CCTS: Complaints against telecoms down; PIAC calls for more accessible ombudsman

Complaints accepted by the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) were down 25 per cent this year from last year, while the majority of those complaints had to do with wireless services, according to the CCTS annual report released Wednesday morning. Altogether, the CCTS accepted some 12,790 claims from customers against telecoms companies, and resolved 11,108 of them. Of the complaints resolved by the CCTS, 8,670 of them were solved before an investigation was conducted, and 2,438 of them were resolved at the investigation stage. In total, the complaints raised some 29,374 issues, however, a single complaint can raise multiple issues. Of those issues, 14,887 were related to wireless service, 7,939 issues related to internet service, 3,327 related to television service. Within wireless – the majority of issues raised with the CCTS – 6,230 were related to billing, while 4,934 were related to a contract dispute, and 2,931 were related to service delivery. For issues dealing with internet service, the majority of issues – 2,878 – were related to service delivery, closely followed by 2,732 issues related to billing, and 2,016 related to a contract dispute. "Notably, for the first time since 2017-18, wireless services surpassed internet services for the largest number of service delivery issues," the CCTS wrote in its report. When it comes to complaints lodged with the CCTS about billing issues, Bell was the most complained about company, with 3,310 billing complaints against its various brands. Rogers Communications Inc. was second, with 2,950 complaints against its premium and flanker brands. Telus brands accounted for 1,778 billing complaints. Quebecor Inc.'s Videotron and Shaw's brands accounted for 1,009 and 951 billing complaints. Across all brands, with the exception of Telus' Koodo, billing complaints were down from last year's numbers. Most billing complaints had to do with incorrect charges and credits or refunds not received. The commission identified 65 total breaches of the CRTC's Wireless Code, with the three largest number of breaches falling into the three categories of contracts, critical information summary for customers, and disconnection of services. Shaw Communication Inc.'s Freedom Mobile, Telus Corp.'s Koodo, BCE Inc.'s Virgin Plus, and Shaw itself all saw increases in Wireless Code violations, with Freedom holding the largest proportion of confirmed breaches at 19 per cent. Bell's and Rogers' premium brands both saw decreases in confirmed WIreless Code breaches, down from 29 to six, and from 25 to seven, respectively. In light of the decrease in overall complaints, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) called on the CCTS to raise awareness about its complaint resolution service. “The industry has an obligation to refer customers to the CCTS when their complaint is escalated and not resolved adequately, but the CCTS found in nearly nine out of 10 of these cases they do not,” PIAC executive director and general counsel John Lawford said in a release. PIAC also pointed out what it called a "disturbing spike" in a new type of complaint: "consumers who do not realize their cellphones may have hundreds or thousands of dollars remaining payable even when the nominal term of their contract is over or they wish to switch to a competitor mid-contract." "The problem of non-transparent financing for ultra-high cost cellphones is the next huge consumer trap, and one that destroys the Wireless Code,” Lawford said, as PIAC also called for the CCTS to change its name to one that is easier for consumers to remember, such as the "Communications Ombudsman." -Reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca

CCTS: Complaints against telecoms down; PIAC calls for more accessible ombudsman

News | November 30, 2022

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