The CCTS is Canada’s national and independent organization dedicated to resolving customer complaints about phone, internet, and TV services, fairly and free of charge. This year, the CCTS celebrates 15 years of helping Canadians. Here are 15 examples of our commitment to providing an efficient, fair, and effective complaint resolution service.
Case Summary: Device locked to provider’s network
A customer filed a complaint in March of 2022 about their provider’s refusal to unlock their wireless device. The customer had purchased the device from the provider in December of 2019 and paid for the device in full at that time.
When the customer learned, in April of 2021, that their device was locked to their provider’s cellular network, they asked the provider to unlock their device, but the provider refused. The customer told us that the provider asked for proof of purchase for the device, which the customer promptly provided, but then received no response. The customer noted the CRTC requirement that providers offer unlocked devices after 2017.
After multiple requests that the provider unlock their device over the course of a year, the customer filed a complaint to the CCTS, expressing great frustration with their provider. The first step of our process is to send the complaint to the provider to try to resolve the issue. When we sent the complaint details to the provider, it unlocked the device within 30 days, resolving the complaint to the customer’s satisfaction.
“I felt supported in resolving the dispute with my Internet provider. It was quick and done in a professional manner. Thank you for being there!”
“I am quite certain my complaint would not have been resolved without the involvement of the CCTS. Thanks!”
Case Summary 2: Customer did not consent to plan changes
A customer in Ontario complained that her wireless service provider increased her $60 monthly plan by $7 without her consent. Although it replaced her unlimited local calling and 500 long distance minutes with an unlimited Canada-wide calling feature, the customer was upset about the price increase and complained to us, since she did not ask for this change and did not receive any prior notice of it.
During our investigation, we confirmed that the customer was on an automatically renewing monthly contract at the time of the change, which meant that the service provider was prohibited from making any changes to the customer’s “key contract terms and conditions” during the monthly billing cycle without the customer’s consent. The service provider could not demonstrate that it provided the customer with advance notice of the change, or that the customer had provided her consent to the change. We therefore confirmed a breach of section D1(i) of the Wireless Code. The complaint was resolved to the customer’s satisfaction when her provider agreed to apply a credit to her account representing two months’ service.
“Excellent service. I felt understood as a consumer and felt like I had a voice. I was happy to receive a response within a few days. I was quickly satisfied. Great job.”
“Excellent service. I felt validated as a consumer, and it felt like I had a voice. I liked that I was able to receive a response within days. It expedited satisfaction. Well done.”
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