Glossary

This section provides definitions for terms we use in this report. To find out more about our complaint process, visit Complaint resolution process explained on our website.

Accepted complaint

An accepted complaint is a complaint by a customer that falls within our mandate.

Alleged breach

An alleged breach happens when one or both of the following occur:

• A customer reports that a service provider has breached a particular section of a CRTC code.
• We identify a possible breach of the CRTC code when we assess the customer’s complaint.

A breach remains an alleged breach until we confirm it through investigation. There may be more than one alleged breach in a complaint. A breach happens when a service provider fails to follow the rules set out in the applicable CRTC Codes of Conduct:

• Internet Code
• Wireless Code
• Television Service Provider Code
• Deposit and Disconnection Code

Assessment

During an assessment, we review the complaint and information the customer provided to determine if we can accept the complaint.

Case Review

A customer or service provider may request a Case Review of the Investigation Findings under these two conditions:

• They believe we made an error of fact or interpretation.
  and
• They believe our error affected the Investigation Findings.

If it seems more likely than not that we made such an error, we conduct a Case Review. Then we issue a Case Review by confirming or amending the Investigation Findings.

Closed complaint

A closed complaint is one we have accepted but closed without resolving or investigating the issues. These are the two most common situations where we close complaints:

• The customer withdrew their complaint.
• The customer failed to communicate with us or cooperate with our process.

Code of conduct

We use four mandatory CRTC Codes of Conduct to assess the conduct of service providers:

• Internet Code
• Wireless Code
• Television Service Provider Code
• Deposit and Disconnection Code
  

Conciliation

A complaint moves to Conciliation under these two conditions:

• It remains unresolved after Initial Referral.
• The service provider has supplied the required information and documentation about its response to the complaint.

Conciliation is informal. We work with the customer and the service provider to explore ways to resolve the complaint without going through the time and expense of a full investigation.

Concluded complaint

A complaint is concluded when it is resolved, when we close it, or when we have issued Investigation Findings.

Confirmed breach

A confirmed breach is an alleged breach of a CRTC code that we confirmed through our investigation. A breach happens when a service provider fails to follow one of four codes of conduct issued by the CRTC:

• Internet Code
• Wireless Code
• Television Service Provider Code
• Deposit and Disconnection Code

Customer not cooperative

A customer is considered not cooperative if they fail to do one or both of the following:

• respond to our attempts to communicate with them
• communicate with the service provider during the Initial Referral stage of our process

If, after several attempts, we cannot get the customer to cooperate, we close the complaint.

Initial Referral

When we accept a complaint, it goes to the Initial Referral stage. At this point, we refer the complaint back to the service provider to give it another opportunity to resolve the complaint with the customer. The customer and the service provider have 20 days to resolve the issue at Initial Referral. If they don’t resolve it, it goes on to the next stage of the process.

Investigation

During the Investigation, we analyze the information the service provider and the customer supplied. We want to know if the service provider acted appropriately and whether it reasonably met its obligations to the customer as set out in its terms of service, contracts, invoices, call notes, recordings, etc.

Investigation Findings

Investigation Findings are a written report of the result of our analysis and assessment of the complaint. We issue written Investigations Findings to detail our analysis of the facts based on the information the customer and service provider gave to us. These findings explain our assessment of whether the service provider met its obligations to the customer. If they did not, the findings explain what the provider must do to fix the issue.

We have the authority to require the service provider to fix the problem by doing one or more of these actions:

• explain or apologize for the problem
• correct the problem, such as correct a billing error
• reconnect a service
• stop collections activity
• reimburse the customer for proven financial losses to a maximum of $5,000

Issue

An issue is a specific concern a customer raises in a complaint. A complaint can contain more than one issue. For example, a customer complains that their bill contains an error and that the unpaid balance resulted in a service disconnection. This is one complaint with two separate issues.

No breach

After we investigate an alleged breach, we conclude there is no breach if we find that the service provider did not violate any CRTC code provision.

Out-of-mandate

Certain complaints fall outside our mandate. These include complaints about privacy, telemarketing calls, and advertising. Since they are out-of-mandate, we cannot accept them.

Received complaint

Received complaints are complaints that customers submit. We review complaints to determine if they are within our mandate. We accept complaints that fall within our mandate.

Resolved complaint

A complaint is resolved when both the customer and the service provider agree to the solution.