Complaints about telecom providers hit record levels last year: watchdog report

A person uses a cellphone in Ottawa on July 18, 2022. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press)

Complaints about phone, internet and television services jumped 38 per cent in the 2023-24 reporting year, says the watchdog that handles grievances about Canadian telecommunications providers.

The annual study by the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services said it handled a record 20,147 complaints from customers between Aug. 1, 2023 and July 31, 2024. It said it was able to resolve 88 per cent of them.

Consumers' most common gripe had to do with billing issues, up 47 per cent from the previous year, including unexpected charges, surprise price increases, or failure by carriers to provide promised credits or refunds.

“The bill is where the rubber meets the road,” said CCTS commissioner and CEO Howard Maker, cautioning that “bills change all the time.”

“Anything that can go wrong in the process, in the service, typically sources from the bill somehow, and that’s why it’s really important for customers to examine their bills.”

More consumers also complained that their contracts are unclear and missing important information, with that category up 35 per cent.

Maker said it’s important for service providers to be clear and concise so customers understand what they’re getting into.

“These are complex services,” he said.

“So there will be misinterpretations, misunderstandings or lack of clarity.”

The commission’s report comes as Canada’s national telecom regulator undertakes multiple studies aimed at addressing some of these same issues.

Late last year, the CRTC launched four consultations focusing on how to give consumers more control over their internet and cellphone services. Those included a study looking into potential measures to ensure people are notified when their plans or discounts are about to end, to avoid bill shocks.

The CRTC is also considering whether internet service providers should be required to display information through a standardized label, similar to nutrition labels on food products, which would inform consumers about things like price and speed.

Its other consultations are looking into whether there should be rules preventing providers from charging customers when they cancel or change plans, as well as potential self-serve options for when customers wish to switch providers.

The CCTS report highlighted a “troubling increase” in problems with service cancellation and switching service providers.

Reports of being unable to cancel a service appeared in complaints 47 per cent more often than the previous year, concerns about termination fees increased 35 per cent, and complaints about being unable to transfer wireless or phone services to another provider increased by one-quarter.

Maker called the trend a “head-scratcher.”

“Consumers are supposed to be able to switch simply, easily, no muss, no fuss, and it’s not happening,” he said.

“I do not understand why this is such a big problem in the industry, but the numbers are not lying.”

Other frequent complaints highlighted in the report were based on service performance problems, with customers continuing to raise issues about interruptions, slower than expected internet or wireless data speeds, poor audio quality or dropped phone calls.

But the Canadian Telecommunications Association cautioned that the increase in complaints did not necessarily indicate customers are growing less satisfied with their providers.

Rather, it said customers are now more aware of the CCTS' work than in past years thanks to recent awareness campaigns, while complaints could also be up due to changes by the commission meant to streamline the filing process.

“Despite this, the number of complaints remains relatively low, with the number of issues raised representing less than 0.08 per cent of high-speed broadband and 0.05 per cent of mobile phone subscribers in Canada,” said spokesman Nick Kyonka in a statement.

The association, which represents many carriers and manufacturers, said the report showed incidents of non-compliance of the Wireless Code were down for the fourth year in a row, and none of its members had more than a single Internet Code violation.

Rogers accounted for more than 24 per cent of all complaints accepted by the commission in the period included in its report, maintaining its position as the most complained-about service provider after overtaking Bell a year ago.

With 4,855 complaints, Rogers saw an almost 68 per cent increase in reports to the commission from its customers compared with a year earlier.

Bell had 3,430 complaints, or 17 per cent of all gripes, up nearly 46 per cent from the commission’s previous annual report. There were 2,757 complaints about Telus Corp., 13.7 per cent of the total and up more than 53 per cent from the previous year.

That ranking remained the same when combined with complaints by customers of the various subsidiary brands owned by the Big 3 providers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2025.

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