Canada Competition Bureau sues telcos over misleading ads

OTTAWA, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Canada's Competition Bureau said on Friday it is suing the country's three leading phone companies for what it said was the promotion of costly premium texting services, while giving the impression that they were free.

It is seeking C$10 million ($10.3 million) each from BCE Inc's Bell Canada, Rogers Communications Inc, and Telus Corp, in addition to asking them to make full refunds to customers.

"Our investigation revealed that consumers were under the false impression that certain texts and apps were free," said Competition Commissioner Melanie Aitken. "Unfortunately, in far too many cases, consumers only became aware of unexpected and unauthorized charges on their mobile phone bills."