Tag: CCTS

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Telecom complaints increased by 12 percent in recent months, CCTS’ mid-year report shows

Telecom complaints have dramatically increased in recent months, according to a report from the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS).

The report, covering data between August 1st, 2022 and January 31st, 2023, shows complaints rose by 12 percent, with Rogers accounting for most of the platforms (17.4 percent), taking the position for the first time.

The report shows loss of services drove the company’s position, with 187 of its 1,294 complaints geared towards the July 8th outage. Customers were displeased with Rogers issuing five days of credit for the outage. Anger from the outage resulted in problems at CCTS as well.

“On July 8, 2022, the CCTS received nearly double the number of calls and chats from customers,” the report notes. Some calls were not able to connect to us, as our circuits were overwhelmed by the call volume.”

Bell had the second most complaints, followed by Telus, Fido, and Koodo. A majority of the complaints focused on wireless services. Internet issues received the second most complaints.

Compared to the CCTS’s 2021-2022 mid-year report, Telus saw the largest increase in complaints, at 81 percent. Its flanker brand Koodo had the second-highest complaint increase.

Despite Bell having the second-highest count for accepted complaints, the company saw its overall complaints drop by six percent compared to the last report, the only company in the top five to see a decrease.

Image credit: CCTS

Code breaches

The wireless code is made up of a set of rules service providers must follow, covering everything from contracts to issues with mobile devices. The report confirms 36 wireless code breaches, up from the 24 reported in the last mid-year report. A majority relate to providers failing to give customers proper notices with all relevant information before disconnecting services.

The recent report also reports 4 breaches of the internet code.

Image credit: Shutterstock 

Source: CCTS

Categories
Mobile Syrup

CCTS saw thousands of complaints tied to telecom and television distribution services in 2021: report

The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) 2021 Compliance and Monitoring report found companies breached its Procedural Code thousands of times.

The CCTS, which focuses on resolving customer complaints related to telecom and television distribution services, received 15,000 complaints in 2021. These resulted in 2,400 alleged breaches of the Procedural Code.

Some of the code’s requirements include Participating Service Providers (PSPs) applying agreed-upon resolutions, not threatening legal action or additional fees against their customers for filing a complaint with the CCTS, or asking the customer to drop the complaint.

The CCTS found 16 cases where PSPs breached the code’s requirement to implement an agreed-upon resolution. However, the report notes all PSPs implemented the requirement once notified, stating the mistake of not doing so earlier was the result of human error or an issue outside of their control.

Overall, there has been a decrease in cases where PSPs don’t implement resolutions, recommendations or decisions, the report notes.

When it comes to threats resulting from complaints, the CCTS notes there was one incident in 2021. 4pairless communications inc threatened to disconnect service for one customer following a complaint. The CCTS notes the customer’s service wasn’t cut off and is working with the PSP to help it understand its requirements.

The CCTS was also made aware of 20 alleged breaches relating to PSPs asking customers to withdraw complaints. Further examination found three instances of this behaviour. The report shows PSPs were unaware they couldn’t ask their customers to do this in two instances. The third case involved 4pairless.

Another aspect of the code includes the PSP providing the CCTS with a written response if they can’t reach an agreement with a customer before the CCTS begins an investigation.

In 2021, the CCTS found 1,149 alleged breaches of this part of the code.

“The CCTS continues to observe a concerning trend that PSPs are not fulfilling their requirement to provide a response or all supporting documentation with their response to an unresolved complaint at the initial pre-investigation level,” the report notes.

Public Awareness Plan

For customers to easily access assistance and information related to the CCTS when it comes to resolving disputes, PSPs take part in CCTS’ Public Awareness Plan. Requirements include PSPs displaying messages on their websites informing customers of the CCTS, and providing similar notifications through their bills. PSPs must also inform customers of their ability to access CCTS when an unresolved complaint comes up.

The CCTS audited the websites of 57 PSPs under this plan, including the 25 PSPs that generated the most complaints in their 2019 – 2020 annual reports. Bell, Rogers, and Telus represent the top three service providers, respectively.

Several issues resulted. Only 23 PSPs had CCTS information part of their complaint page, a requirement under the plan. This figure decreased from the 36 PSPs who had this information in 2020. The CCTS doesn’t state which PSPs fail to follow the requirements.

However, there is some good news. The audit found 10 PSPs were fully compliant with the plan, including ACN Canada, Cable Axion, Chatr, Koodo, Lucky Mobile, Pathway Communications, Primus, Public Mobile, Shaw Communications, and Shaw Direct.

Source: CCTS

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Telecom complaints decreased over the past year, the CCTS reports

Telecom complaints are down 26 percent, according to a recent report from the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS).

The report examines complaints received between August 1st, 2021 and January 31st, 2022, and compares them to the last mid-year report.

The CCTS accepted 6,682 complaints on 14 providers, with a 88 percent resolve rate.

The recent report shows complaints decreased by 26 percent, a change from the last report, which reported an increase.

Bell accounts for 17.7 percent of all complaints, Rogers 15 percent, Fido 11.3 percent, Telus 8 percent and Virgin Plus 7.6 percent.

Bell has the largest decrease, with 36 percent fewer complaints than the year prior. Fido follows with 20 percent. Rogers and Telus reported close declines, with 16.5 percent and 16.9 percent, respectively. Virgin Plus saw nearly 10 percent fewer complaints.

The Wireless Code

Wireless complaints represented almost half of all complaints the CCTS accepted, with ‘disclosure issues’ in the lead. Conflicts with contracts and agreements were the most complained about aspects.

The CCTS found 24 breaches of the wireless code, down from the 28 reported last year.

9 of these breaches stem from providers failing to give customers reasonable notification and relevant information before disconnecting services.

4 of the breaches were because the service provider didn’t supply the customer with a paper or electronic copy of the contract listing all relevant information to the wireless code.

3 of the breaches are related to ‘critical information summary’ where providers must give customers a document containing the most essential parts of the contract.

“We continue to observe problems with service providers failing to disclose important information to their customers when signing up for a new phone, internet or TV service,” CCTS Commissioner and CEO Howard Maker said. “This can lead to complaints if bills or services don’t meet the customer’s expectation.”

Source: CCTS

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Canadians launched hundred of wireless and internet complaints against telecom giants to watchdog: report

Increasing numbers of Canadians are lodging complaints against telecom providers for the services they offer, according to the annual report published by the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS).

When a customer and telecom or TV service providers have a dispute they can’t resolve, consumers have the option to go to the CCTS for further assistance. Between August 2020 and July 2021, the CCTS accepted 17,000 complaints from Canadians over internet, phone, and TV services.

This is a nine percent increase from the year prior, largely driven by the increase in complaints about internet services.

More than 42,000 issues were examined, as one complaint can have a number of issues. 10 brands received more than 80 percent of the complaints.

The most complained about category was wireless services. Disclosure issues were the leading complaint for this service, occurring nearly 6,000 separate times. The report states disclosure is breached when information isn’t clearly provided.

Bell has the most disclosure issues with 1,487 complaints. This was a 34 percent decrease from last year. Rogers had 944, a 24 percent increase. The biggest increase was Videotron, at 75 percent with 770 issues.

The second most complained about category is the internet. Quality of service was the leading issue, with 2,532 complaints, likely because of the world’s increasing dependence because of pandemic

TV was in third place, and for the second time in the last three years, had seen a decline in complaints. Incorrect charges were the leading issue, with 827 complaints, a 12 percent decrease from the year prior.

Bell represented 20 percent of all complaints, an eight percent decrease from the year prior. Rogers was in second with 13.9 percent, Fido in third with 10 percent, and Telus in fourth with seven percent complaints.

Nearly 9 out of every 10 complaints, or 88 percent, were resolved by the CCTS. However, 23 percent of complaints lead to a full investigation where service provider conduct was examined.

This is measured in four aspects: wireless code for mobile wireless services, deposit and disconnection (D&D) code for home phones, television service provider (TVSP) for subscription TV services, and the internet code for all fixed internet services provided by the largest 10 internet providers.

Wireless code

This aspect guards the rights and obligations of customers with contracts in wireless voice and data services.

After investigations, this category was confirmed to have 96 breaches, a 48 percent
decrease from the year prior.

The report notes this is driven by a specific decline from Telus-owned Koodo. Last year the provider had 101 breaches of the wireless code and this year it only had four.

The biggest year-over-year change was seen in the “clarity” section. This occurs when a service provider fails to provide accurate information when communicating with customers. There were 14 confirmed breaches. In the year prior, there was only one.

The most breaches were seen in the “contracts and related documents” section, with a total of 29 complaints.

Bell had the most wireless code breaches with a total of 29. They had 27 last year.

Rogers also saw an increase, with 25 breaches this year, compared to 17 last year.

Freedom Mobile had the biggest year-over-year increase (400 percent) with a total of five complaints.

Fido, Telus, and Koodo all saw a decrease in this section.

Internet code

This was the first full year of the CCTS examining the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) internet code.

It ensures people are informed of their rights and responsibilities, and understand the contracts, plans, and promotions internet providers bring forward.

There were 18 confirmed breaches of the code this year: 14 from Bell, and one each from Eastlink, Rogers, Shaw and Virgin Plus.

TVSP code

This code focuses on helping Canadians understand service agreements and applies only to residential customers.

In total there were five confirmed breaches, a decrease from the seven reported last year. Bell and Videotron had two breaches each and Rogers had one.

D&D code

This specifically applies to consumers who use home phones. The code aims to provide protection in the event a telecom company cuts off service.

Five confirmed breaches were reported. Three of these came from Bell and two from Comwave.

“We encourage providers to continue listening to consumers and actively work with their customers to fix problems as they arise. When they are unsuccessful, we are here to help consumers resolve disputes with their service provider,” Howard Maker, commissioner and CEO of CCTS, said in a statement.

Source: CCTS