OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has come down hard on VOIS Inc., slapping the Calgary-based telecom service provider with a $15,000 penalty after it was expelled from the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunication Services (CCTS).
CCTS ejected VOIS last August after it refused to co-operate during the investigations of six customer complaints, and failed to compensate those customers as CCTS had directed. Following its expulsion from CCTS, VOIS was summoned in front of the CRTC last November.
Participation in the CCTS is mandatory for all telecommunications service providers (TSP). This marks the first time the CRTC has imposed a penalty on a TSP under the Telecommunications Act for failing to comply with a regulatory requirement not related to telemarketing.
“The CRTC takes the protection of Canadians very seriously”, said CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais, in a statement. “By refusing to cooperate with the CCTS, VOIS failed to honour a fundamental requirement of the complaints process to the detriment of its customers. We will not hesitate to hold service providers who do not comply with the rules accountable, as demonstrated today.”
The CRTC has also imposed a mandatory order on VOIS requiring it to restore its participation in the CCTS within 30 days. The Commission also has initiated a further public proceeding to consider an additional fine of $25,000 on VOIS Inc. and $5,000 on its director Harpreet Randhawa for failing to provide the CRTC with information.
