It is that time of year again when the Commissioner For Complaints For Telecommunications Services (CCTS) does their mid-year report that spans August 1 2015 – January 31 2016. Overall, they had 4,562 customer complaints (down from 5,468 from the same period last year,) 4,327 customers complaints concluded and determined that 90.6-percent of the complaints were resolved to the satisfaction of the customer and provider. There were 120 confirmed breaches of the Wireless Conduct Code by the providers and 13 confirmed violations of the Deposit and Disconnection Code by the providers. Not surprisingly, billing issues once again topped the list of complaints by the Canadian customers. It is nice to see that overall complaints have dropped quite a bit, but the same issues are still plaguing the customers. The CCTS covers all local and long distance telephone issues, wireless service and internet access from all telecoms in Canada.
What is both interesting and disturbing is that most of the complaints lodged were with Bell – they had 1,677 or 36.8-percent of the complaints. The second on the list is Rogers with ‘only’ 437 complaints or 9.6-percent. Third place is Wind with 341 and 7.5-percent, Telus with 310 and 6.8-percent and rounding out the top five is Virgin with 257 complaints and 5.6-percent. Rogers had a huge decrease in complaints – 65-percent – from the same time last year. In the report, Howard Maker, CCTS Commissioner and CEO, singled out Rogers’ focus on customer service that started in 2014 when Rogers’ new CEO, Guy Laurence, took the reins and initiated his new Rogers 3.0 Plan. Rogers claims that their Roam Like Home option decreased roaming complaints by 90-percent since the 2012-2013 CCTS reporting. Deepak Khandelwal, Chief Customer Officer, Rogers Communications, said in a statement that, “Today’s mid-year results show we’re continuing in the right direction towards overhauling our customers’ experience. While there is still work to be done, we’ve started tackling some of the industry’s biggest issues head on, like roaming, by introducing services that are easy to use and save customers’ time.”
Of the complaints, the top five are – Non-disclosure or misleading Information about terms, Incorrect charges, the quality of service is intermittent or inadequate, early cancellation fees being legitimate and their amount and fifth, the 30-day cancellation policy. You can see the top ten reasons in the gallery below. It is nice to see that complaints are decreasing, but it is disturbing to see Bell with such a large number of complaints.
