The latest report from the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) reveals that customer complaints jumped 114 percent over the previous year to over 8,000 in the 2010-11 period. 3,747 complaints had been recorded the previous period.
About 62% of this report’s complaints were about billing errors or contract disputes over wireless services. The same two complaints dominated last year’s report as well. The CCTS does not expect this to change much in the future either.
“Competition in this sector can bring innovative products, better service and lower costs, but it can also cause confusion in billing, data usage, service and contracts. This is a trend we have now seen for four years, and it shows no sign of subsiding,” said Maker, who is “encouraging” companies to increase consumer confidence in the way they calculate data usage.
The CCTS called for clearer contract language, especially around early termination fees. It also pointed out that customers should not simply have to accept a carrier’s assertion about the amount of data used.
Bell Canada had the most complaints at 29%. Rogers Communications and TELUS Communications were tied for second at 17%. Tied in third were Fido and Virgin Mobile Canada with 8% of all complaints.
Part of the rise in complaints is likely tied to the growing public awareness of the agency. Numbers are also likely to grow as the CRTC recently expanded the agency’s mandate to cover all telecom service providers in Canada.