2023-2024 Mid-Year Report

Executive Summary

About the Numbers

Complaints are up 43% — from 7,451 complaints at last year’s mid-point to 10,663 this year (mid-year range: August 1, 2023, and January 31, 2024).
9 out of 10 complaints are resolved – most within 20 days.
Wireless service issues remain the leading concern for customers, accounting for 51% of all issues. Internet issues comprise 28% of total issues.
Top issue across all services: incorrect charge for monthly price plans is now the top issue.
Rogers accounts for 26% of all accepted complaints, maintaining its position as the most complained-about service provider.
Rogers, Bell, and TELUS are the largest three contributors to the overall increase in complaints with increases of 118%, 58%, and 48% respectively.

All comparisons are to Mid-Year Report 2022-23 unless otherwise specified.

Figure 1: Five-year view of accepted complaints for current top 5 PSPs

About Our Activities

Monitored the impact of significant changes to the CCTS’ complaint-handling process and new complaint technology, which was implemented in May 2023. We have seen early positive impacts, including decreased time to assess and accept customer complaints and more resolutions at the earliest stage of our process. These changes are the beginning of the CCTS’ continuous improvement efforts, and we will continue to refine and enhance our new process and technology, as we further consider how best to continue achieving our objectives of providing an effective and transparent service to our stakeholders.
Continued initiatives to increase public awareness about the CCTS and our services, including the release of the 2023-24 Annual Report, which generated increased interest and media coverage.
Completed annual audit of Participating Service Providers’ (PSP) compliance with the CCTS’ public awareness requirements and worked with providers to address non-compliance issues.
Welcomed 8 new PSPs between August 1, 2023, and January 31, 2024.
Having rectified its non-compliance, ICA Microsystems Inc (ICA) was reinstated as a PSP after its participation was terminated.
Terminated the participation of InnSys Inc. for failing to comply with a number of mandatory CCTS requirements.

10,663

Complaints accepted

9,272

Complaints concluded

91%

Complaints resolved

Operational Statistics

Table 1: Summary of key statistics

wdt_ID	Measurement	2023-24 number
1	Complaints accepted	10,663
2	Complaints concluded	9,272
3	Complaints resolved	8,418
4	Complaints resolved at Initial Referral, previously called Pre-Investigation	7,625
5	Complaints resolved at Conciliation	638
6	Complaints resolved at Investigation	155
7	Complaints closed	604
8	Complaints closed at Initial Referral, previously called Pre-Investigation	389
9	Complaints closed at Conciliation	162
10	Complaints closed at Investigation	53

Complaints by Service Provider

Table 2: Top 5 Participating Services Providers by complaints accepted

wdt_ID	Participating Service Provider	Mid-Year Report 2023‑24	Mid-Year Report 2022‑23	Change
1	Rogers	2,820	1,294	+117.9%
2	Bell	1,748	1,110	+57.5%
3	TELUS	1,437	970	+48.1%
4	Fido	1,067	887	+20.3%
5	Freedom Mobile	501	481	+4.2%

All statistics are as at February 1, 2024 and are subject to audit. See Appendix A for complaints accepted for all service providers.

Complaints about Rogers increased by 118%, and Rogers remains the most complained-about service provider. With 2,820 complaints, the company is responsible for more than a quarter (26%) of all accepted complaints. Between August 1, 2023, and January 31, 2024, the top issues raised by Rogers’ customers were:

1. incorrect charge about monthly price plan
2. contract conflicts with agreement, and
3. credit or refund not received.

These leading issues for Rogers showed a significant increase to the general rise observed across all service providers.

Rogers, Bell, TELUS, and Fido all experienced a significant increase in complaints from 118%, 58%, 48% and 20% increase respectively.

Together, the top five service providers’ complaint volume represents 71% of accepted complaints between August 31, 2023, and January 31, 2024.

Issues Raised in Complaints

The 9,272 complaints concluded between August 1, 2023, and January 31, 2024, raised 19,879 issues. A complaint can raise more than one issue.

All comparisons are to Mid-Year Report 2022-23 unless otherwise specified.

Table 3: Number of issues by service

wdt_ID	Service	Issues	% of all issues	Change in number of issues
1	Wireless	10,080	50.7%	+32.4%
2	Internet	5,583	28.1%	+52.4%
3	TV	2,415	12.1%	+75.1%
4	Local Phone	1,551	7.8%	+25.2%
5	Other	250	1.3%	+284.6%
6	Total	19,879	100%	+42.4%

Table 4: Top 10 issues raised in complaints

wdt_ID	Issue	Wireless	Internet	TV	Local phone	Other	Total issues	% of all issues	% change
1	Incorrect charge	1,574	792	379	229	54	3,028	15.2%	+84.7%
3	Disclosure issues	1,498	631	296	172	36	2,633	13.2%	+34.3%
4	Credit or refund not received	1,100	504	203	111	24	1,942	9.8%	+158.6%
5	Quality of service	761	625	224	137	9	1,756	8.8%	+1.9%
6	Repair issues and appointments	530	462	204	108	21	1,325	6.7%	N/A
7	Regular price increase of monthly price plans	480	321	154	102	20	1,077	5.4%	+475.9%
8	Changes to the contract	484	216	141	62	10	913	4.6%	+55.5%
10	Complete loss of service	296	324	131	141	12	904	4.5%	+5.4%
11	3rd party credit reporting	318	159	66	27	2	572	2.9%	+12.8%
12	Unable to cancel	187	191	97	42	7	524	2.6%	+77.6%

Customers may raise issues that fall outside of the CCTS’ mandate. This table identifies the top 5 issues. If a complaint raises issues that fall outside of the CCTS’ mandate, the CCTS will direct the customer to another agency if one can better assist.

Table 5: Top 5 out-of-mandate issues

wdt_ID	Issue	Number	% of total out-of-mandate issues
1	Customer service (e.g. wait times, rude representative, etc.)	2,325	28.5%
2	Service provider general operating practices and policies (e.g. the contents of plans and packages, the terms of fair use policies, etc.)	1,847	22.6%
3	Pricing (e.g. prices set by service providers)	681	8.3%
4	False/misleading advertising	556	6.8%
5	Infrastructure	484	5.9%

Code of Conduct Reporting

In this section, we present statistical reports on breaches of the four CRTC consumer codes of conduct.

When we accept a customer complaint, we record and track all of the issues raised in the complaint. Some complaints raise questions about whether a provider has complied with a code of conduct. We call these “alleged breaches.”

The vast majority (91%) of complaints are resolved to the satisfaction of the customer and the provider at an early stage of our process. When complaints are resolved, we do not have the information necessary to investigate the underlying issues, including to determine if there have been any violations of a code of conduct. Therefore, these issues remain characterized as “alleged breaches” and are categorized as “not requiring investigation” in the following charts.

In the cases that we do investigate, we can determine whether there has been a violation. We categorize proven violations as “confirmed breaches.” When we investigate and determine that there has not been a violation, we categorize this as “no breach.”

The CCTS publishes an Annotated Guide to the Wireless Code and an Annotated Guide to the Deposit & Disconnection Code.

Terminology

Alleged breach: When a customer claims that the service provider failed to perform an obligation under any of the CRTC’s codes of conduct, or when a CCTS staff member identifies a potential code breach based on the details of a complaint. Each breach references an individual section of the Code. Thus, more than one alleged breach may be recorded in a complaint.

Confirmed breach: When the CCTS can confirm, based on its investigation, that a provision of any CRTC code of conduct has been breached.

No breach: When we have investigated an alleged breach and concluded that the service provider did not breach any CRTC code of conduct.

This report includes only those Code-related issues that arose in complaints which have been concluded and for which breaches have been confirmed in the reporting period.

Wireless Code

Figure 2: Summary of Wireless Code breaches

There were 918 alleged breaches. 909 did not require investigation. 9 breaches were investigated. 7 were confirmed as breaches and 2 were verified as not a breach.

Table 6: Top Wireless Code breaches by section¹

Section of Code	Total breaches
I.2. The service provider did not give reasonable notice to the customer at least 14 calendar days or/and 24 hours before disconnection and the notice did not contain all relevant information	4
G.1. Early cancellation fees – General	3
Total	7

See Appendix B for a breakdown of the confirmed Wireless Code breaches by section.

¹See the CRTC’s Wireless Code for full text of appropriate sections.

Internet Code

Table 7: Top Internet Code breaches by section²

Section of Code	Total breaches
D.2. Changes to key contract terms after the commitment period	1
I.2. Service provider did not give reasonable notice to the customer at least 14 calendar days or/and 24 hours before disconnection and the notice did not contain all relevant information	1
Total	2

²See the CRTC’s Internet Code for full text of appropriate sections. The Internet Code applies only to large facilities-based Internet Service Providers and their brands and affiliates.

Figure 3: Summary of Internet Code breaches

There were 247 alleged breaches. 244 did not require investigation. 3 breaches were investigated. 2 were confirmed as breaches and 1 was verified as not a breach.

Television Service Provider Code

Figure 4: Summary of Television Service Provider Code breaches

There were 18 alleged breaches. 16 did not require investigation. 2 breaches were investigated. 0 were confirmed as breaches and 2 were verified as not a breach.

Deposit and Disconnection Code

Table 8: Top Deposit & Disconnection Code breaches by section

Section of Code	Total breaches
3.2. Service provider did not give reasonable notice to the customer at least 14 calendar days before disconnection or the notice did not contain all relevant information	2
3.3. Service provider did not give reasonable notice to the customer at least 24 hours before disconnection	2
Total	4

Figure 5: Summary of Deposit & Disconnection Code breaches

There were 13 alleged breaches. 9 did not require investigation. 4 breaches were investigated. 4 were confirmed as breaches and 0 were verified as not a breach.

Appendix A – Complaints by Service Provider

August 1, 2023 – January 31, 2024

This list includes service providers that received at least one complaint during the reporting period. Overall, 445 service providers and brands participated in the CCTS during this reporting period (including 8 service providers that joined during this period). No complaints were received about 298 Participating Service Providers.

wdt_ID	Rank	Participating Service Provider	Mid-Year Report 2023‑24	Proportion of all complaints accepted Mid-Year Report 2023‑24	Proportion of all complaints accepted Mid-Year Report 2022‑23	Change in proportion
1	1	Rogers Communications	2,820	26.4%	17.4%	-5
2	2	Bell Canada	1,748	16.4%	14.9%	2
3	3	TELUS Communications Inc.	1,437	13.5%	13.0%	1
4	4	Fido	1,067	10.0%	11.9%	2
5	5	Freedom Mobile Inc.	501	4.7%	6.5%	0
6	6	Koodo	481	4.5%	9.0%	0
7	7	Virgin Plus	464	4.4%	6.1%	1
8	8	Shaw Communications	389	3.6%	2.8%	0
9	9	Vidéotron	225	2.1%	3.4%	0
10	10	Eastlink	150	1.4%	1.0%	-6

Appendix B – Confirmed Wireless Code Breaches by Section

August 1, 2023 – January 31, 2024

wdt_ID	Breached Code section	Proportion of all confirmed breaches Mid-Year Report 2023‑24	Proportion of all confirmed breaches Mid-Year Report 2022-23
1	A. Clarity	0.0%	5.6%
2	A.1. Plain language	0.0%	2.8%
3	A.3. Unlimited services	0.0%	2.8%
4	B. Contracts and related documents	0.0%	22.2%
5	B.1.(i-ii). Permanent copy of the contract and related documents	0.0%	13.9%
6	B.1.(iii). a-e Key contract terms and conditions	0.0%	8.3%
7	B.1.(iii). f-m Other aspects of the contract	0.0%	0.0%
8	C. Critical Information Summary	0.0%	16.7%
9	C.1. Critical Information Summary	0.0%	8.3%
10	C.1.(iii)a. Services not included	0.0%	8.3%

Mid-Year Report

August 1, 2023 – January 31, 2024

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

About the Numbers

About Our Activities

Operational Statistics

Complaints by Service Provider

Issues Raised in Complaints

Code of Conduct Reporting

Terminology

Wireless Code

Internet Code

Television Service Provider Code

Deposit and Disconnection Code

Appendix A – Complaints by Service Provider

August 1, 2023 – January 31, 2024

Appendix B – Confirmed Wireless Code Breaches by Section

August 1, 2023 – January 31, 2024