CCTS Releases 2023 Compliance Report Cards for Telcos, TV Providers

The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) has published its 2023 Compliance Report Cards, highlighting the compliance levels of telecom and TV service providers with the CCTS’s complaint-handling requirements.

These requirements include following the CCTS’s complaint-handling process, informing customers about the CCTS’s ombuds services, paying CCTS fees, and sharing financial information.

“The CCTS’s 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,” said Janet Lo, CCTS’s Assistant Commissioner for Legal, Regulatory and Stakeholder Affairs, in a statement to iPhone in Canada.

Additional Details on How Telecoms and TV Providers Fared

• Fully Compliant Providers: 18 providers were fully compliant at the outset, including Bell, Fido, Shaw, Videotron, Bell Aliant, Virgin Plus, CIK Telecom Inc., Xplore, Distributel, Chatr Wireless, Eastlink, Freedom Mobile, Lucky Mobile, Primus, Shaw Direct, Tamaani Internet, TekSavvy, and Wimac Tel.
• Partial Compliance: 28 providers had some compliance issues initially, but after CCTS’s engagement efforts, all 28 are now fully compliant.
• Non-Compliant Providers: 5 providers—Cybernet Communications, Easyvoice Telecom, Max ISP, Quantum Xpress Computers, and Total Cable Services Inc.—remained non-compliant and failed to respond and rectify the issues.

Key findings from the 2023 Compliance Report Cards

The report card indicated 35% of audited providers fully complied with website requirements to inform customers about the CCTS.

However, 52% of provider websites lacked accessible complaints sections, with Rogers and Telus being called out specifically, for being non-compliant in four of the last five years, related to a missing search requirement on their business websites.

Another issue? Missing key words on their French and English residential websites. The CCTS said this was “concerning” given that Rogers and Telus have been audited for compliance with the Public Awareness Plan since 2017 and made well aware of the requirement.

“We remain concerned with repeat non-compliance in certain areas, which is described in the latest Compliance Report Cards. 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’s dispute resolution service when required,” added Lo.