UofO teases consumer tools for wireless services

OTTAWA — Tools to better inform consumers of their rights when purchasing wireless services are under development at the University of Ottawa, which a professor involved in the project indicated will be especially relevant following a CBC/Radio-Canada investigation that found allegedly misleading sales practices from one telecom. The web-based tools will feature a clickable interactive pre-purchase checklist, a problem-solving guide and a contract analysis tool based on the new Wireless Code. The tools were teased during a presentation by University of Ottawa assistant professor Marina Pavlovic and law student Selena Lucien Wednesday as part of the Ottawa Law Review's one-day symposium, which showcased a series of discussions about new directions for law and technology. The two talked about how technology can be used to empower people with information. “We’re very excited, and I think part of why we’re so excited is the CBC Go Public stuff is in everybody’s face,” Pavlovic said in a follow-up interview. “The tools are basically bringing the rights that you have in the code into the plain language that you understand,” she said, giving the example of a cap on data overages. The tools will help make abstract rights more concrete and translate them into what they really mean for the user, and “how can you choose the plan that really is right for you,” Pavlovic said. Given apps’ device-specific nature, she said the tools will be web-based to be accessible to all. The announcement follows a CBC investigation last week that found BCE Inc. sales employees allegedly misleading consumers on product prices, which Pavlovic said highlights the urgency of the tools. In light of the Go Public investigation, Pavlovic said they are also looking at potentially implementing another tool that would record conversations to keep those who sell services accountable, but said she doesn’t yet know if that will be built. It also comes after the CRTC said it would not look into earlier claims of aggressive, inappropriate and possibly misleading sales practices by the telecoms following a call by consumer groups for an enquiry into the issue. Pavlovic said they hope to have at least two of the features — the checklist and the problem-solving guide — in a beta this October, with a potential delay for the contract analysis tool. Pavlovic said the checklist will alert consumers to what they need to pay attention to, such as data caps, and will come in different interfaces depending on the user’s experience and knowledge. The problem-solving tool will guide the user through targeted questions modeled on the British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal, which helps citizens resolve disputes. Those questions will be tailored to the user, which will provide guidance on where to go to complain, tips on how to negotiate and how to file complaints to bodies like the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS), Pavlovic said. Meanwhile, the contract analysis tool will, in part, allow users to upload their current contracts and inform them of the things they should be careful of. Pavlovic gave the example of a buried clause in the telecoms’ contracts that allows them to change the terms, including the price. Pavlovic said she isn’t sure whether the telecoms would use the tools or if the CRTC would promote them, but said they are reaching out to organizations including legal aid clinics, community health centres and public libraries, and organizations working with refugees and new immigrants and those that deliver social services for outreach. She added that once they get the wireless tool out, she is confident they’ll be able to do one for other services including internet and home phone services. This isn’t the first time the university has brought telecom-related consumer issues to the fore. Prior to the release of the new Wireless Code, researchers from the university, which included Pavlovic, found in a small mystery shoppers study in 2016 that customers were leaving stores ill-informed about their wireless service choices. The researchers presented the study’s findings at the Wireless Code hearing last year. “We’re going to do a new round,” Pavlovic said of another mystery shoppers study. — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

UofO teases consumer tools for wireless services

News | March 7, 2018

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UofO teases consumer tools for wireless services

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