In BC, there is no provincial tax on basic cable or landl...

[Cmac410]

In BC, there is no provincial tax on basic cable or landline telephone. Basic cable for Shaw is Limited TV ($25) but regardless of which TV package you have, $25 is exempt. I'm not sure what the landline cost is but regardless, it is also PST exempt.

I recently changed my 2 year service agreement and not only are they charging me PST on the entire invoice, but in fact are charging more PST than 7%. They agreed to credit back the amounts that were over 7% but disagree about basic cable and landline being tax exempt. Prior to June, Shaw was charging the proper amount of PST, taking the tax exemptions into account.

I called the Provincial Government today and they completely agree with me about the exemptions but don't know if or when they will follow up to have Shaw fix this error. They told me when the amount over time accumulates to $10, I can apply for a rebate.

Very frustrating to say the least as there is no resolution from either party. I can only hope that enough people realize they are being charged for something that should be exempt tax and bombard Shaw with phone calls demanding a fix. In the meantime, I will be overpaying.

[rstra]

@Cmac410 I just checked my bill and it is correct. I thought that they may consider BlueCurve as Internet tv and not give the basic tv exemption, but they did.

[Cmac410]

@rstra I contacted Shaw again through "Your Voice", detailing the information including several links to the Provincial Government website. A week later someone replied and said that I should call the 1-888 # to talk to a live agent. OMG, I said I didn't get any satisfactory results from the live agents which is why I tried another route. I replied this morning to the email with even more detailed information and said if I didn't get a call by next week, I would be contacting the CRTC and the Better Business Bureau. It's hardly worth all this effort for the amount of money but it's a matter of principle and doing the right thing. I would be very surprised if I was the only one that this has happened to.

[rstra]

@Cmac410 You are right to continue to pursue this, even if it just a small amount. In the past, Shaw had a billing department that was quite good, not sure if it still exists and could help.. I don’t believe you are alone, I do recall seeing some other posts about this problem. 

[Saffire]

CCTS was not very helpful...
"

Unfortunately, this matter is not an eligible complaint within the meaning of our Procedural Code and is therefore not within the scope or mandate of the CCTS.

We have reviewed your complaint about the taxes charged on your account. It is our assessment that the subject-matter of your complaint relates to general operating practice(s). Further to Section 4.3 of our Procedural Code, the CCTS is not able to issue Recommendations and Decisions that directs or requires a service provider to change their operating practices and policies.

Therefore, the CCTS cannot process your complaint."

I signed a new agreement on May 19, 2021. Since then my bills are wrong. They were charging too much PST. After MANY phone calls and chats, they finally acknowledged that their backend system in broken and that they have been overcharging me. Their solution was to give me a lump sum credit on my account to make up for the $1.05 they have been overcharging.

I am currently having them look into the tax exempt amount. The reason I'm getting for not getting the $25 tax exempt amount is because I'm in a bundle of 2 services so it doesn't apply. My previous contract was a bundle as well and I got the $25 tax exemption. They're telling me it's because I was paying way more for cable in my last contract but my internet was extremely discounted. This time around they heavily discounted my cable (down to $35) so apparently it doesn't apply. I'm going to say here, in public, that their system is broken and they know it but they do not want to acknowledge it and seem to have no plans to fix it. Seeing as Global TV is owned by shaw, we should try contacting other news stations as I'm sure anyone who signed a new contract this year is getting overcharged on PST.

I'm waiting to hear back about the tax exempt amount. I'll update with their excuse or their actual acknowledgement of the misbilling when I hear back.

[Suzie44]

I just checked all my bills for the last two years and, yes, the PST is calculated wrong (for BC at least). I talked to a customer support person who could not answer why but she spent alot of time trying to get an answer from her superiors, who also seemed to not understand why. The bills and taxes are calculated by a computer.   I am supposed to get a call back with answers in a few days (won't hold my breath). I will keep pursuing this. 

[aachtemichuk]

I have the same problem. Called support and was supposedly connected with someone in the Finance department but they did not understand PST. Eventually got back to support and they gave me credit for 12 months of PST errors but were not able to fix the calculation. 

[mdk]

@aachtemichuk -- Eventually got back to support and they gave me credit for 12 months of PST errors 

Conspiracy theory: there is nothing wrong with the way that Shaw calculates PST, but to "get you off their back", Shaw gave you a credit.

[transferpop3]

Feb 28/22   Taxes are jumping from one bill to another even though services and promotions are exactly the same.  I received snitty reply by customer service person 'we do not have control over government taxes'.  Again, explained that government taxes hadn't changed - only the amounts charged on my bill had.  Same services last month:  $3.35 and $3.36 (GST/PST).  This month: taxes $5.50 and $6.37.   

[transferpop3]

This is to confirm that what the poster (Cmac14) wrote on July 78, 2021.  There are certain items which are tax exempt on *everyone's* bill, such as the 'basic cost' of TV  (that's the first $25 of any TV package) and also such things as landline phones to a residence.  Those exemptions should be reflected in the amounts taxed both provincially and federally.  [If provincial sales tax (PST) is charged in the place of supply, calculate the GST on the price without the PST.]

Here's the BC government site:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/taxes/sales-taxes/publications/pst-107-telecommunication-services....

Sounds like Shaw is not making the adjustments on the per-item services before they apply the PST.  This should be escalated to Shaw management with a cc to the provincial government.