The CCTS is Canada’s national ombuds for the telecommunications and television sectors. We can help find a resolution between you and your service provider for a variety of wireless or phone service complaints, including: 

• Wireless complaints (including voice, data and text) 

• Landline home telephone complaints 

• Small business phone complaints 

• Long-distance phone complaints (including prepaid calling cards) 

• White page directories, directory assistance and operator complaints 

Who can submit a complaint 

You can submit a wireless or landline phone service complaint to the CCTS as an individual customer or as a small business customer. 

We consider you a small business customer when your average monthly telecommunications bill is under $2,500.  Some restrictions apply for small businesses. Please refer to the CCTS Procedural Code for more information. 

What types of wireless and phone complaints does the CCTS accept 

Compliance with contract terms and commitments 

• Disputes about whether there is a contract, what is included in the contract or how the contract should be interpreted 

• Disputes about whether your service provider’s conduct meets its contractual obligations 

• Your service provider did not clearly disclose the terms of the contract 

Billing disputes and errors  

• Agreeing on a price with your service provider, but getting billed for more  

• Being overcharged as the result of a billing system error 

• Being charged a price that is different than advertised or agreed-to 

• Being billed for pay-per-use services you did not use, such as long-distance charges, wireless data charges or international roaming charges 

• Being billed past the requested cancellation date 

We cannot address complaints about the actual price of phone products or services. 

Service delivery and installation issues 

• Issues with the installation, repair or disconnection of a service 

• Service quality issues, including unreasonable interruptions or complete loss of service 

• Problems that occurred when transferring a service from one provider to another 

• Requests to cancel your service 

Credit management 

• Security deposits were mishandled or not returned 

• Disputes about payment arrangements with the service provider 

• Improper collections treatment or credit bureau reporting for your account 

Accessibility 

We can help you with some, but not all, accessibility-related complaints.  

The CRTC Wireless Code, Television Service Provider Code, and Internet Code require two kinds of accessibility accommodations: 

• An extended trial period for individuals with disabilities 

• Contracts and related documents must be provided in an accessible format upon request 

We can help with complaints that are related to these two CRCT code requirements.  

Most issues about a service provider’s failure to accommodate a customer’s accessibility requests are outside of our mandate. For example, we cannot help with complaints about: 

• Customer service, or your service provider’s indifference to a disability 

• Accessibility-related accommodation issue (for example, if described video is not available, or there are store accessibility issues) 

• Policies and procedures (for example, your service provider did not honour an accessibility policy or practice)     

At the request of the CRTC and members of the accessibility community, we do track when customers raise out-of-mandate accessibility issues about their service providers. We also refer these issues to the CRTC, which may have the authority to address them. 

Exclusions 

There are some wireless and phone service issues we can’t help you resolve.  

We do not accept complaints about: 

• Emergency services 

• Payphones 

• Yellow page or business directories 

• Telemarketing or unsolicited messages 

• 900 and 976 services 

• Customer-owned equipment or wiring 

• Security services such as alarm monitoring 

• Infrastructure issues, such as rights of way, plant, poles, towers, and networking services 

• Pricing of products or services 

• Claims of false and misleading advertising 

• Privacy issues 

Applicable Codes 

The Wireless Code of Conduct 

The CCTS administers the CRTC Wireless Code. Highlights include requirements for wireless service providers to: 

• Make it easier for individual and small business customers to get information about their contracts for wireless services 

• Ensure that the prices set out in the contract are clear and must indicate whether these prices include taxes 

• Not charge a customer any overage charge for services purchased on an unlimited basis 

• Notify customers when they may incur international roaming charges. Suspend additional charges when a customer approaches the data usage cap or international data roaming cap to reduce bill shock 

For more information on the Wireless Code, check out the CCTS  Annotated Guide to the Wireless Code. 

The Deposit and Disconnection Code of Conduct 

The CCTS administers the CRTC  Deposit and Disconnection Code. Highlights include requirements for phone providers to: 

• Provide customers with the reasons for requiring a deposit 

• Notify customers before disconnecting their phone service 

• Only disconnect the service during specified times 

For information about the Deposit and Disconnection Code, check out the CCTS  Annotated Guide to the Deposit and Disconnection Code. 

Ready to submit a complaint? 

If you’ve already tried to resolve an issue with your service provider but were unsuccessful, you can submit a complaint with the CCTS.