Ottawa, June 29, 2016 – The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) today released the results of its first-ever public awareness survey. Among the highlights:
- 20% of all respondents are aware of CCTS
- 27% of those who have had an unresolved complaint are aware of CCTS
- 49% of Canadians believe that a consumer has recourse in the event of an unresolved telecom complaint
- Consistent with CCTS’ internal surveys, few respondents report learning about CCTS from their telecom provider
- Primary sources of information about CCTS are media reports, online activities, and word of mouth
CCTS engaged Environics Research to conduct a survey of Canadians to determine the current level of awareness of CCTS and the ways in which consumers have learned about it. “All ombudsmen report challenges in achieving high levels of public awareness. There is no consensus, either in the ombudsman community or among academics, as to the appropriate level,” said CCTS Commissioner Howard Maker. “Nonetheless, levels of awareness of CCTS are similar to those reported by other ombudsmen and higher than reported in some ombudsman surveys.”
CCTS’ approach to developing public awareness includes requiring its participating service providers to engage in various activities intended to bring information about CCTS to the attention of their customers. Consistent with direction recently received from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), CCTS will be increasing its activities to monitor compliance with these obligations, as well as reviewing the findings to determine next steps. “Future polling will provide some indication of whether awareness is increasing over time and which initiatives are contributing most to this increase,” said Maker.
The CCTS Awareness Survey and a background document containing additional related information can be found here: https://www.ccts-cprst.ca/about-ccts/public-awareness/2016-public-awareness-survey/.
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About the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) Since July 2007, CCTS has provided consumers with an independent and impartial mechanism for the resolution of complaints about deregulated local and long distance telephone services, as well as wireless service and internet access. This includes billing errors, compliance with contract terms and commitments, service delivery, credit management and collections issues. Visit our website at www.ccts-cprst.ca.
To schedule an interview with the Commissioner, or for more information, please contact us at: Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services P.O. Box 56067 – Minto Place RO, Ottawa, ON K1R 7Z1 Email: communication@ccts-cprst.ca Toll free: 1-855-512-9783
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