Telus Credit Card processing fee

[implode]

I found out about this from https://forums.redflagdeals.com/telus-add-1-5-credit-card-processing-fee-starting-october-pending-cr...

If this is the case going forward, can I get back paper billing so that I can make payments through the bank?

[polecat]

@implode  You can pay directly from your bank account just set it up. No need for a mailed bill.

[implode]

With Telus wanting to makes things inconvenient for me, I would like to return the favour of inconveniencing them.

[RyanX]

Wow, going to the bank! I will be personally be paying by cheque, post dated to the very last date of acceptable payment should we start being charged to pay by credit card. 🙂

[WozzaDog]

This creates higher carbon and TELUS wants to be carbon neutral but if people are driving to banks and TELUS stores to pay bills because they don’t want to pay 1.5% then that carbon needs to be calculated into the TRLUS carbon tax.
Likewise all these chats on the matter are creating carbon east, as too are phone calls. I’m on hold right now with TELUS asking for a 2% discount yo cover the costs. I was going to buy the watch pro next week on my TELUS account but Roger’s, Bestbuy, Costco and The Source is doing it without a credit card uplift. Visions too but only with Bell.

I wonder what the loss of revenue and customer dissatisfaction will be???

[vortoozo]

The cost to process a payment is already built in to goods and services. This is a pure money grab by Telus.

[WayneWG]

Should CRTC go ahead and approve this request and Telus moves forward with a 1.5% surcharge we will leave Telus. This is a predatory business practice.

[WozzaDog]

Me too. I’m already looking now as I am going to buy a apple pro watch and Costco has it with Bell and no credit card fee when using the Costco card.

[Teletran]

This is completely unfair for the millions of Canadians using credit cards to pay for their Cell Phone Bills. Everyone is already in a tough financial position due to high inflation and wage stagnation. Allowing businesses to pass on these costs to the consumer will put further strain on consumer spending. It is not a great idea while business profit just continually increases year over year.

[WozzaDog]

TELUS is the most profitable telco in the world, google it. Highest profit margin over any telco. If other companies don’t charge this then the cost should be observed.

[cheryldp]

This is a disgrace Telus.  The cost of doing business with you keeps going up.  Not a happy customer now and will not be a customer if this passes.

[Nighthawk]

There are no fees if paying through direct withdrawals from a bank account or if you pay through online banking. If the CRTC does approve the fee, you can be sure that shortly after Bell and Rogers will apply to charge it also.

Credit card companies are privately owned for profit companies and they charge merchant fees on every transaction. It's one of the ways they make money. Most places people use credit cards include a few extra % in the prices of the items or services purchased and just don't show it to consumers. It's like a hidden tax people don't realize they're paying. Businesses that just hide the fee in their prices affect people paying with cash too. Grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, etc. all hide the fee in their prices. Banks that offer a Visa Debit card don't help.

Most electricity companies already charge a 1.75% fee for paying monthly on a credit card. Epcor, BCHydro, Fortis, etc. all charge those fees. Even the payment processor the CRA uses charges fees to pay with a credit card if you owe money on a tax return. It's only a matter of time before more businesses, or the payment processing companies they use, charge it too. Whether or not the individual business will be transparent about the fees and allow consumers an option without fees, like paying through the bank, will be the question.  

[vortoozo]

Accepting payments is a cost of doing business. What's next? Telus starts charging a surcharge because because they have to pay a hydro bill? 

[WozzaDog]

Was going to install TELUS home security but not now after this. Going to keep
My SmartThings security monitored by Ecobee

[implode]

I get my BCHydro bill via mail, but I pay online via my bank.  I know a few seniors in my building that don't do any online banking.  They receive bills via mail and go to the bank to pay their bills.  Something like BCHydro is an essential service, so they can't exactly cut off those people who don't have an online presence.  Then again, Telus is practically an essential service.

[HSL]

"There are no fees if paying through direct withdrawals from a bank account or if you pay through online banking."

This is not, entirely, correct. My bank, for instance, charges a monthly account fee which entitles me to a limited number of free transactions. Exceeding my monthly limit triggers a per transaction service charge. The free transaction limit can be increased by moving to a higher cost monthly fee. Telus' suggestion that customers can simply move to another payment method is disingenuous.

Editorially, I do not object to Telus passing on the credit card transaction costs but the cynic in me says that I will not be seeing a 1.5% discount on my Telus bill in October. The optimist in me thinks that this might just be a strategy to negotiate a reduction in Telus' transaction fees with the credit card companies.

The credit card companies are in a bit of a bind. There is little incentive for customers to continue paying for a premium cash back card if the points that you collect are immediately charged back to you at the point of sale.

[WozzaDog]

Demand a 5% reduction to cover the costs and stress as TRLUS doesn’t want to impact mental wellness, and this is stressful. Or move to Roger’s let TELUS know. They will than give you greater reductions to “come back”

[JF2]

So are you saying Telus is going to lower our current bill by 1.5% because they are now making this fee transparent whereas before they have it built-in? NO, that's not what they are doing.

Don't attempt to justify this money grab predatory business practice by positioning Telus as a victim that is less evil than the credit card companies. Telus is not a small mom-and-pop-shop. If Telus did not budget the credit card fees as a cost of doing business all these years, then someone screwed up at the top, and making the customers pay is another screw up being possibly the worst option.

Here is likely what happened...

Telus leaders sat around the table and threw out the question: how can we grow more profit this year at minimal cost/effort so we all get a nice performance bonus?

oh I know, did you hear that the credit card companies lost their lawsuit? that means we can add a 1.5% bogus charge, saying it's us balancing the credit card fees, small enough that most people won't fight it plus we'll justify it so we look like the good guys who have no choice but to pass the cost on or we can't survive. We'll use the cute animals to win people's affection and sympathy like we've always done when we continue to increase our prices. It has worked and will work again.

So we have about 15.4 million customer connections, at a conservative 60% autopay with credit card and an even more conservative $100 per month bill per connection... we'll net a nice $14 million additional profit per month 

And by end of this year after 3 months we'll make $42 million just on this small insignificant 1.5%...

genius!

oh but that means we all need to pay 1.5% too on our bills too... yeah, it's just a couple of bucks... meanwhile

a million bonus for me, a million bonus for you...

passed unanimously

[WozzaDog]

On Friday 16th Sept 2022 I called TELUS and explained my dissatisfaction, told them that unless I receive a discount on my existing services, which is $85 plus x bunch of extras plus a 24 month payment plan of my 1TB iPhone 13, all = approximate $150-160 per month, that I will switch to Bell.

They gave me a $5 discount reducing my monthly subscription to $80 which equates to 3% discount on $160.

So down 1.5% on credit card bill, up 3% on discount, now I’m 1.5% better off.

Wozza aka Warren Saunders

+1(403)389-3981

Sent from my iPhone

[Lola]

I pay my Shaw bill monthly with a credit card and there's no fee. Yet.

[WozzaDog]

I know. I called up TELUS and negotiated a $5 discount on $160 monthly bill =3% reduction. I’m up 1.5%

Get Outlook for iOS