OTTAWA – Over the last six months, Canadians made 2,734 complaints about their television services to the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS). That is more complaints than the CCTS received in relation to wireless, internet, local voice, or long-distance voice services. What makes this particularly surprising is that the CCTS cannot yet address complaints about TV services– it won’t be able to until September 2017, when the “TV Service Provider Code” comes into effect.
With Canada’s communications regulator reporting that it received 3,191 complaints about broadcasting distribution undertakings in a year in its most recent data , it looks like the CCTS will have its hands full bringing TV Service providers up to the standards Canadians expect.[1]
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) fought for the TV Service Provider Code, just as we fought for the Wireless Code before it. These mandatory codes protect consumers and promote competition. Both Codes focus on allowing consumers to make informed choices.
Communications consumers face ongoing problems with communications service providers. These are highlighted in the CCTS mid-term report’s statistics, which outline thousands of complaints made in relation to wireless, internet, local phone, and long-distance services.
| Top 10 Issues | Complaints Aug 1-Jan 31 |
| Non-disclosure of terms/Misleading information about terms | 795 |
| Incorrect Charge | 698 |
| Intermittent/Inadequate quality of service | 632 |
| Legitimacy and amount of early cancellation fees | 477 |
| 30-day cancellation policy/Charges billed after cancellation | 398 |
| Credit/refund not received | 344 |
| Data charges | 283 |
| Credit reporting | 235 |
| Breach of Contract | 232 |
| Material contract change without notice | 224 |
The TV Service Provider Code will help to address more of these problems. In short, the Code requires carriers to communicate clearly. More specifically it requires carriers to:
- Clearly explain promotional offers, including how long the promotion will last, the price at the end of the promotion, and any commitment period or cancellation fee;
- Write contracts and related documents in a way which is clear and easy to read;
- Clearly itemize all charges, including equipment rental fees, installation fees, and access fees;
- Provide a permanent copy of the contract setting out specified important terms;
- Provide a critical information summary summarizing the contract;
- Provide notice when they are changing prices or packaging of channels, and setting out the customer’s options; and
- Clearly explain their policies in relation to service outages and disconnection.
We look forward to the CCTS’ assumption of responsibility for the TV Service Provider Code this September.
For more information, please contact:
Jonathan Bishop
Research & Parliamentary Analyst
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
(613) 562-4002×23
jbishop@piac.ca
John Lawford
Executive Director
Public Interest Advocacy Centre
ONE Nicholas Street, Suite 1204
Ottawa, ON K1N 7B7
(613) 562-4002 x25
(613) 447-8125 (cell)
jlawford@piac.ca
http://www.piac.ca
[1] http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/policymonitoring/2016/cmr3.htm#a3iv