Telus Now Canada’s Most Complained-About Telecom Provider: CCTS

The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) says it resolved 85% of complaints from customers during the first half of the year, despite receiving more complaints than ever.

In its mid-year report released today, April 30, the CCTS said it saw a 12% jump in complaints compared to the same period last year, with billing issues remaining the biggest headache for Canadian phone, TV, and internet customers.

The Mid-Year report covers the period from August 1, 2024, to January 31, 2025.

For the first time, Telus topped the list of most complained-about providers, accounting for nearly 20% of all complaints filed. Rogers came second at 18.7%, followed by Bell (16.7%), Shaw (9.6%), and Fido (6.8%).

Complaints about Shaw (9.6%), now owned by Rogers, were driven by problems with rental equipment and contract terms. This is the first time Shaw has become part of the top five in complaints. Rogers and its subsidiaries Fido and Shaw now take up three of the top five telecoms when it comes to the most complained-about telcos. Rogers and Shaw complaints combined total 3,369, making up 28% of CCTS complaints, which would take the crown as the most complained-about provider.

Year-over-year, Telus saw its complaints surge nearly 63% to 2,342, while Rogers was in second place at 2,224, but down 21% year-over-year. Bell saw 1,988 complaints, a rise of almost 14%, while Shaw had 1,145 complaints, an increase of a whopping 194% compared to the same year-ago period. Fido had 814 complaints accepted, a decline of about 24% year-over-year.

Freedom Mobile had 545 complaints accepted in 7th spot, behind Koodo at 576. Following Freedom was Virgin Plus at 439 complaints, Videotron at 228 complaints and Public Mobile at 175 complaints.

Top Complaints: Billing and Wireless

Billing problems—like wrong charges, missing credits, and surprise fee increases—were the most common complaints. Wireless service accounted for half of all issues, followed by internet (26%) and TV (15%). TV complaints rose sharply, up 49% from the previous period.

“Canadians should check their contracts when signing up for services to clearly understand which parts of the price are guaranteed for a set period and which may change without notice. Checking billing statements regularly to know what you’re paying is also very important. We see many cases where what a consumer expects to receive doesn’t align with the agreement,” says Maker.

Shaw and Rogers customers had 657 complaints accepted by the CCTS over the increase on TV set-top-box rental fees, which we first told you about.

“Telecom and TV service providers should clearly explain promotions and make offers easy to understand for customers to avoid confusion and problems at a later date. If problems do come up, that’s where the CCTS can step in and help. We get results quickly and at no charge for customers,” concluded the CCTS Commissioner.

The CCTS is a free, independent service that helps Canadians fix disputes with telecom and TV providers when issues can’t be resolved directly. It’s worth giving a try if you haven’t already, but not everyone has time to submit a complaint.

Update April 30: Terry Wells, Telus Senior Vice-president Customer Service Excellence, sent the following statement to iPhone in Canada this morning in response to the CCTS report:

“Canada’s telecommunications industry is a global success story – delivering world-leading price reductions, network expansion, and digital innovation despite a challenging, and often uncertain, regulatory environment. Amid this political and regulatory turbulence, industry leaders like TELUS have remained focused on what matters most: investing in world-class infrastructure, enabling affordability, and serving Canadians with integrity.

The latest CCTS mid-year report shows a 12% increase in industry-wide complaints from August 2024 to January 2025. For 13 years, TELUS maintained the lowest CCTS complaint rate in the national industry. Last year alone, we reported a 90% resolution rate for all customer concerns, CCTS-related or otherwise. We acknowledge our complaint volumes increased during this most recent period, and take full responsibility for these results, viewing every interaction as an opportunity to learn and grow. We’ve taken immediate action based on our customers’ feedback, achieving a 20% reduction in complaints since January 2025, with significant improvements in contract disputes, credit policies, and sales transparency. 

Over the past five years, we’ve delivered substantial price reductions in wireless and home internet services – some exceeding 70% – while investing over $15 billion in network infrastructure. We remain deeply committed to serving Canadians with excellence and transparency.

The CCTS report represents a snapshot in time, and we remain focused on long-term solutions and continuous improvement to deliver the experience that Canadians deserve. Looking ahead, we’re focused on sustainable investment, technological advancement, enhanced customer service, and we are committed to working constructively with the incoming government to create a balanced regulatory environment that benefits all Canadians while maintaining industry stability and innovation.

We thank our customers for their feedback, industry-leading loyalty, and importantly, their trust as we continue to evolve our services to better meet their needs.”

Update April 30: When we asked the CCTS why it counts Rogers and Shaw separately, a spokesperson told iPhone in Canada the following statement:

“It has been the CCTS’ long-standing practice to report on complaint numbers by brand, and we continue to do so in the 2024-25 Mid-Year Report. Customers who file a complaint to the CCTS identify the brand that they believe they are doing business with – this is how the CCTS counts and reports on complaints. In the 2024-25 Mid-Year Report, we report on the number of accepted complaints by brands. The top 5 brands by complaint numbers includes TELUS, Rogers, Bell, Shaw and Fido – and as we noted in our media release, Rogers owns the Rogers, Shaw, and Fido brands.

We also report on complaints by all service provider brands in Appendix A. For example, Bell owns the Bell Canada and Virgin Plus brands (among other brands) and complaints about each of their brands are reported separately. TELUS owns the TELUS, Koodo and Public Mobile brands (among other brands) which are also reported separately. We understand from Rogers that Rogers and Shaw are separate brands. Any questions about the degree of integration between the Rogers and Shaw brands should be directed to Rogers.

In the data file titled Accepted-and-Concluded-Complaints-2024-25, available with the published report, we list all the complaints accepted and concluded by the CCTS between August 1st, 2024 and January 31, 2025 for all brands, including those outside of the top 5.

In the CCTS’ Annual Report, we provide analysis about complaints by national service provider ownership groups — we reported on this in the 2023-24 Annual Report and will provide similar analysis in our 2024-25 Annual Report after the close of this fiscal year.”