The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) has published its comprehensive 2022-23 Annual Report, detailing a notable increase in consumer complaints in Canada’s telecom and TV sectors.
Between August 1, 2022, and July 31, 2023, the CCTS recorded over 14,000 complaints, marking a 14% rise from the previous year. The report highlights significant issues such as service quality, roaming charges, and contract clarity.
“The CCTS provides telecom customers with the right to have their complaints investigated independently and has the authority to require service providers to fix problems when the provider has not met its obligations. We are pleased that the Government of Canada recently reaffirmed the importance of this work, and its desire to strengthen our ability to fulfill this important role”, says Howard Maker, Commissioner and CEO of the CCTS, in a statement to iPhone in Canada.
Figure 8.1 below shows accepted complaints from Rogers, Telus and Bell from 2018 to 2023. You can see Rogers with a big rise compared to last year, while Telus is also up, and Bell’s complaints aren’t as drastic as its rivals.
Rogers experienced a 44% surge in complaints, a stark contrast to the overall 14% increase in the sector. This uptick positions Rogers as the most complained-about provider, accounting for 20% of all CCTS-accepted complaints.
Notably, complaints about Rogers’ wireless services rose by 35%, and internet issues by 32%. Additionally, Rogers faced a 138% increase in complete loss of service complaints, making up 29% of such issues sector-wide. Despite these challenges, Rogers recorded a decrease in Wireless Code breaches, dropping to two confirmed cases this year.
Complaints against Bell increased by 7%, less than the overall sector average. Bell’s share of accepted complaints decreased slightly to 16%. In contrast to Rogers, Bell reported a 19% decrease in wireless issues and a 13% decrease in internet issues. However, Bell faced five confirmed Wireless Code breaches, mainly involving unlocking issues and contract terms.
Telus complaints jumped by 43%, with wireless issues up by 48% and internet issues increasing by 29%. Telus accounts for 12% of all accepted complaints. Notably, Telus experienced a high number of Code breaches, totalling 21 this year, including Wireless, Internet, and TV Service Provider (TVSP) Code violations.
Eastlink saw a 132% increase in overall complaints, Phonebox had a 129% increase, SpaceX’s Starlink had a 229% increase, and EBOX complaints jumped 153%. Phonebox, Starlink, and EBOX are in the top 25 list for the first time.
The CCTS says Bell MTS and Xplore saw a significant drop in accepted complaints, with year-over-year declines of 52% and 42% respectively.
The report also shows us all the companies that make up the ‘Big 3’ in Canada. Let’s check them out below…
Rogers Group
Bell Group
Telus Group
Did you file a telecom complaint with the CCTS in 2022-2023? Was your complaint resolved?
