CCTS reports increasing compliance among service providers

Compliance among telecom and TV service providers with the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services’ (CCTS) rules has increased overall, according to the organization’s 2023 compliance report cards released Thursday. The CCTS annually audits service providers’ websites, documentation, and internal processes to measure their compliance with public awareness, procedural code, and financial requirements. This is part of the organization’s work managing and resolving service complaints from consumers and business customers. Fifty-one out of 300 websites were specifically audited for compliance with public awareness requirements in 2023. These included the top 25 providers that generated the most complaints, five providers identified as non-compliant, and 21 which were randomly selected. The CCTS found that 35 per cent of those audited were fully compliant with website requirements, reflecting an overall increase from 2022 when only 18 per cent were fully compliant. Gaps in public awareness still remain, as 29 per cent of those audited did not have any information about the CCTS on their website. After engagement with the CCTS, ten per cent remain non-compliant. The CCTS also found that 45 per cent of audited participants made the information difficult to find. Out of 29 audited websites that had a search function, 52 per cent did not return any results with CCTS information. This was a decrease from 55 per cent in 2022 and more than 70 per cent in 2021, according to the report. Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. were singled out in the report for being non-compliant with the search requirement for four of the last five years. “The CCTS’ compliance engagement work over this past year has resulted in more service providers becoming compliant with the public awareness rules so that customers are made aware of our free complaint-resolution service. However, we remain concerned with repeat non-compliance in certain areas,” said Janet Lo, CCTS’ assistant commissioner for legal, regulatory and stakeholder affairs, in an accompanying press release. “Our goal is to engage with and educate telephone, TV and internet service providers about their obligations so that customers can find information about how to access CCTS’ dispute resolution service when required.” Regarding all service providers’ compliance with complaint procedures, 11 failed to implement customer redress. Nine of those resolved the issue after engagement with the CCTS, while two were unable to as they were going out of business. The CCTS highlighted one instance when a provider disconnected a customer’s service for filing a complaint, and another when a provider asked a customer to withdraw it. The organization highlighted these cases as issues of “major non-compliance” and reminded providers that customers have the right to file complaints and benefit from the CCTS’ process. On the financial front, 85 providers did not disclose required financial information to the CCTS, many of which were smaller providers. Thirty were also found to have overdue fees that qualified for collections. Despite the persisting challenges, Lo noted that most service providers are cooperative. “We do find that many providers want to work with us to rectify any issues,” she said, “these actions ultimately mean better access to a fair, effective, and efficient complaint-handling process for consumers.”

CCTS reports increasing compliance among service providers

News | May 16, 2024

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CCTS reports increasing compliance among service providers

News | May 16, 2024

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