OTTAWA – The Federal Government has ordered a public inquiry into the alleged high-pressure sales tactics used by the country’s biggest telecommunication companies.
Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, said Thursday that the Feds have directed the CRTC to conduct the inquiry and ensure that “Canadians have an opportunity to be heard and these issues are carefully considered”. The Commission will have until February 28, 2019 to complete the inquiry and file a report that must contain potential solutions to ensure Canadian consumers are treated fairly.
The Minister Bains also asked the Competition Bureau to assist the CRTC as needed in its inquiry, given its “expertise and experience with respect to deceptive marketing practices.”
"Like many Canadians, we are concerned by allegations of clearly inappropriate sales practices by telecom carriers”, said Minister Bains, in a statement. “We have listened to Canadians about this issue, and we are taking action. I have directed the CRTC to thoroughly investigate this matter. No Canadian should ever be misled or treated unfairly by a telecom corporation, especially those who are most vulnerable."
The move comes as a result of CBC news stories late last year that reported on aggressive or misleading telecom sales practices at Bell and Rogers, allegations which both companies denied. Reportedly, more than 900 Canadians, including over 200 current and former employees of major telecom carriers, contacted the CBC with accounts corroborating or expanding on the initial reports about these unsavoury sales practices.
This prompted the Public Interest Advocacy Centre to call on the CRTC to launch a formal inquiry into the matter, though the Commission declined to do so, saying that there were already ample ways for customers to lodge complaints over what they feel are unfair telco sales practices.
PIAC executive director and general counsel John Lawford told Cartt.ca on Thursday that the consumer group is pleased that the government validated consumers’ legitimate concerns with telecom sales practices, adding that "we hope that the CRTC inquiry and report will lead to real change in the industry and restore consumer trust."
When contacted by Cartt.ca, a Bell spokesperson said that the company is “happy to talk with the government about customer service.”
“Bell’s success depends on delivering the best customer experience and we’re seeing consistent growth in both customer satisfaction and subscriber growth,” continued the emailed statement.
Rogers’ sentiments on the inquiry were much the same.
“We strive to deliver the best possible experience for our customers with products and services that best meet their needs and budget, and we will participate and share how we work to be clear, simple and fair with our customers every time they contact us,” said the Rogers spokesperson.
Telus said that its employees and contractors are bound by its internal Code of Ethics and Conduct on sales practices, an approach that it described as “unique amongst our competitors”, and underscored that it was not included in the critical coverage about the industry.
“Delivering great service to customers in clear and simple terms is integral to earning their trust and loyalty”, said Johanne Senecal, Telus’ SVP of government and regulatory affairs. “When it comes to sales, our performance indicator of customer satisfaction is simple: will the customer recommend Telus products and services to their friends or family? When we coach our internal and third party sales teams, we are laser-focused on ensuring our customers have a positive experience with our team members, whether that’s in a store, online, on the phone, or at their doorstep. We look forward to participating constructively in the CRTC’s review and are optimistic it will help to elevate and standardize best practices across the industry.”
In its April 2018 mid-year report, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services found that complaints against telecommunications providers shot up 73% over the previous year.
