ELLIOT LAKE, ON – Two consumer groups want the CRTC to overturn a previous decision that they say “sanctioned” a Telus policy, one that in turn highlights “a major flaw” in the Wireless Code.
The DiversityCanada Foundation and the National Pensioners Federation filed an application with the Commission this week that seeks to review and vary Telecom Decision CRTC 2015-211, which denied a previous application by the groups claiming that Telus made a material change to customer contracts without consent when applying its Large Prepaid Balance Policy.
Under that policy, a Telus prepaid customer who has accumulated an account balance of $300 or more is required to subscribe to a monthly prepaid rate plan or a monthly add-on plan. If such a customer does not do so, Telus automatically adds the least expensive voice and messaging plan to the customer’s prepaid account. The cost of this plan is then deducted from the customer’s prepaid account balance every 30 days.
The current application, dated August 17, 2015, also asks the CRTC to order Telus to refund all sums taken from customers since the policy changes were introduced on October 20, 2013.
The groups add that this issue impacts the other 3.7 million consumers who have prepaid wireless services agreements with other Canadian carriers. Referencing Section D1 of the Wireless Code, which affirms the basic contract principle that a party who wishes to make a change to an agreement must first obtain the other party's consent, the application says the Code makes reference only to post-paid consumers, omitting pre-paid consumers from this stipulation.
Noting that post-paid consumers usually sign two-year agreements while prepaid consumers tend to opt for shorter ones, the consumer groups argue that this difference should not result in the latter group being denied their “fundamental contractual rights”.
“…regardless of the length of their contracts with carriers, all consumers are entitled to fundamental contractual rights,” reads the application. “DiversityCanada/NPF therefore submit that every individual who has a contract with a wireless services provider is entitled to protection from material changes to that contract for the duration of that contract – whether it be 30 days, 60 days, 365 days, two years, or indefinitely.”
The CRTC is accepting interventions on the application until September 17, 2015.
