OTTAWA – While complaints over telecom and Internet services continue to fall, Canadians are still unclear about the terms of their service contracts, says the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS).
In its mid-year report released Thursday, CCTS said it accepted 3,955 complaints between August 1, 2016 and January 31, 2017, down by more than 600 from the 4,562 complaints received in the same period a year earlier.
The report says that non-disclosure or misleading information about contract terms was once again the most commonly raised issue (10.7% of all issues), followed by complaints about incorrect charges at 9.4% and intermittent/inadequate quality of service at 8.5% of all issues.
CCTS commissioner Howard Maker said that he is hopeful that the CRTC’s Wireless and TV Codes of Conduct, which stress the need for service providers to use plain language and clarity when communicating with customers, will help to reduce complaints to the CCTS.
“Understanding what you are getting when you sign up to receive a service or product is fundamental in a consumer transaction”, said Maker, in a statement. “That can only happen if service providers ensure they present customers with clear information that sets out their rights and responsibilities”.
More than half of the concerns about service quality related to Internet service providers, a 12% increase over the same period last year. Complaints over ISPs’ early cancellation fees were up by 14%.
CCTS also reported 52 confirmed breaches of the Wireless Code (cut nearly in half from the 120 confirmed breaches last year), and 7 confirmed breaches of the Deposit and Disconnection Code by service providers (down from 13 last year).
Bell once again topped the list of the 114 participating service providers with 1,258 complaints (31.8% of all accepted complaints in the six month period; down from 1,677 and 36.8% last year), followed by Rogers with 535 complaints and 13.5% (up from 437 complaints and 9.6%). Bell flanker brand Virgin Mobile moved in to third spot with 285 and 7.2% (an increase from last year’s 257 and 5.6%), followed by Telus with 278 and 7.0% (versus 310 and 6.8% a year ago), and Rogers-owned Fido with 204 complaints (5.2%).
A Bell spokesperson told Cartt.ca that it receives a higher share of total complaints due to the fact that it has “significantly more customers than our competitors”.
“We’ve made significant investments in customer service, field technicians and store teams, and that’s delivering a better customer experience”, reads the emailed response. “We’ve also simplified a lot of service issues with online and mobile self-serve tools that customers really like. Usage of the MyBell mobile app grew 34% in 2016 while calls to our service centres declined by 4 million, even as we led industry growth in 2016.”
Rogers noted that the proportion of complaints for both its Rogers Wireless and flanker brand Fido has decreased since the end of 2012.
“We put our customers at the centre of everything we do”, said a Rogers spokesperson. “The latest report shows that our complaints have gone down 77% since 2012. There is always more work to do but we’re encouraged by the trend over the past four years.”
The CCTS also received a number of complaints about issues that fall outside of its mandate, most notably 2,735 gripes about television services. The CCTS will officially begin accepting TV complaints starting September 1st when the new TV Service Provider Code comes into effect.
The report also said that CCTS resolved 89.9% of complaints during the period to the satisfaction of both the customer and the service provider.
