Service Delivery – Disconnection

A customer complained because their PSP disconnected their home phone and internet services without notice. The customer requested asked the PSP to reconnect their services and waive the balance owing as compensation for the inconvenience.

What did the PSP include in its response? The PSP explained that a collection notice had been issued two months ago to collect an overdue balance of $300 that had accumulated because the customer had only made a few partial payments recently, rather than paying the balance in full each month. The PSP provide a copy of its call notes, which demonstrated that the customer had called in after receiving the collections notice and agreed to a payment arrangement. Call notes provided by the PSP show that the customer was informed that failure to honour the payment arrangement would result in a temporary suspension of all services. The PSP also provided screenshots of the payment history, which demonstrated that the customer did not make the full payment as agreed upon. Finally, the PSP provided copies of the customer’s contract, the service terms, and its internal disconnection procedure which, together, demonstrate that the PSP was within its rights to disconnect the services without warning once the payment arrangement failed. The PSP also refused the customer’s request for reconnection with compensation. However, the PSP confirmed that the customer can reconnect their services once the balance is paid in full.

Was the response complete? Yes. The PSP responded to the customer’s allegations and provided copies of all of the relevant supporting documentation upon which it is relying to justify its position. 

What will happen to the complaint next? The complaint will escalate to Investigations and a Complaint Resolution Officer will review the available information and before contacting the customer and the PSP. If the parties are not open to exploring an informal resolution, we’ll proceed directly to a final analysis of the complaint based on the available information while also considering the CRTC’s Deposit & Disconnection Code and the Internet Code. If we conclude that the PSP fulfilled its obligations, the complaint will likely end up being closed further to section 9.1(d).