Slater Vecchio LLP has filed a class action lawsuit against BC Parks for allegedly engaging in “price dripping” and “double ticketing” through their online camping reservation platform. It is alleged that BC Park’s failure to disclose a Reservation Fee charged on camping reservations at the outset of the booking process violates sections 52 and 54 of Canada’s Competition Act.
Drip pricing or double ticketing may occur when the first price that a company advertises for a product or service does not equal the final price at checkout because the company adds non-government-imposed fees on top of the originally represented price. The fees are typically called a “service fee”, a “process fee” or an “improvement fee”.
A class action is a legal case through which one person makes a claim to the Court on behalf of similarly situated class of people who have the same or a similar legal claim. A class action seeks to hold a defendant or defendants responsible for their conduct that affects each member of the class by resolving issues that are common to the class in the same legal proceeding, instead of each class member bringing a claim individually.
The individual who first files the claim must ask the Court for permission to proceed as a class action. If permission is granted (referred as “authorized” in Quebec, and “certified” in all other Canadian provinces) and the case may proceed as a class action, the Court will appoint an individual as “Representative Plaintiff” to represent the best interests of the class during the litigation and define the class group. Each person who meets the criteria of the class group is considered a “Class Member”.
