r/VirginPlusCanada

Does the amount shown here include taxes, or is this payoff plus tax? Thanks in advance!

Not breaking news, more of a follow-up/watchdog thread.

The CRTC’s ban on activation/modification fees took effect on June 12. Since then, the focus has mostly been on Rogers, Bell and Telus, but that misses a big part of how Canada’s wireless market actually works.

Customers don’t only see “the Big Three.” They see dozens of brands.

Rogers family: Rogers, Fido, chatr
Bell family: Bell, Virgin Plus, Lucky Mobile
Telus family: Telus, Koodo, Public Mobile
Quebecor/Vidéotron family: Vidéotron, Fizz, Freedom Mobile
Regional/MVNO layer: Eastlink, SaskTel, Tbaytel, Cogeco Mobile, PC/No Name Mobile and others

And the network/antenna situation makes it even more confusing.

Some brands are just flankers owned by the same parent company.
Some are prepaid brands running on the same network.
Some are regional carriers with their own towers plus roaming deals.
Some are MVNOs that sell service but use another carrier’s network.

So when a fee shows up at Fido, Virgin, Lucky, Koodo, Public, chatr, Fizz or another brand, it should not be treated as separate from the bigger carrier ecosystem.

Confirmed examples already worth watching:

Bell / Virgin Plus: $40 device handling charge
Rogers / Fido: $40 device setup charge
Telus: $15 SIM/eSIM fee
Freedom Mobile: appears to have backed off on some fees/requirements after the CRTC ban

That last one matters. If one carrier can adjust after the rule, why are others trying to preserve similar fees under new names?

Are activation fees disappearing, or are they being renamed across the whole Canadian wireless brand maze?

If you were charged anything since June 12, please comment with:

Brand:
Parent company/network, if known:
Fee name:
Amount:
Date:
Online, store, phone or chat:
Was it waived?