"‘Junk fees’ added to the price of a product or service are a widespread nuisance in today’s economy,” the statement of claim reads.
It notes that the practice of junk fees was outlawed in 2022 when Parliament enacted s. 52(1.3) of the Competition Act. It alleges, however, that Indigo Park continues to charge additional fees at checkout or on top of the posted rates for parking.
The practice was also said to violate consumer protection legislation in the provinces where it is headquartered, namely B.C. and Quebec, under the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act and Quebec Consumer Protection Act.
In the experience of the plaintiff, the claim notes, the defendant was charged convenience and transaction fees. Due to these fees, which were charged when paying for parking through the company’s app, website or a QR code, parking for a two-hour time slot that was supposed to be $16 (as per the $4 per half hour parking rate) ended up being $16.56. The convenience fee was $0.40 while the transaction fee was $0.16.
As such, the plaintiff alleges that the company represented unattainable prices, as the $4 per half hour value was inclusive of government taxes. Class members were said to have suffered monetary loss and/or damage equivalent to the amount of the additional fees charged when they concluded the payment process. It was said that class members acquired less value in the than they expected.
Relief sought includes damages, punitive damages, investigation and legal costs, reduction of obligations, a restoration order and interim or permanent injunction to stop the charging of addition service fees.
The class is defined as all individuals residing anywhere in the world who, from Jan. 9, 2022 to the date of certification, paid for Indigo Park’s parking services in Canada using the company’s mobile app, website or QR codes and paid additional service fees on top of the posted parking rates, excluding those who used the book in advance or monthly subscription features.
The class also includes a subclass of members who used Indigo Parks’ Parking Services primarily for personal, family or household purposes. It is estimated in the claim that the class consists of tens of thousands of people.
The plaintiff will also file an action in Quebec to “preserve the putative class members’ interest arising from potential uncertainty on whether this Court will certify the QCPA claims and also whether a filing in a B.C. court would be sufficient to preserve the running of limitations for the QCPA claims of the Class.”
The initial claim was filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on Jan. 9. The action has yet to be certified by the court.
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