Majority of Canadian Telecoms Failing to Meet Consumer Complaint Standards
Canada’s telecom and television complaints watchdog says more than two-thirds of service providers it audited last year demonstrated at least some compliance issues with its public awareness requirements.
The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS) released its annual compliance report cards on Wednesday, measuring how well the providers have fulfilled their obligations around awareness, procedure and finances.
The CCTS, which was established in 2007, is an independent, industry-funded organization that aims to resolve TV and telecom services complaints from both consumers and small business retail customers. It releases full and mid-year reports annually detailing the number and nature of the grievances it receives.
Limited compliance with public awareness rules
The report said 32 per cent of the 37 providers it audited in 2025 were fully compliant with rules to inform their customers about the CCTS on their respective websites. That was the same proportion as the year prior but down from 35 per cent in 2023.
Around 46 per cent of those companies had some compliance issues, such as how and where information about the CCTS was presented on their website, while 22 per cent had no information about the CCTS listed at all.
The companies without information about the CCTS on their websites were mostly small providers, the report said. The watchdog said it worked with those companies to rectify their omissions, and 21 of the 25 providers with compliance issues are now either in the process of updating their websites or have already done so.
“As a national industry ombuds service, the CCTS engages in auditing activities to verify how well telecom and TV service providers across Canada are playing by the rules,” said CCTS commissioner and CEO Josée Bidal Thibault in a news release.
“The latest report cards cover several key areas, such as service provider compliance with properly informing their customers about the availability of CCTS’ free and impartial complaint-handling service.”
Website search compliance concerns uncovered
The audit also found that half of audited service provider websites did not meet proper search requirements. Company websites are required to return information about the CCTS, including a link to their customer complaint page, when customers enter certain keywords in their search tool.
“An effective website search function is a crucial tool that enables customers to find information and help resolve their concerns,” the watchdog said.
“Following CCTS engagement, most non-compliant providers corrected the website search requirement concerns.”
The CCTS said the providers it audited were those that generated the most complaints during CCTS’ 2024-25 reporting year.
In April, it said customer gripes about their phone, internet and television services have surged 61 per cent so far in the 2025-26 reporting year, with the commission handling 19,157 total complaints from customers between Aug. 1, 2025 and Jan. 31, 2026. Customers of Rogers, Telus and Bell had the most complaints recorded.
Service providers failing to meet obligations
However, some providers have failed to follow through on complaint resolutions and investigation findings, the CCTS’ latest report said.
The April report indicated the CCTS resolved or issued investigation findings for more than 14,000 complaints from August to January. During that six-month period, it confirmed 12 instances of service providers failing to implement resolutions to which they had agreed, or remedies required by the CCTS.
It said 10 of those instances had either been corrected or were in the process of being addressed by service providers after the watchdog followed up.
This article was first reported by The Canadian Press
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The Canadian Press
