A move aimed at saving taxpayers money may actually be costing more, according to documents detailing more than a quarter million dollars in late fees incurred as responsibility for paying cellular phone bills shifted from federal departments to a new government-wide payment program.

As of April 2012, managing and paying for government telecommunications became the responsibility of Shared Services Canada, a department established in 2011 to provide information technology infrastructure services for federal departments and agencies.

According to a statement on the SSC website, it is mandated not only to provide more reliable services, but to also represent "better value for money."

But according to documents obtained in response to an Order Paper Question submitted by the Liberal MP for Halifax West, Geoff Regan, that may not be the case.

In 2013 alone, the SSC reports paying more than $275,000 in late fees for cellular telephone services. In October of that year, for example, the SSC paid cellular phone bill late payment fees totalling $69,412.38, followed by a $65,373.74 payout the next month.

In an interview with CTVNews.ca, Regan said he requested the numbers after hearing rumours that government departments weren't paying their bills on time, and were incurring late charges as a result.

"I didn't expect it to be more than a few dollars, but to hear that you're talking $60,000 to $70,000 a month, for a government that promotes themselves as sound fiscal managers, this is outrageous," Regan said Thursday.

"It's outrageous that Canadian taxpayers are paying for the fact that that the Canadian government can't pay its cell phone bills on time," Regan added, decrying the "complete waste" of taxpayers' dollars.

When pressed to suggest a solution, Regan was blunt.

"They could pay their bills on time, as most Canadians do."

In a statement to CTVNews.ca, a spokesperson for the minister of public works and government services called the late fees “unacceptable to Canadian taxpayers and to our government.”

“This is why the Minister instructed SSC to take action,” said spokesperson Alyson Queen. “They have since consolidated billing down from 75,000 individual phone bills per month - and nearly 99% of all phone bills are now paid on time. ‎Telephone costs have been reduced by $57M in this year alone.”

When the SSC was introduced in 2011, then-president of the Treasury Board Tony Clement said consolidating services at the SSC would save money.

"The top priority of our Government is ensuring that our economy remains strong while we continue on our plan to return to balanced budgets," Clement said. "This is why we are squarely focused on finding savings for taxpayers and implementing the Next Phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan."