By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Friday launched its consultation on the harmonization of the four consumer codes to “improve clarity and consistency of consumer protections across all retail services.”
The regulator also said the harmonization — bringing together the internet, wireless, television, and deposit and disconnection codes — will serve to reduce administrative burden for the CCTS, the complaints watchdog that administers the codes, and the industry by reducing reporting to the commission while making it easier to monitor and improve a single set of rules across all communications services. Some consumer protections, it added, could apply to all retail services, while others would continue to apply only to specific ones.
“In this proceeding, the Commission is looking to make the consumer protections for communications services clearer and more consistent by combining them into a unified Code (the Consumer Protection Code), while reducing administrative burden,” the CRTC said Friday.
The consultation on the Consumer Protection Code, which has been in the works for a while, is also soliciting comments on issues including whether the CRTC should broaden protection rules to small business contracts and all internet service providers – including small, non-facilities-based providers – instead of just the large facilities-based providers that deliver retail fixed internet services. The logic was that the large players were more likely than smaller ones to have more complex service offerings, such as bundles, time-limited offers and promotions, as well as a fixed term and early cancellation fees.
The CRTC noted that the existing codes have increased clarity of contracts, reduced unexpectedly high bills and made switching service providers easier. “However, they were put in place at different times and in varying contexts, which has resulted in consumer protections that are not consistent across services,” the CRTC said Friday. “This can be confusing for customers, especially for those who purchase these services in bundles.”
The CRTC will hold a public hearing on the matter on November 30. The deadline to submit interventions is August 11.
The consultation comes after the CRTC made a trio of orders that are intended to improve the wireless and internet codes by making it easier for Canadians to modify or switch plans or providers.
In April, it formalized self-service rules so consumers can more easily change or cancel internet or wireless plans. Before that, it mandated notifications for contract expiry, end of promotions and earlier warning on how much international roaming charges customers are incurring. It also eliminated certain fees, including activation, modification and cancelation fees.
The regulator said the harmonization is also part of its response to the federal government’s red tape review, which is intended to cut down on “unnecessary, duplicative or overly burdensome rules.”
