OTTAWA, January 7, 2016 – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) supports the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision today to establish a mandatory Television Service Provider Code with consumer protections for TV customers.
The new Television Code, which will be mandatory for all licensed television providers by September 2017, includes rules to offer plain-language copies of contracts, provide notifications on changes to channel pricing and packaging, and identify timeframes for service calls.
“The new TV Code provides a great baseline for consumer protections for TV customers by standardizing the rules which television providers must adhere to,” said John Lawford, Executive Director and General Counsel to PIAC.
PIAC and the National Pensioners Federation participated in the Television Code proceeding advocating for measures such as prohibiting changes to fixed-term contracts, restricting television equipment rental policies, privacy, and early cancellation fees.
“While the Television Code lays a great foundation in standardizing rules for consumers, we believe TV customers face many issues which are not currently dealt with in the Code and look forward to building on the groundwork the CRTC has done in the future,” said Alysia Lau, Legal Counsel with PIAC.
For more information please contact:
Alysia Lau
Legal Counsel
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
(613) 562-4002 ×38
alau@piac.ca
www.piac.ca
John Lawford
Executive Director & General Counsel to PIAC
(613) 562-4002 ×25
jlawford@piac.ca
www.piac.ca