For the CCTS to be able to help Canadians, customers must first be aware of their right to escalate their dispute to the CCTS when their attempts to solve the problem directly with their service provider have proven ineffective. Therefore, all Participating Service Providers (PSPs) must comply with the CCTS’ Public Awareness Plan, which outlines requirements in 4 categories: PSP websites, bills, PSPs’ internal complaint handling processes and white pages.

CCTS notice and web site links on PSPs’ websites

PSPs are required to display a specific message informing customers of the CCTS on a dedicated complaints page with information on the PSP’s internal complaint handling process and the CCTS. Additionally, the path to this complaints page has to be a clearly-labelled and easy-to-find path that is within 2 clicks from the home page.

If a website has a search function, it should return a link to the complaints page when a search includes any of the following keywords: “complaint”, “dispute”, “CRTC”, “CCTS”, “commission” and “ombudsman”.

The message that should be displayed is the following:

Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS)

CCTS is an independent agency whose mandate is to resolve complaints of consumers about their telecom and TV services, and complaints of small business customers about their telecom services, free of charge. If you have a complaint about your telephone, wireless, internet or TV service, you must first try to resolve it directly with your service provider. If you have done so and have been unable to reach a satisfactory resolution, CCTS may be able to help you.

To learn more about CCTS, you may visit its website at www.ccts-cprst.ca or call toll-free at 1-888-221-1687.

Customer bill messages

PSPs are required to include a specific message referencing the CCTS on customer bills. This message has to appear at least 4 times a year and should be placed in a reasonably prominent location comparatively to other notices of a similar nature. Customers who do not receive bills should be informed through other means of communication such as the portal they use to purchase pre-paid time or through free of charge text messages.

Customer notification by PSPs

PSPs must inform customers of their right of recourse to the CCTS upon failure to resolve their complaint at the 2^nd level of escalation. This means that if the 2^nd escalation agent fails to resolve the issue, they must inform the customer of the CCTS. An example of the process leading to a 2^nd escalation is provided below, where each arrow represents the customer being directed to another PSP employee when the issue remains unresolved.

For PSPs who do not have an internal escalation process, customers must be informed by frontline agents.

Multiple contacts with different frontline agents are not considered an escalation.

White Pages message and text

PSPs that publish White Pages directories must insert a reference to CCTS. The location of this insert should be reasonably prominent comparatively to notices of a similar nature. Additionally, it should be placed in a logical manner, where a customer with a potential complaint is likely to find it.

The Public Awareness Plan is currently under review.