My short answer to the question is "no." Unless it's specifically required, or someone from the department advised you to do so, I think paying for third party services is a waste of money. I think that each university has its own way of checking credentials, which means that their decision to accept you as a student will always be less dependent on scores from third party services (unless they are specifically required like GRE and/or TOEFL) and more about their personal judgement on your fit to the program, AFTER comparing your complete application package with those of the other applicants. Applying for grad school is always twofolds: first, you need to meet the minimum requirements to be considered; second, you need to have a good application profile in order to get selected. Therefore, it's always a good idea to get the first one covered. The real battle, I think, is proving to them that you are a right pick.
My advise is to contact a potential supervisor. Send a brief email explaining your dilemma. Unless you can afford to apply to multiple universities, it's always a good idea to target the ones that you have the best chance at getting in. Also, the admission process usually works this way: 1) The department has to accept you and endorse your name to the admissions office, 2) the admissions office will review the department's recommendation and give you a final official offer of admission. So I would definitely make sure that the department can and/or will give an exception to the degree equivalency rule (maybe ask them if there is precedence?). Next, the admissions office should also give you the same exception (The admissions office can block the department's recommendation - although this rarely happens since all departments are required to enforce the basic admission requirements set by the university). If there is precedence then all that's left to do is to convince them using your transcript, research goals, and relevant work experience that you deserve the spot!
Good luck!
-Scott
