Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc Lost Fight On Late Payment Penalty

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On April 22, 2004, The Supreme Court of Canada has ordered a major gas distributor to pay up to $100-million in compensation to thousands of customers who were charged usurious late-payment fees.

The court said Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. was "unjustly enriched" and cannot hide behind the fact that a provincial regulator, the Ontario Energy Board, approved the late-fee penalty it began using in 1975.

"As a matter of public policy, criminals should not be permitted to keep the proceeds of their crime," Mr. Justice Frank Iacobucci wrote in a hard-hitting 7-0 ruling.

http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/com/2004/html/04-04-22.3.wpd.html

 

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What does this mean to the consumers? Those who paid the late payment would get a cheque? Does this mean it is setting a precedence for other companies, i.e. City of Ottawa?

 

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最初由 渐渐 发布
What does this mean to the consumers? Those who paid the late payment would get a cheque? Does this mean it is setting a precedence for other companies, i.e. City of Ottawa?

Yes, it is setting a precedence for any companies who are charging high late payment fee after a bill's due date, regardless of whether people pay up within days.

The ruling is expected to cost Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. at least $80 million in back payments to 500,000 Ontario customers.

The Supreme Court said the five-per-cent fixed fee that Enbridge charged until two years ago exceeded the Criminal Code cutoff against annual interest rates of more than 60 per cent (非法高利贷）

Enbridge reduced its monthly late fee to two per cent in 2002 for its 1.7 million Ontario customers. But the Supreme Court concluded the reduction isn't good enough, ruling that the company had received an "unjust enrichment" in the past, even though the penalty was approved by the Ontario Energy Board.

 

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