For months, Lloyd Walker would regulary get a new coin in the mail. Eventually, Walker says he didn’t bother to look — he already knew what was inside the padded white envelopes.
The packages from the Bradford Exchange, an American company that’s been selling collectibles, trinkets and jewelry since the 1970s, had been coming to his St. John’s home since July.
“I think this is outrageous. That shouldn’t be. They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that sort of a thing,” Walker, 92, said in a recent interview at his St. John’s home.
Walker said he didn’t knowingly sign up for any subscription program, nor does he want the coins he received. But despite writing to the company to cancel, Walker continued to be charged.
Waker’s story points to a widespread issue in Canada, according to a national advocacy organization for older adults.
Both Walker and CanAge CEO Laura Tamblyn Watts says his experience shows a weakness in the laws that protect consumers in Canada, and are calling on companies to be held accountable for what they consider to be questionable business practices.
The invoice and letter, signed by Richard Thomas, director of the board of the Bradford Exchange, indicates any future issues would be charged automatically to the credit card provided by the buyer. However, it is unclear that new items would arrive without the customer ordering them. (CBC)
It started in July when Walker says he believed he ordered a single Platinum Jubilee coin of Queen Elizabeth II as a keepsake for his great-granddaughter’s birthday, after spotting it in a brochure from the Bradford Exchange among other flyers in the mail.
He said nothing in the flyer led him to believe he would be signing up for anything.
Soon after placing his order by mail, he received an invoice suggesting he pay the balance by credit card — which Walker did.
Two weeks later, Walker said he received a coin collector’s box in the mail with a note saying it was a free gift — a foreshadowing of what was to come.
“I put the box down on the floor alongside of the China cabinet and thought about it a little bit,” Walker said.
“And then about a week or two after, another coin shows up and no invoice, just the coin. So then next thing I got another coin, no invoice.”
The Bradford Exchange website is currently advertising a platinum-plated Queen Elizabeth II collection.
The website says the coin is $69.99 plus $12.99 shipping, or available in two installments of $34.99. In smaller letters it reads, “each issue.”
The Bradford Exchange’s website is advertising a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Tribute Proof Collection, with the price listed as $69.99 per issue. (The Bradford Exchange)
A hyperlink further down the same page sends customers to a separate link on subscription plans.
“This plan reserves a collection in your name, beginning with your purchase of the first issue,” reads a secondary pop-up window, prompted by clicking the link.
“That means timeliness of delivery and no risk of a future price increase. Usually each issue in your collection is billed and shipped separately to you about once a month, after each previous issue is shipped and paid in full.”
Walker provided CBC News with the flyer that he received in the mail and ordered from, and there was no clear indication customers would be enrolled in a subscription plan.
One of many coins that have arrived at Walker’s St. John’s home since he made an order with the Bradford Exchange in July 2023. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
Walker said he got his son to call his credit card company to ask about the charges and was told they were legitimate.
“How can it be legal when I’m not ordering anything?” Walker said.
He sent a letter to the company in October using Bradford’s own self-addressed envelopes, explicitly stating he did not order or want the coins that kept coming.
But they did continue to come, and so did the biweekly charges of $95. Bank records provided to CBC News show the last automatic withdrawal was made in late December.
Over $1,000 has been charged to Walker’s credit card to date. No charges have been applied in 2024.
‘It’s dirty’
According to documents provided by Walker to CBC News, there is just one mention of automatic payments on his invoice, and Walker and his granddaughter said it’s not explicitly clear that customers would be on the hook for items they didn’t order themselves.
“Using your credit card can be the easiest way to pay for your product,” said an invoice signed by a director of the board at the Bradford Exchange.
“Any future issue(s) will automatically be charged only after shipment is made.”
Lloyd Walker’s granddaughter, Jane Walker, said she believes her grandfather was taken advantage of.
Jane Walker says she believes the Bradford Exchange is overcharging for items, like an alarm clock for $200, and a tote bag for more than $180. She says seniors who don’t shop online to compare may not know whether items are overpriced. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
The business appears to target elderly people with products they sell — many of which are advertised as gifts for grandchildren — and the way in which they sell them, she said.
Jane Walker said her grandfather would not be used to this type of sales format — where he would buy something and have it automatically become a subscription.
“Looking through this stuff, it’s not clear in any way,” she said, flipping through the Bradford Exchange catalogue. “And when you’re in the fine print and you’re targeting a certain generation, it’s dirty.”
Class action lawsuit settled
Lloyd Walker isn’t alone in his frustration.
A social media page has been created specifically for complaints about the Bradford Exchange’s business practices, with many customers lamenting the difficulty in cancelling automatic renewal subscriptions that they didn’t want in the first place.
A class action lawsuit was filed in San Diego in 2022 against the Bradford Exchange and sister company Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co., alleging the catalogue companies enrolled certain customers in automatically renewing subscriptions for rewards programs, then posted charges to their accounts without clearly presenting the terms.
In that case, the plaintiffs alleged the companies used pop-up windows on their website promising free shipping to consumers who sign up for their rewards programs. Consumers were then locked into an automatically renewing subscription that charged them $14.95 US each month.
The lawsuit alleged the auto renewal process violated California law, which says it’s unlawful for any business to provide automatic renewal services, unless consumers provide consent and are explicitly aware of what they are signing up for.
Both parties agreed to a settlement in 2023 for nearly a half-million U.S. dollars without any finding or admission of wrongdoing.
In an email to CBC News, Bradford Exchange spokesperson Bobbi Fitzsimmons said the issue was related to a rewards program that was managed by a third party and not the coin collection subscription.
A separate class action lawsuit was filed against the company in August in California, alleging the Bradford Exchange unlawfully enrolled consumers in recurring subscriptions without authorization.
Lawyers for the plaintiff wrote in court filings that the Bradford Exchange frequently sells collection items, but does not make it clear that the displayed price is for a single item each, not for the collection.
The company then enrolls the customers in an ongoing subscription program, where additional items are shipped regularly and charges appear on the customer’s account.
Fitzsimmons said it is company policy not to comment on ongoing litigation, but said the Bradford Exchange believes there is no merit to the claims made in the second class action.
Customers can ‘request cancellation at any time’
Fitzsimmons said the company takes allegations like Walker’s very seriously and works with customers to resolve any questions and concerns.
While Fitzsimmons said the company could not comment on Walker’s case specifically at this time, Fitzsimmons said the website “indicates expressly” that it is a collection and subscription plan.
Walker says he cut out the order form from this flyer he received in the mail to buy a collector’s coin for his great-granddaughter. (Ariana Kelland/CBC)
“All customers can contact us with any concerns by phone, email, or correspondence seven days a week,” Fitzsimmons wrote by email.
“The Bradford Exchange offers generous money-back guarantees on most products, including coins, for up to 365 days.”
Fitzsimmons said customers are in full control of their collections and have the ability to request cancellation at any time.
Automatic credit card charges ‘endemic’
The issue of seniors facing automatic credit card charges has become endemic in Canada, CanAge CEO Laura Tamblyn Watts said, with calls coming into the advocacy organization almost weekly.
“Auto renewals are notoriously difficult to extract yourself from, and a lot of the practices that we see border on predatory,” she said, speaking generally about the issue.
Laura Tamblyn Watts is the CEO of CanAge, Canada’s National Seniors’ Advocacy Organization. (Laura Tamblyn Watts/CanAge)
Combine that with marketing that targets an older generation and inflated prices, and Tamblyn Watts said it is a recipe for disaster.
“Many older adults, particularly those in their late 80s and 90s, may not be able to do some of that comparison online shopping,” Tamblyn Watts said.
“What we see is that in some cases massively overpriced materials or in other cases frankly, junk, is being sold to people for two to three, sometimes 10 times what their value is, if it has any value at all.”
Is it illegal?
In Newfoundland and Labrador, automatic renewals of loans or subscriptions are not prohibited under the Consumer Protection and Business Practices Act.
Service NL spokesperson Krista Dalton said the act prohibits unfair and unconscionable business practices, and provides remedies for consumers.
The director of the province’s consumer and financial services division can investigate to determine if the act has been contravened.
More seniors are flagging concerns over the use of automatic renewal subscriptions
CanAge CEO Laura Tamblyn Watts says consumer protection laws need to be strengthened as more older Canadians are faced with companies that “border on predatory.”
“It may be determined that the nature of the complaint is outside the scope of the act or authority of the director,” Dalton said in an email.
A complaint could be forwarded to a federal regulator, like the Competition Bureau of Canada, or a customer may be advised to seek legal advice, Dalton said.�
With the exception of Ontario, which is beefing up consumer protection legislation, Canada has poor consumer protection legislation, said Tamblyn Watts.
“Unlike in the U.S. and in particular in California where there are real penalties and fines to companies that pursue this, across the country, our consumer protection legislation tends to be very weak,” Tamblyn Watts said.
Companies know that there is money out there and in the pockets of seniors, she said.
Tamblyn Watts said catalogues — and increasingly, email and text messages — have become ways for companies to make it easy to target older individuals.
“We need much stronger consumer protections, and we need to make sure that companies are held to account, particularly for targeting vulnerable populations like seniors.”
“Communication is one of the most important skills you require for a successful life.” — Catherine Pulsifer, author.
I’m one hundred percent in agreement with Pulsifer, which is why my evaluation of candidates begins with their writing skills. If a candidate’s writing skills and verbal communication skills, which I’ll assess when interviewing, aren’t well above average, I’ll pass on them regardless of their skills and experience.
Why?
Because business is fundamentally about getting other people to do things—getting employees to be productive, getting customers to buy your products or services, and getting vendors to agree to a counteroffer price. In business, as in life in general, you can’t make anything happen without effective communication; this is especially true when job searching when your writing is often an employer’s first impression of you.
Think of all the writing you engage in during a job search (resumes, cover letters, emails, texts) and all your other writing (LinkedIn profile, as well as posts and comments, blogs, articles, tweets, etc.) employers will read when they Google you to determine if you’re interview-worthy.
With so much of our communication today taking place via writing (email, text, collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, ClickUp, WhatsApp and Rocket.Chat), the importance of proficient writing skills can’t be overstated.
When assessing a candidate’s writing skills, you probably think I’m looking for grammar and spelling errors. Although error-free writing is important—it shows professionalism and attention to detail—it’s not the primary reason I look at a candidate’s writing skills.
The way someone writes reveals how they think.
Clear writing = Clear thinking
Structured paragraphs = Structured mind
Impactful sentences = Impactful ideas
Effective writing isn’t about using sophisticated vocabulary. Hemingway demonstrated that deceptively simple, stripped-down prose can captivate readers. Effective writing takes intricate thoughts and presents them in a way that makes the reader think, “Damn! Why didn’t I see it that way?” A good writer is a dead giveaway for a good thinker. More than ever, the business world needs “good thinkers.”
Therefore, when I come across a candidate who’s a good writer, hence a good thinker, I know they’re likely to be able to write:
Emails that don’t get deleted immediately and are responded to
Simple, concise, and unambiguous instructions
Pitches that are likely to get read
Social media content that stops thumbs
Human-sounding website copy
Persuasively, while attuned to the reader’s possible sensitivities
Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: AI, which job seekers are using en masse. Earlier this year, I wrote that AI’s ability to hyper-increase an employee’s productivity—AI is still in its infancy; we’ve seen nothing yet—in certain professions, such as writing, sales and marketing, computer programming, office and admin, and customer service, makes it a “fewer employees needed” tool, which understandably greatly appeals to employers. In my opinion, the recent layoffs aren’t related to the economy; they’re due to employers adopting AI. Additionally, companies are trying to balance investing in AI with cost-cutting measures. CEOs who’ve previously said, “Our people are everything,” have arguably created today’s job market by obsessively focusing on AI to gain competitive advantages and reduce their largest expense, their payroll.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that most AI usage involves generating written content, content that’s obvious to me, and likely to you as well, to have been written by AI. However, here’s the twist: I don’t particularly care.
Why?
Because the fundamental skill I’m looking for is the ability to organize thoughts and communicate effectively. What I care about is whether the candidate can take AI-generated content and transform it into something uniquely valuable. If they can, they’re demonstrating the skills of being a good thinker and communicator. It’s like being a great DJ; anyone can push play, but it takes skill to read a room and mix music that gets people pumped.
Using AI requires prompting effectively, which requires good writing skills to write clear and precise instructions that guide the AI to produce desired outcomes. Prompting AI effectively requires understanding structure, flow and impact. You need to know how to shape raw information, such as milestones throughout your career when you achieved quantitative results, into a compelling narrative.
So, what’s the best way to gain and enhance your writing skills? As with any skill, you’ve got to work at it.
Two rules guide my writing:
Use strong verbs and nouns instead of relying on adverbs, such as “She dashed to the store.” instead of “She ran quickly to the store.” or “He whispered to the child.” instead of “He spoke softly to the child.”
Avoid using long words when a shorter one will do, such as “use” instead of “utilize” or “ask” instead of “inquire.” As attention spans get shorter, I aim for clarity, simplicity and, most importantly, brevity in my writing.
Don’t just string words together; learn to organize your thoughts, think critically, and communicate clearly. Solid writing skills will significantly set you apart from your competition, giving you an advantage in your job search and career.
Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.
MONTREAL – Politics, public opinion and salary hikes south of the border helped push Air Canada toward a deal that secures major pay gains for pilots, experts say.
Hammered out over the weekend, the would-be agreement includes a cumulative wage hike of nearly 42 per cent over four years — an enormous bump by historical standards — according to one source who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The previous 10-year contract granted increases of just two per cent annually.
The federal government’s stated unwillingness to step in paved the way for a deal, noted John Gradek, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it plain the two sides should hash one out themselves.
“Public opinion basically pressed the federal cabinet, including the prime minister, to keep their hands clear of negotiations and looking at imposing a settlement,” said Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University.
After late-night talks at a hotel near Toronto’s Pearson airport, the country’s biggest airline and the union representing 5,200-plus aviators announced early Sunday morning they had reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike that would have grounded flights and affected some 110,000 passengers daily.
The relative precariousness of the Liberal minority government as well as a push to appear more pro-labour underlay the prime minister’s hands-off approach to the negotiations.
Trudeau said Friday the government would not step in to fix the impasse — unlike during a massive railway work stoppage last month and a strike by WestJet mechanics over the Canada Day long weekend that workers claimed road roughshod over their constitutional right to collective bargaining. Trudeau said the government respects the right to strike and would only intervene if it became apparent no negotiated deal was possible.
“They felt that they really didn’t want to try for a third attempt at intervention and basically said, ‘Let’s let the airline decide how they want to deal with this one,'” said Gradek.
“Air Canada ran out of support as the week wore on, and by the time they got to Friday night, Saturday morning, there was nothing left for them to do but to basically try to get a deal set up and accepted by ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association).”
Trudeau’s government was also unlikely to consider back-to-work legislation after the NDP tore up its agreement to support the Liberal minority in Parliament, Gradek said. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party has traditionally toed a more pro-business line, also said last week that Tories “stand with the pilots” and swore off “pre-empting” the negotiations.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau had asked Ottawa on Thursday to impose binding arbitration pre-emptively — “before any travel disruption starts” — if talks failed. Backed by business leaders, he’d hoped for an effective repeat of the Conservatives’ move to head off a strike in 2012 by legislating Air Canada pilots and ground crew to stick to their posts before any work stoppage could start.
The request may have fallen flat, however. Gradek said he believes there was less anxiety over the fallout from an airline strike than from the countrywide railway shutdown.
He also speculated that public frustration over thousands of cancelled flights would have flowed toward Air Canada rather than Ottawa, prompting the carrier to concede to a deal yielding “unheard of” gains for employees.
“It really was a total collapse of the Air Canada bargaining position,” he said.
Pilots are slated to vote in the coming weeks on the four-year contract.
Last year, pilots at Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines secured agreements that included four-year pay boosts ranging from 34 per cent to 40 per cent, ramping up pressure on other carriers to raise wages.
After more than a year of bargaining, Air Canada put forward an offer in August centred around a 30 per cent wage hike over four years.
But the final deal, should union members approve it, grants a 26 per cent increase in the first year alone, retroactive to September 2023, according to the source. Three wage bumps of four per cent would follow in 2024 through 2026.
Passengers may wind up shouldering some of that financial load, one expert noted.
“At the end of the day, it’s all us consumers who are paying,” said Barry Prentice, who heads the University of Manitoba’s transport institute.
Higher fares may be mitigated by the persistence of budget carrier Flair Airlines and the rapid expansion of Porter Airlines — a growing Air Canada rival — as well as waning demand for leisure trips. Corporate travel also remains below pre-COVID-19 levels.
Air Canada said Sunday the tentative contract “recognizes the contributions and professionalism of Air Canada’s pilot group, while providing a framework for the future growth of the airline.”
The union issued a statement saying that, if ratified, the agreement will generate about $1.9 billion of additional value for Air Canada pilots over the course of the deal.
Meanwhile, labour tension with cabin crew looms on the horizon. Air Canada is poised to kick off negotiations with the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants this year before the contract expires on March 31.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
