, cleaning fees, or administrative fees. Government tax is the only add-on cost permitted.
“Misleading claims like drip pricing only serve to deceive and harm consumers. They make it difficult to comparison shop and can lead you to make uninformed decisions,” the Competition Bureau said.
To comply with the new rules, sellers must now advertise the full cost of a product. The BC Supreme Court lawsuit alleges BC Parks failed to do that.
“The Booking Services were not available at the First Price due to the addition of the Reservation Fee, which constitutes a fixed obligatory charge and/or fee imposed by BC Parks,” the lawsuit said. “At all material times, BC Parks represented two different prices for the Booking Services.”
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