Smart Pay double taxed?

[Lindsay1]

I have recently upgraded my phone with their smart pay financing. On my contract summary it is showing all of my taxes as included and shows applicable taxes. Then on my first bill I’m also getting charged the device taxes upfront. When I have called no one seems to able to find that page on their end. I filed a complaint with the crtc and it declined because taxes are out of their jurisdiction. Has anyone else noticed this? Any other suggestions on how to dispute it? Thanks! 

[dks · Accepted solution]

That is correct. When you finance a device through Smart Pay you are always charged HST on the device purchase. It is due on the first invoice. That is the way HST works and has always worked. The same is true when you finance any purchase. 

[WelshTerrier · Accepted solution]

Good Day & Welcone to the Bell Comunity Forum.

Bell is required to remit the HST on the full price of the phone when it is sold. Your monthly payment includes the amount you financed and your plan cost plus the HST on your plan. HST is calculated & charged on the full retail price of the mobile phone at the time of purchase. If you chose to pay down a portion & finance the remainder, taxes on the financed device amount are payable with your monthly device payments.13.0% HST is charged on the full price  of the device. Your deposit is subtracted  from the purchase price + the taxes leaving you with the outstanding balance owing. Your monthly finance payments & mobility plan are also taxable.

For further assistance, please call 1 800 667-0123 or dial *611 from any Bell mobile device.

Take care.

[Lindsay1]

I bought the phone in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan does not pay hst. Saskatchewan taxes are gst of 5% and pst of 6%. So why I am charged another tax which does not apply in Saskatchewan? 

[Lindsay1]

Also the amount charged in my financing is not 13%. It is approximately 9% of the purchase price which doesn’t equal any amount of tax that should be charged in Saskatchewan. 

[Lindsay1]

If I add up all the taxes being charged. (The ones included in financing and the ones being charged upfront) it ends up working out to 19.89% of the total purchase price. With sales taxes being 11% in Saskatchewan how can you explain that? 

[dks]

Thank you for your question. Unfortunately, as your concern is specific to one province and because we gave no access to account and billing matters in this user to user help forum, you will have to raise your question with Bell Mobility Accounts and Billing directly for a satisfactory answer. Please call 310-2355 or *611 from any Bell Mobility phone. Thank you for your question. 

[Lindsay1]

I have called about this several times and have yet to receive an explanation. I have also filed a complaint with the crtc. But because it is about taxes it was declined. This is the only way I have been able to get somewhat of an answer. Who can I go to to dispute this? 

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day

@Lindsay1  The Bell Community is a place for you to ask questions, find answers and share your thoughts. It is a peer-to-peer site. As indicated by @dks we do not have access to your account & billing records. We do our best to assist in answering your questions with the best available information that we have at our disposal.

We also depend on you providing us with the necessary details in order to answer your question. By no means do we claim to know or have all of the answers. We do not work for Bell. We are all members trying to help other members in solving their issues.

In my original post, I must apologize for being so presumptive in assuming your province of purchase. The taxes percentages that I made reference to are for HST only.

 I also suggested in my earlier reply that: "For further assistance, please call 1 800 667-0123 or dial *611 from any Bell mobile device."

When it comes to billing issues, Bell Customer Service is your best contact for these details We will always try to help you, but the final decision rests with your Bell service representative.

Once again, my apologies & thank you for your feedback.

Take are.

[Lindsay1]

Ok I have called several times. Is there anyone else I can contact about this? Or how can I dispute it? I understand to call billing, but billing has gotten me where except on hold and talking to six different people none of which can ‘see which charge im talking about’. Is there any other way you can suggest disputing this matter? 

[Lindsay1]

When I add up the taxes charged within the financing plus the taxes charged up front I’m being charged a total of 20% taxes

[WelshTerrier]

@Lindsay1 Now that is a very good question. If you are not satisfied with the service representatives explanation, have you asked to speak to a manager? If you have not done so, please do so. If you have already spoken to a manager, I will assume that you have the full details of who you call, when, date / time, & the details. Have you read the terms or your Mobility agreement? If not, then, please have a look at it. It is available on MyBell. Login to to your MyBell account. Select > My Profile > MyBell > Scroll down &  Select > Services profile. On the right side of the page highlighted in blue,: Select > View Bell Mobility agreements.

Take care.

[dks]

I think it is reasonable to say we have gone as far as we can on this matter in this forum. I suggest you check your calculations with a bookkeeper or an accountant or someone in your province who is familiar in how your provincial sales tax is calculated. 

[Peterg2000]

I spent 3 full hours one day trying to get an explanation regarding the taxes on my bill that don't add up. I spoke to a regular employee for 2 hours and to her supervisor for another hour and they still couldn't explain it to me.  My beef was the fact my bill shows a subtotal for all Bell services included.  For example say that was $150   , but then they charge me GST $42  and PST $85   Which is $127(amounts are rounded for the example)  .   If the extra taxes are for the device then that should be stated on the bill.   As it is now it looks like Bell is overcharging taxes by a huge margin! 

[dks]

Thank you for your question. As this is a user to user forum, we have no access to your account details and billing matters. For that reason, we can’t comment on the issue you raise. I suggest you have your bill reviewed by a person who is knowledgeable of tax legislation your province in order to determine if your  conclusion has any basis in fact. That’s likely not the answer you are looking for but it is the best we can do given the forum’s limited scope.