ICA Microsystems terminated by CCTS for non-compliance

The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Service (CCTS) was forced to suspend one participating service provider (PSP) for non-compliance with its directives, it noted in its 2022 annual report Thursday. ICA Microsystems Inc. refused to issue a customer a refund and to waive unnecessary charges as it was ordered to do in a December 2022 directive from CCTS. ICA is now working with CCTS to be reinstated as a participating provider. Last year saw improvements to the system, the annual report noted. There were decreases in the number of objection breaches and in PSPs asking customers to withdraw complaints. There was an increase in complaints that PSPs claimed were resolved when they were not. There was also a jump in providers not meeting deadlines for response or providing documentation. The CCTS expects its new delivery process, implemented last May, should alleviate those problems. Timeliness was also a problem in implementing resolutions, the study said. “There are valuable opportunities for service providers to improve their compliance with the CCTS’ complaints process,” Janet Lo, the assistant commissioner for legal, regulatory and stakeholder affairs said in a statement. “We are seeing more instances where providers fail to respond to complaints within the prescribed timeline or provide relevant documents to our staff.” The study reported that there are 311 service providers representing 432 consumer brands as of the end of 2022. Complaints were also down in last year’s annual report. Last year the commission signed up 21 of 26 eligible PSPs. Four companies–Opitel Mobile, Dunn Vision Telecom, Secuconn and Byzantines Internet–had their cases referred to the CRTC. The fifth eligible provider did not give enough information to the complaints commission. The CRTC was forced to act against two carriers. In March 2022, it began a show cause proceeding against Haute-Vitesse.com for failure to join. Ultimately its parent company was found to be in violation but was not fined because it had ceased operations that were covered by the CCTS. Penalties were assessed against Net2Web Inc. for failing to join the CCTS. The company was fined $50,000 and its director had a $15,000 penalty levied against him. Orders from the commission must be implemented. In 2022 it found 20 breaches of this responsibility, a 25 per cent jump from 2021. Eighteen related to timeliness of implementation. Connexio Inc. initially refused to obey an order but was persuaded to grant a refund to a dissatisfied customer. ICA failed to obey a decision, one of the factors in it being stricken from the CCTS rolls. The other breach from ICA involved charging a $1299 fee to lodge a complaint. The commission worked with 49 PSPs to address lapses in their websites regarding information on the CCTS and its functions. Five PSPs refused to cooperate with the process. They are Vonage Canada Corp., AiC Global Communications, Cybernet Communications, Max Isp, and Quantum Xpress Computers. The commission is working with them on compliance. The CCTS noted that most of the new entrants to its ranks are small service providers who may not be familiar with its practices or do not have sufficient staff to handle complaints. The commission is hopeful its new procedures will change that. “We will continue to seek opportunities to streamline our sign-up process and work with smaller service providers to ensure they understand the requirement to participate in the CCTS,” the report stated. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca.

ICA Microsystems terminated by CCTS for non-compliance

News | July 27, 2023

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ICA Microsystems terminated by CCTS for non-compliance

News | July 27, 2023

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