More than a quarter of Canadian service providers audited in 2024 by the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) were non-compliant with the CCTS’s requirement to provide information on their websites about the ombuds organization and its free, complaint-resolution service, according to a new CCTS report.
Published early Tuesday morning, the CCTS’s 2024 Compliance Report Cards show 18 of 65 audited participating service providers (PSPs), or 28 per cent, had no CCTS information on their websites.
The percentage of audited service providers who were fully compliant with the CCTS’s public awareness requirements on their websites was 32 per cent (21 of 65 PSPs) in 2024, a slight decrease compared to 35 per cent in 2023, the CCTS report said. The remaining 40 per cent of audited PSPs (26 of 65 PSPs) had some compliance issues on their websites, such as how easily information about the CCTS can be found and related search issues.
For example, nine out of 21 PSP websites (43 per cent) that did have a search function did not return search results for the CCTS, according to the report, which noted this was down from 52 per cent of audited providers last year.
“Canadians with unresolved phone, TV, or internet service complaints should be made aware about the CCTS by their providers,” said Janet Lo, CCTS’s assistant commissioner for legal, regulatory and stakeholder affairs, in a CCTS press release. “Providers have a responsibility to inform customers about the CCTS on their websites, customer bills, and in their escalation processes. This year’s report cards show some progress on website information, but customers are still telling us that they are not being informed by their providers.”
Other aspects of the CCTS report cards relate to PSP compliance with the complaint-handling process outlined in the CCTS’s Procedural Code, paying required fees and providing necessary financial information to the CCTS.
Highlighting some of the PSP non-compliance issues the CCTS observed from Aug. 1, 2024 to Jan. 31, 2025 (the mid-point of the CCTS’s fiscal year), the CCTS’s report found nine instances where a PSP failed to implement CCTS resolutions or investigation findings, as required. After follow-up by the CCTS, all of the PSPs in question rectified the issue, according to the report.
Furthermore, the CCTS found one case in which a PSP threatened to remove a bill credit because the customer had filed a complaint against the PSP with the CCTS.
“The CCTS treats cases of a service provider making threats or taking action to impair a customer’s right to submit a complaint to the CCTS as instances of major non-compliance,” the CCTS said in its press release. “We worked quickly to inform the service provider that its actions were not allowed and the provider agreed not to remove the credit.”
“Effective and efficient complaint handling benefits everyone involved — customers, service providers, and the CCTS,” Lo said. “Many providers are willing to work with the CCTS to better understand and resolve issues. It is essential that customers have access to a fair process and receive support from the CCTS when their telecom or TV concerns remain unresolved.”
The CCTS reported 74 per cent of PSPs provided required certified financial information annually to the CCTS from 2018-2024. The CCTS report cards did not identify cases where PSPs did not pay the required CCTS fees, billed quarterly.
Chart borrowed from the CCTS’s 2024 Compliance Report Cards
