Rogers and Fido increased its one-time connection fee last week to a whopping $70, and now this change has caught the attention of the CRTC.
On Friday, the CRTC issued a request for information to Ruth Altman, Director of Regulatory Consumer Policy at Rogers, regarding recent changes to this connection fee. The inquiry is about changes to the Telecommunications Act made by Bill C-69, which was included in the Budget 2024 and became law on June 20, 2024.
The changes, specifically Section 27.04 of the Telecommunications Act, stop telecom companies from charging fees for starting or changing a service plan. It also bans any other fees that the Commission thinks discourage subscribers from changing their plans or canceling their contracts.
The CRTC’s letter points out that Rogers recently increased its service set-up fee from $60 to $70 for customers who do not use self-serve options on Rogers.com or Fido.ca. The CRTC has requested an explanation on how this change complies with the new amendments to the Act.
Rogers is required to file a response by this Friday, July 26, 2024. The CRTC says it should address the changes for all Rogers-operated brands and comply with the Commission’s procedures for filing confidential information.
The letter to was sent by Scott Hutton, Chief of Consumer and Research at the CRTC, while it was also copied to Nanao Kachi, Director of Social and Consumer Policy at CRTC, and Rogers’ regulatory affairs.
There’s high odds that this request for info from the CRTC won’t change a thing. For now, we’re all waiting to see if Telus and Bell will follow suit and increase their connection fees as well.
Thanks @fanCRTCProfling
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“The CRTC has requested an explanation on how this change complies with the new amendments to the Act.”
I’m real countries, they’d be issued a fine because the fees would be found to not comply with the law, THEN Roger’s would have to contest.
Rogers response: " Healthy for competition. 5G network. Creates value. Blah blah blah blahhhh"
Imagine if Netflix charged a "connection fee" for adding you as a subscriber or Apple charging a connection fee for iCloud. Businesses don't do this if there is real competition. And no matter if the Liberals or the Conservatives are in charge, the CRTC is allowed to keep this charade going. The system is corrupt.