OTTAWA – Wireless customers who fail to pay their bills must receive two notices that they will lose their service before they actually do so, the CRTC has confirmed.
Responding to an application filed by Rogers Communications in February that the notice requirement in the Wireless Code does not apply to service suspensions, the Commission ruled Friday that the notice requirement does, in fact, apply to both suspensions and disconnections. The decision is consistent with the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services’ interpretation of the disconnection provisions of the Wireless Code.
The Wireless Code requires wireless service providers (WSPs) to give two separate notices to customers prior to disconnection for failure to pay: at least 14 calendar days before disconnection, and again at least 24 hours before disconnection. But the CCTS says many WSPs “suspend” service before disconnecting it, and noted some 86 breaches related to the notification requirements of the disconnection rules in its mid-year report released in April.
“When a customer’s wireless service is cut off by the service provider, it matters little to the customer whether the provider calls it a ‘suspension’ or a ‘disconnection’”, said CCTS Commissioner and CEO Howard Maker, in a statement Monday. “Our interpretation reflects the intent of the Wireless Code – that customers should not lose their service without proper advance notice. We are pleased that the Commission has seen fit to support our interpretation.”
The Commission also dismissed Rogers’ ask that WSPs be permitted to proceed with disconnections outside of the time frames indicated in the Wireless Code, describing it as a request to vary the Wireless Code rather than a clarification request.
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