The Wireless Code: Who’s the Winner?

Author

Sophy Lambert-Racine

Organization

Union des consommateurs

Published

2015

Summary

The objective of Union des consommateurs (UC) research was to verify how providers meet certain obligations for which they have been left a wide margin of manoeuvre by the CRTC. UC wanted to determine if that flexibility prevents the Wireless Code from meeting its objectives, which were notably to limit barriers to consumer mobility and clean up market practices. UC studied the contractual documents of the majority of major Canadian service providers and confronted them with the Code’s stated obligations.

Although it wasn’t the purpose of UC’s research, UC had to acknowledge many compliance problems on the part of providers, more than a year after the Code came into effect. This study led UC to read many contracts or summaries of essential information that were non-exhaustive (contrary to Code requirements), poorly translated, containing certain illegible or incomprehensible terms, or that seemed to present erroneous information about the services offered. Some providers add conditions to those provided by the Code, levy charges for meeting their obligations under the Code, include in their adhesion contracts clauses waiving Code protections, or meet information requirements while communicating obscure terms to the consumer or camouflaging required information by inserting it in external documents of which they sometimes don’t even bother to provide a copy.

Through a literature review, UC will identify the main sources of consumer complaints concerning wireless services over the years. UC will then do an overview of the general measures implemented by provincial and federal authorities to counter these problems. UC will examine the arguments that led to the establishment of the Wireless Code by the CRTC, identify the main discussions found during the consultations, identify the priorities put forth by the Commission, and will conclude with an overview of the reactions following the Wireless Code’s announcement and coming into force.

UC will then do an in-depth analysis of several articles in the Code, in particular those that provide some latitude to the industry. UC will analyze, article by article, the specific meaning of these requirements in the Code and their purpose, point out sources of confusion or leeway, depending on the case, in the texts that have been adopted, and will at the same time review how a group of Canadian service providers have complied with them. UC will highlight the successes and failures that we will have identified using this analysis.

UC submitted a few of the highlights of the analysis to the participants that took part in drawing up the Wireless Code and questioned them on their view of the Code’s impact. UC will be reporting the opinions that were gathered. UC will conclude with a set of conclusions and recommendations.

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OCA Funded Research
This research received funding support through the Office of Consumer Affairs' Contributions Program.

Contact information

Source: Consumer Policy Research Database