Ottawa orders probe of high-pressure telecom sales tactics (Details)

“We’ve heard from hundreds of Canadians … clearly there’s a problem,” Bains told reporters on Parliament Hill. “We’ve also heard from sales agents who say that their managers have put pressure on them as well.”

“There are vulnerable Canadians, seniors, low-income earning Canadians, people that necessarily don’t understand the technology that clearly can be persuaded to buy products and services that they may not necessarily need,” said Bains, the MP for Mississauga-Malton.

The government has asked the CRTC to have the investigation finished by Feb. 28 and is hoping the report will contain recommendations to reduce consumer complaints.

Bell Canada had the most complaints, at 2,275, followed by Rogers Communications (707) Telus Communications (511), followed by Virgin (429) and Videotron (368).

The government order directs the CRTC to examine whether telecoms are “providing consumers with incomplete, unclear or misleading information regarding service terms and conditions.”

The investigation will also look at the measures the companies have in place to monitor “aggressive” sales practices, existing policies to protect consumers and the “most feasible and effective” ways to strengthen existing consumer protections.

“We want a set of recommendations and a clear set of facts around these high pressure sales tactics,” Bains said.

The CRTC is responsible for regulating telecommunications services and overseeing measures already in place to protect consumers, such as the Wireless Code of Conduct. Bains has also asked the Competition Bureau to assist in the investigation.

The CRTC had already rejected a request this year by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, a non-profit organization that advocates for consumer interests, to investigate what it branded as “aggressive, inappropriate and potentially misleading” sales tactics.

“Many of these aggressive sales practices appear to have targeted vulnerable consumers, including older Canadians, grieving spouses and blind customers,” John Lawford, the centre’s executive director and general counsel, wrote in his January letter to the CRTC requesting the probe.

“The nature of these allegations is so serious that a formal inquiry into the entire industry’s sales practices is required,” he wrote.

In a February response to Lawford, CRTC chair Ian Scott denied the request, saying Canadians “already have a variety of options available to them to seek redress.”

Those options include the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television services, an independent organization that helps settle customer complaints. It received 6,849 complaints between August 2017 and January 2018, up 73 per cent over the comparable period a year earlier. The commission said it was able to resolve 90 per cent of the complaints that it concluded during the same time frame.

The complaints covered all platforms, such as wireless, internet, local phone, long distance and television. The most common gripe was non-disclosure of terms or misleading information, followed by incorrect charges and poor service.

In a statement Thursday, Bell said it would be “happy” to talk about its customer service.

“Bell’s success depends on delivering the best customer experience and we’re seeing consistent growth in both customer satisfaction and subscriber growth,” Marc Choma, Bell’s director of communications, said in an email.

Choma noted the CRTC’s pronouncement this year that Canadians already have adequate methods to seek redress for their complaints. “But we’re always open to further discussions,” Choma said.

Rogers said too that it would work with the investigation.

“We strive to deliver the best possible experience for our customers with products and services that best meet their needs and budget, and we will participate and share how we work to be clear, simple and fair with our customers every time they contact us,” a spokesperson said in an email.

Telus said its sales representatives are bound by ethics codes and said the company is “laser-focused on ensuring our customers have a positive experience.”

“We look forward to participating constructively in the CRTC’s review and are optimistic it will help to elevate and standardize best practices across the industry,” Johanne Senecal, senior vice-president of government and regulatory affairs, said in an emailed statement to the Star.