In 2023-24, we accepted 20,147 of the complaints from customers across Canada. This represents a 38% increase from last year and is the highest number of complaints accepted in our organization’s history.
Overview
Our teams worked hard to maintain efficient operations as we handled the increased volume of complaints this year. We maintained a resolution rate of 88%. 87% of complaints we resolved were settled within 20 days.
This year, we concluded 19,176 complaints containing 38,874* issues.
* A single complaint can contain more than one issue. For example, a customer may submit one complaint about both the billing of their internet service and roaming charges related to their wireless service. These would be reported as two issues.
Issues raised in complaints
- Wireless issues remain the most-raised issue, accounting for 52% of all issues raised. Wireless issues increased by 27% this year.
- Internet issues remain the second-most raised issue, accounting for 29% of all issues raised. Internet issues increased by 50%.
Note: Red text within tables shows an increase in issues compared to last year. Green text shows a decrease.
Spotlight on wireless services
- Wireless remains the most complained-about service and represents 52% of all issues raised.
- Wireless issues increased by 27% this year. There were more wireless issues raised this year than in any other year in the last five years.
- Billing remains the top category of issues for wireless services with an increase of 39% from last year. Service delivery issues increased by 27%, and contract dispute issues increased by 12%. Table 6.2 shows the key issues that increased year-over-year and contributed to the overall rise in wireless complaints.
- Primary contributors to the increase in wireless issues include:
- incorrect charge for monthly price plan—31% increase
- credit or refund not received—108% increase
- regular price increase of monthly price plan—360% increase
Issue | Number | Proportion | YoY (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Disclosure issues | 2,952 | 15% | +4% |
Incorrect charge for monthly price plan | 2,836 | 14% | +31% |
Credit or refund not received | 2,120 | 11% | +108% |
Quality of service | 1,458 | 7% | +27% |
Changes to the contract | 1,043 | 5% | +33% |
Regular price increase of monthly price plans | 772 | 4% | +360% |
Breach of contract | 756 | 4% | 0% |
Third party credit reporting | 721 | 4% | +11% |
Data charges | 697 | 3% | +70% |
Repair issues and appointments | 601 | 3% | N/A |
Spotlight on internet service
- Internet issues account for 29% of all issues raised by customers, up from 26% last year.
- Internet issues increased by 50% this year.
- Billing is now the top issue category for internet customers, with an increase of 84% from last year. Primary contributors to this spike in internet billing complaints include the following:
- incorrect charge for monthly price plan—77% increase
- regular price increase to monthly price plans—260% increase
- credit or refund not received—107% increase
- Service delivery issues raised by internet customers also increased by 27% year-over-year. Issues concerning quality of service remain the top issues within this category, continuing a five-year trend.
Issue | Number | Proportion | YoY (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Incorrect charge for monthly price plan | 1,635 | 15% | +77% |
Disclosure issues | 1,248 | 11% | +63% |
Quality of service | 1,236 | 11% | +4% |
Credit or refund not received | 992 | 9% | +107% |
Repair issues and appointments | 707 | 6% | N/A |
Regular price increase of monthly price plans | 622 | 6% | +260% |
Complete loss of service | 608 | 5% | +10% |
Due dates not kept or delay for installation or cancellation of service | 503 | 5% | -19% |
Termination fee | 470 | 4% | +73% |
Unable to cancel | 392 | 4% | +55% |
Spotlight on TV services
- After complaints about TV services decreased for four years in a row, we saw an increase in issues about TV services. TV issues account for 11% of all issues, up 1% from last year.
- The number of TV issues increased by 46% this year.
- Notably, TV billing issues increased by 61% from last year. Customers raised more issues about incorrect charges for monthly price plans, credits or refunds not being received, and increases to monthly price plans.
- Service delivery issues with TV services increased by 36%. Customers raised more issues about not being able to cancel services, quality of service and complete loss of services.
- Issues with TV contracts increased by 43% this year. Disclosure issues account for 13% of all TV issues raised. Disclosure issues increased by 55% from last year.
Issue | Number | Proportion | YoY (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Incorrect monthly price plan | 677 | 16% | +62% |
Disclosure issues | 537 | 13% | +55% |
Quality of service | 427 | 10% | +9% |
Credit or refund not received | 349 | 8% | +108% |
Repair issues and appointments | 275 | 6% | N/A |
Regular price increase of monthly price plans | 228 | 5% | +165% |
Complete loss of service | 222 | 5% | +28% |
Changes to the contract
|
188 | 4% | +25% |
Due dates not kept or delay for installation or cancellation of service | 160 | 4% | -24% |
Unable to cancel | 155 | 4% | +67% |
Spotlight on phone services
- Local phone services account for 8% of all issues, down from 9% last year.
- Issues raised about local phone services increased by 24% this year.
- Billing issues increased by 51% for phone services. Customers raised more of the following issues:
- incorrect charges for monthly price plans — 48% increase
- credit or refund not received — 67% increase
- regular price increase of monthly price plan —147% increase
Issue | Number | Proportion | YoY (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Incorrect charge for monthly price plan | 464 | 15% | +48% |
Disclosure issues | 336 | 11% | +35% |
Complete loss of service | 284 | 9% | +23% |
Quality of service | 247 | 8% | -18% |
Credit or refund not received | 190 | 6% | +67% |
Repair issues and appointments | 182 | 6% | N/A |
Regular price increase of monthly price plans | 180 | 6% | +147% |
Unable to port | 144 | 5% | -1% |
Due dates not kept or delay for installation or cancellation of service | 118 | 4% | -34% |
Termination fee | 113 | 4% | -1% |
Unable to cancel | 113 | 4% | +64% |
Breakdown of issues across all service types
For the first time in the last five years, customers raised most often the issue of incorrect charge for monthly price plan. Disclosure issues are now the second-most raised issue across all service types. Notable year-over-year increases across all service types include the following:
- regular price increase of monthly price plans — 261% increase
- credit or refund not received — 106% increase
- incorrect charge for monthly price plan — 47% increase
Billing issues
Billing issues include several concerns such as:
- incorrect charge for the monthly price plan
- unexpected price increases to the monthly price plan
- promised credits or refunds that are not received
- disputes about other charges such as roaming, data usage, cancellation or equipment charges.
Service providers are expected to abide by the applicable codes set out by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as well as their own terms of service and agreements with customers.
Following a decline in billing issues since 2019, we saw a significant 52% increase in billing issues in 2023-24, nearly returning to 2019 levels. This resurgence of billing issues comes at a time when people in Canada face increasing prices for goods and services. This may help explain why people are more concerned about billing discrepancies.
This year, billing issues account for 45% of all issues raised, up from 39% last year. This increase was consistent across all service types:
- Wireless billing issues — 39% increase
- Internet billing issues — 84% increase
- TV billing issues — 61% increase
- Local phone billing issues — 51% increase
* The average billing resolution rate was 89%.
Issue | Number |
---|---|
Incorrect charge for monthly price plan | 5,675 |
Credit or refund not received | 3,670 |
Regular price increase of monthly price plans | 1,817 |
Equipment charges | 829 |
Deactivation charges or billed after cancellation | 758 |
Data charges | 697 |
Misapplied payments | 593 |
Roaming charges | 582 |
Invoices not received | 569 |
Installation, activation, or reactivation charges | 513 |
Incorrect charge for monthly price plan
In 2023-24, 33% of all billing issues were about customers being charged incorrectly for their monthly service plan. This issue occurs when the customer is charged a different amount than they believe they agreed to.
Continuing a four-year increase, complaints about incorrect charge for monthly price plan increased by 47% from last year.
Service provider | Number of times issue was raised | Proportion of issue |
---|---|---|
Rogers | 1,690 | 30% |
TELUS | 1,010 | 18% |
Bell | 987 | 17% |
Regular price increase of monthly price plan
Customers often complain that their service provider increased the price of their monthly service plan. This issue increased by 261% this year. It occurred across all service types:
- Wireless regular price increase of monthly price plan — 360% increase
- Internet regular price increase of monthly price plan — 260% increase
- TV regular price increase of monthly price plan —165% increase
- Local phone regular price increase of monthly price plan — 147% increase
Issues about regular price increases of monthly price plans make up 5% of all issues raised, and 11% of all billing issues.
Service provider | Number of times issue was raised | Proportion of issue |
---|---|---|
Rogers | 487 | 27% |
Bell | 390 | 21% |
TELUS | 224 | 12% |
Credit or refund not received
For the second year in a row, concerns about not receiving a promised credit or refund were the second biggest billing issue.
This issue accounts for 21% of all billing issues, up from 16% last year. The number of times the customers raised issues about a credit or refund not being received increased 106% year over year.
Service provider | Number of times issue was raised | Proportion of issue |
---|---|---|
Rogers | 984 | 27% |
Bell | 626 | 17% |
TELUS | 493 | 13% |
Contract dispute issues
Contract dispute issues include problems related to misunderstandings or conflicts over the terms set out in customer agreements. Common concerns include the following:
- Disclosure of contract terms is unclear
- The service provider breached the terms of the contract
- The service provider changed the contract
- The customer encountered problems when trying to renew their contract
These disputes often arise when the service provider and the customer disagree about one or both of these things:
- the terms of the contract
- whether the provider performed its contractual obligations to the customer
The number of contract dispute issues increased by 21% this year.
Disclosure issues
Disclosure issues are the most-raised contract dispute problem. Customers often raise concerns about a lack of information or information that is unclear. This is reflected in the data, as disclosure issues continue to be a top issue. Customers raised 5,116 disclosure issues across all service types this year— a 21% increase from last year. This is the first time this issue has increased in five years.
Disclosure issues account for 13% of all issues raised across all service types.
Disclosure issues by type of service
Lack of clear disclosure remains the top issue raised by wireless customers and is now the second most common issue raised by customers of internet, TV, and phone services. Customers raised 21% more disclosure issues overall. Internet customers raised 63% more disclosure issues. TV customers raised 55% more disclosure issues and local phone customers raised 35% more disclosure issues.
* The average disclosure resolution rate was 90%.
No consent or contract conflicts with agreement
Of all the concerns customers raise about disclosure, 88% are the result of a disagreement between the customer and the services provider over one or both of these issues:
- whether the customer consented to the agreement
- a mismatch between what the customer believes they agreed to purchase versus what the contract sent to them after the transaction occurred shows
Issues raised about no consent or contract conflicts with agreement increased by 35% across all service types.
Service provider | Number of times issue was raised | Proportion of issue |
---|---|---|
Rogers | 1,469 | 33% |
Bell | 743 | 17% |
TELUS | 740 | 17% |
Device financing plans
In March 2021, the CRTC issued a decision determining that device financing plans fall under the scope of the Wireless Code. The CRTC found that requiring customers to pay the balance of a device financing plan constitutes an early cancellation fee. To inform future reviews of the Wireless Code, the CRTC asked us to track complaints related to device financing plans in our Annual and Mid-Year Reports.
Issues with device financing plans increased by 38% this year. This issue was raised 328 times with a large portion of customer concerns about disclosure.
Service provider | Number of issues | Proportion of issue |
---|---|---|
Rogers | 122 | 25% |
Bell | 68 | 14% |
Fido | 57 | 12% |
*The resolution rate for all issues was 87.8%
Changes to the contract
Changes to the contract issues arise when:
- a service provider notifies the customer of a change to the terms of their agreement; and,
- the customer does not believe the provider is allowed to make the change.
or
- The provider fails to notify the customer about a change to the terms of their agreement when required.
Issues about changes to the contract account for 4% of all issues raised. This year, the issue increased by 28%.
Service provider | Number of times issue was raised | Proportion of issue |
---|---|---|
Rogers | 499 | 29% |
Bell | 228 | 13% |
Public Mobile | 228 | 13% |
Service delivery issues
Service delivery issues are problems with the quality, reliability and management of a customer’s service. These issues, which account for 28% of all issues raised in 2023-24, include the following:
- slower than expected broadband or wireless speeds (e.g., intermittent service)
- complete loss of service
- delays to install or cancel services
- difficulties cancelling or porting services
Service delivery issues increased by 26% across all service types.
Issue | Number |
---|---|
Quality of service | 3,382 |
Repair issues and appointments | 1,775 |
Complete loss of service | 1,634 |
Due dates not kept or delayed for installation or cancellation of service | 1,085 |
Unable to cancel | 1,036 |
Unable to port | 640 |
Nonpayment or collections | 455 |
Installation error | 446 |
Out of service due to policy | 208 |
Seasonal suspension | 92 |
“I am very grateful to CCTS, as my service provider owed me over $600 in overcharges. Thank you for your intervention. I was thoroughly pleased with the application process, the transparent emails, and the service provided by CCTS.”
Quality of service
Customers raise quality of service issues when their telecommunications or television services do not work to the level that they expect. These are some common examples:
- slower than expected internet or wireless data speeds
- service works on and off with regular or irregular interruptions
- poor sound quality such as static or clips on their wireless or landline service
- disconnected (dropped) calls
Quality of service issues account for 31% of all service delivery issues, an increase of 12% from last year. This year, 43% of quality of service issues were raised by wireless customers, and 36% by internet customers.
Service provider | Number of times issue was raised | Proportion of issue |
---|---|---|
Rogers | 748 | 22% |
Bell | 667 | 20% |
TELUS | 512 | 15% |
Issue spotlight: Increased customer challenges with cancelling or switching services and cancellation fees
This year, customers raised more issues with cancelling their service or transferring (porting) their services to another provider. Customers also raised more concerns about cancellation fees. There were considerable increases in these issues across various service types.
- Termination fee issues increased by 35% from last year. This year, internet customers raised 42% of the cancellation issues and wireless customers raised 36%.
- Unable to cancel issues increased by 47% this year, after a 31% jump last year.
- Issues where customers could not transfer (port) their service increased by 25%, after a 23% increase last year.
We will continue to monitor these issues as one of the primary objectives of the CRTC’s consumer codes is for customers to be able to more easily switch providers in a dynamic marketplace.
Credit management issues
Credit management issues account for 4% of all issues. About 90% of these are related to third-party credit reporting. A customer may complain that the service provider has improperly reported their account to a collection agency or credit bureau. These are often disputes over how the provider handled the customer’s credit information and how it affected their credit history. Credit management also includes issues about credit deposits or limits. These include security deposit requirements, amounts, refunds, and interest.
Third party credit reporting
The number of credit reporting issues increased from last year by 17%, after a 16% decrease noted in last year’s Annual Report. Wireless customers account for 59% of all credit reporting issues, followed by internet (27%), TV (9%) and local phone services (5%).
Service provider | Number of times issue was raised | Proportion of issue |
---|---|---|
Rogers | 389 | 32% |
TELUS | 203 | 17% |
Bell | 190 | 15% |