CRTC proposes code of conduct for ISPs

The CRTC is asking for input on a draft version of a new code governing internet service providers (ISPs) that would follow similar rules covering the wireless and TV distribution sectors. The regulator said a release Friday that the code would “establish consumer-friendly business practices, ensure contracts are easy-to-understand, and make it easier for Canadians to switch providers to take advantage of competitive offers.” The news follows a week-long hearing the CRTC held in late October on aggressive and misleading sales practices, in response to an order by the federal government to look into the issue and report back by Feb. 28, 2019. The CRTC said that proceeding is distinct from its proposed code of conduct. It said in its notice of consultation that it’s launching a separate process for the code because it “considers that it is not in the public interest to delay a proceeding on this issue.” The new rules would follow the 2013 wireless code and the TV service provider code, which took effect in 2017. Like those codes, the new rules for ISPs would be administered by the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS). It noted that the last CCTS annual report outlined that internet-service related complaints increased 38 per cent compared to a year earlier. Among the draft proposals suggested by the CRTC is one to “limit the initial application of the Internet Code to large facilities-based Internet service providers (ISPs).” It said it would provide a list of providers falling under this category at a later date, and that it may consider expanding the code to smaller providers in the future. Among the new rules the CRTC is proposing is a plain language provision that specifies communications with customers must be “clear, timely, accurate, and plain language.” Service providers will have to either “ensure that any offers made to consumers are clearly explained in all communications with consumers, including during telephone calls and door-to-door sales as well as in its promotional material,” or provide customers with “a written pre-sale Critical Information Summary within 24 hours of making a specific offer to a consumer in person, over the phone, or online.” Additionally, if the contract is agreed to in person, the service provider would have to give the customer the contract and any related documents immediately. During the hearing, CCTS chairman Howard Maker told the CRTC that one of problems his organization sees is after a customer and a salesperson reach an agreement during a sale at the door and there is “no evidence about what happened, what was discussed, what was promised. “The customer gets something by email or in the mail that sets out the terms of an offer or an order, and then we’re left to put the pieces back together when the customer says, ‘this is not what I bargained for,’” he said, according to a transcript. The proposed code doesn’t include any further restrictions on door-to-door sales. During the hearing a door-to-door sales ban was proposed by consumer groups and a ban on such sales by third-party companies was suggested by Shaw Communications Inc. Among other provisions suggested in the code is a rule specifying that companies must notify customers once they reach 100 per cent of their usage limit. They must also “offer tools to help a customer monitor and manage their data use and any additional fees incurred during a monthly billing cycle.” Telecoms would also have to provide customers with a time frame for residential service calls, be limited in how much they can charge for early cancellation fees, and if the contract involves an early cancellation fee, be required to offer a 15 or 30-day trial period to “enable the customer to determine whether the service meets their needs.” Trial or cooling off periods were another issue brought up during the sales practices hearing, during which BCE Inc. proposed a “buyer’s remorse option” allowing customers to change their minds within 30 days. The Fair Communications Sales Coalition had suggested a 15-day period which would allow the customer to change their mind for any reason. “The standard trial period usage limits must correspond to the permitted monthly usage specified in the customer’s contract, whether the contract includes limited or unlimited monthly use,” the CRTC proposed in the draft code. “For customers with disabilities, the permitted usage amounts must be at least double the service provider’s general usage amounts for the standard trial period.” The deadline to comment on the draft code is Dec. 19. — With reporting Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Kyle Duggan at kduggan@thewirereport.ca

CRTC proposes code of conduct for ISPs

News | November 9, 2018

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CRTC proposes code of conduct for ISPs

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