OTTAWA – If you want to cancel your TV, phone or Internet service, service providers can’t make you wait 30 days anymore.
Today the CRTC announced Canadians will no longer be required to provide advance notice to change their television services, says a press release – the first decision coming from the CRTC’s TV Policy Review. The Commission is prohibiting television service providers from requiring that Canadians give 30-days notice prior to cancelling these services. This is the first decision further to Let’s Talk TV: A Conversation with Canadians on the future of television.
Most of the service providers questioned were on board with this already – by either already offering it, or by confirming with commissioners under questioning during the hearing that they were fine with making that change.
“The CRTC expects television service providers to end this practice by January 23, 2015, while it makes the necessary changes to its regulations. As part of the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV conversation, which included a public hearing that began on September 8, 2014, consumer groups and individual Canadians expressed a desire to see these policies eliminated,” reads the Commission release.
In the same decision, the CRTC is also prohibiting Internet and telephone service providers from requiring that Canadians give 30-days notice prior to cancelling these services, too. This decision will also take effect on January 23, 2015.
“By prohibiting 30-day cancellation policies for television, Internet and telephone (including Voice over Internet Protocol) services, the CRTC has made it easier for individuals and small business customers to take advantage of a competitive marketplace by switching service providers,” reads the release.
The CRTC had previously prohibited similar policies for wireless services with the coming into force of the Wireless Code in December 2013.
