Telecom complaints are exploding – and exposing the affordability crisis

Telecom service complaints continue to skyrocket, with the ombudsman that deals with them reporting a 17-per-cent increase to a new record of 23,647 for the year ended July 31. It’s the third year in a row that complaints have set a record, according to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services.Wireless services led the way, with television and higher set-top-box fees close behind. Contract disputes, unexpected price increases and promises that weren’t honoured – basically all the things that consumers routinely deal with when it comes to telecom.It’s a broken record. Canada’s big telecom companies – Bell, Rogers and Telus – are basically the poster children for oligopolies, and therefore oligopolistic behaviour. Absent concrete action by the government to address the industry’s structural failures, it’s a story that’s bound to continue repeating.There is a small change in this tale, however, and that is that the CCTS now has a new boss. After 17-plus years at its helm, founding commissioner Howard Maker has stepped aside and handed the reins to Josée Bidal Thibault, who becomes the organization’s second head.Many Canadians still don’t know about what the CCTS does. Thibault joins Do Not Pass Go this week to discuss her predecessor’s legacy, what she hopes to do differently, and what’s behind the explosion in complaints (spoiler: it’s the affordability crisis).Read the latest CCTS annual report here.Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Do Not Pass Go at www.donotpassgo.ca/subscribe