CARRIER COMFORT

Complaints about wireless service declined last year, but grumbling about Internet plans is on the rise,

Two years after a wireless carrier code of conduct came into force, complaints over wireless services in Canada are on the decline.

Grievances over cellphone plans again made up the lion’s share of complaints the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services received in 2014-15, at 52 per cent, but that’s down 8 per cent from the previous year.

Internet complaints made up 26.1 per cent of the total, a 52-per-cent year-over-year jump, followed by concerns over landline phones at18.2 per cent, the independent telecom watchdog said in its annual report Wednesday.

In many cases, Internet customers felt they’d been overbilled or believe their provider increased the month- ly price either without notice or in contravention of an agreement.

CCTS also noted a surge in complaints over bundling discounts often related to Internet services over issues such as a failure to provide promised customer credits.

The drop in wireless customer dissatisfaction follows introduction of a mandatory code of conduct for providers that began applying to new cellular service contracts in late 2013.

Among other measures, the code caps international roaming fees, amends cancellation policies and requires carriers to offer contract terms of less than three years.

The CCTS, which aims to resolve issues related to land lines and cellphones along with wireless and wired Internet providers, reported a 12-per-cent decline in over-all complaints while maintaining a resolution rate of 87 per cent.

The decline follows a 17-per-cent drop recorded the previous year, the first decrease since the industry funded agency was established by Ottawa in 2007.

The CCTS said it accepted 9,988 complaints in 2014-15 versus 11,340 the previous year and 13,692 in 201213.

As in years past, the majority of complaints over wireless services involve nondisclosure or misleading information from carriers about service terms followed by grievances over incorrect charges.

The CCTS said the overall decline in complaints could be a sign that “the effectiveness of our process is helping customers and service providers resolve many complaints before they get to us.”

At the same time, the number of breaches of the wireless code has shot up — from 30 in 2013-14 to more than 500 this year. Two-thirds relate to a single plan offered by an unnamed provider that generated a slew of complaints, the report said.

“We’re concerned about the rise in Internet complaints and issues of nondisclosure across all lines of business,” said CCTS commissioner Howard Maker. “We’ll continue to monitor these and other areas and continue to work with stakeholders to ensure clarity and fairness for telecom consumers.”

The report showed a decline in the proportional number of issues arising from wireless complaints from 60 per cent for the past four years.

“Is this a result of TWC clarifying rights and responsibilities? How does one reconcile this with the large year-over-year increase in (wireless code) violations,” Maker said in the report. “Those questions are difficult to answer right now, but we’ll keep a close eye on them.”

The CCTS, in the midst of a regular review by telecom regulatory authority the CRTC, said it is taking steps to ensure that consumers are aware of the agency and their right to bring complaints.

Of the 262 participating service providers and brands, the report said Montreal based communications giant Bell Canada generated the largest number of consumer complaints in 2014-15 with 3,599 or 36 per cent of the total.

Toronto-based Rogers follows at 1,814 or 18.2 per cent and wireless carrier Wind Mobile, also of Toronto, placed third at 702, or 7 per cent.

Rogers, which says it is improving customer service, saw complaints fall by 23.7 per cent annually from 2,379 in 2013-14.