
The report identifies the compliance monitoring and enforcement activities of the organization
Ottawa (August 15, 2022) –Today, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) published its 2021 Compliance Monitoring Report (CMR), an annual report which provides the results of the CCTS’ compliance program. The report includes data from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 and highlights the main areas of non-compliance by the organization’s participating service providers (PSPs).
“To ensure that the CCTS can provide free and effective services to consumers whenever they need it, our participating service providers must comply with a range of requirements,” said Howard Maker, Commissioner and CEO of the CCTS. “This includes following the rules of the CCTS’ complaint-handling process, promoting customer awareness of the CCTS in accordance with the CCTS Public Awareness Plan, and paying CCTS fees.”
The CCTS actively monitors these requirements and works with non-compliant PSPs to bring them into compliance. Over the last five years, the CCTS’ compliance focus has been to educate PSPs about their obligations and engage with individual PSPs to bring them into compliance when a compliance issue is identified. When a PSP continues to be non-compliant, the CCTS has a range of enforcement tools that include publicly naming those PSPs, and ultimately the power to terminate their participation in the organization. Expulsion triggers a referral to the CRTC for further action, because it is a regulatory requirement for these service providers to participate in the CCTS.
The CCTS prioritizes compliance related to allegations of failure to implement agreed-upon resolutions or binding Recommendations and Decisions issued by the CCTS. While the 2021 CMR reports that these major non-compliance issues decreased overall, these incidents remain a priority for the CCTS as they delay a customer’s access to redress. When customers notify the CCTS of these incidents, the CCTS will engage the PSP to ensure swift implementation.
The CMR also reports some increases in lower priority compliance matters that may impact the CCTS’ ability to investigate complaints efficiently and effectively. The CCTS will continue to hone our compliance approach for these areas and will engage with service providers to ensure a solid understanding of the CCTS’ complaint-handling rules.
In addition to compliance with the CCTS’ rules, PSPs are required to contribute to building public awareness about the CCTS by carrying out the requirements of the PSP Public Awareness Plan. The CCTS conducts an annual audit to monitor compliance with its Public Awareness Plan. The CCTS found a clear improvement in PSP compliance with providing the CCTS notice on customer invoices, the white pages and sending text messages for pre-paid wireless customers. The CMR identifies areas of non-compliance for some providers, such as issues with how easily the CCTS notice is found or how PSPs positions or explain the availability of CCTS on their websites.
The CCTS also monitors compliance with the obligation to join the CCTS, which is triggered when one of a service provider’s customers files a complaint with the CCTS. The 2021 CMR reports that of the 22 service providers that were required to join the CCTS, four failed to do so and were referred to the CRTC.