This webinar is brought to you by
Community Law School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc., a nonprofit,
registered charitable organization devoted to public legal
education and community advocacy training.
This webinar is facilitated by Your Legal Rights,
www.yourlegalrights.on.ca a website of legal information
people in Ontario. Your Legal Rights is a project of CLEO.
Funding for this webinar was provided by the Law
Foundation of Ontario as part of The Connecting Project
and the Connecting Communities Consortium.
www.communitylawschool.org
www.yourlegalrights.ca
www.lawfoundation.on.ca
Community Law School
(Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
Hot Topics in
Consumer Protection:
Wireless Services (Cell Phone)
Contracts: 2016 Update
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
Please Note:
The content of this webinar is based on law that was current
on the date the webinar was recorded. Your Legal Rights
webinars contain general legal information. They are not
intended to be used as legal advice for a specific legal
problem. For more information on how to find a lawyer or to
contact your local community legal clinic visit:
http://yourlegalrights.on.ca/find-services
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
About Our Presenter
Margaret Capes, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B., M.Ad.Ed, is Legal
Education Coordinator of Community Law School
(Sarnia-Lambton) Inc. She also acts as Review Counsel
for Community Legal Services, as an adjunct professor in
the clinical law program, and as faculty advisor for Pro
Bono Students Canada and the Dispute Resolution
Centre, all at the Faculty of Law, University of Western
Ontario. She is the former Executive Director of
Community Legal Assistance Sarnia.
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
Webinar Overview
1.
Common Wireless Services Contract Concerns
2.
What Laws Apply to Wireless Services Contracts in Ontario?
3.
Who Regulates Wireless Services Providers?
4.
What Must be Included in the Contract?
5.
Other Important Protections for Consumers
6.
Cancelling the Contract
7.
Other Consumer Remedies
8.
• Roaming and data charges
• Can you be charged a cancellation fee?
• Complaints to the Ministry of Consumer Services
• Complaints to the CCTS
• Small Claims Court
Closing
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
5
Common Wireless Services Contract Concerns
• Many competing service providers, e.g., Bell, Rogers, etc.;
• Coverage for different kinds of devices (cell phones, tablets, etc.);
• Incentives (e.g., a free cell phone) offered to consumers in exchange for a
fixed-term contract;
• Lengthy standard-form contracts;
• Little opportunity to review the contract before signing it;
• Unexpected usage costs, such a roaming fees and excess data charges;
• Cancellation fees;
• Where to complain about contract or service problems;
• What remedies are available.
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
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Wireless Services: What
Apply in Ontario?
• Two laws now specifically apply to wireless services contracts in Ontario: the Ontario
Wireless Services Agreements Act (the WSSA), and the federal Wireless Code (the Code).
• The WSSA covers all contracts made, renewed, or extended in Ontario after April 1, 2014.
• The WSSA only applies to contracts for personal, family, or household purposes; it does not
apply to services for business uses (e.g., a small business plan is not covered under the
WSSA).
• Under the WSSA, notice and cancellation procedures for wireless services contracts must
comply with the provisions of Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act, 2002 (CPA).
• The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s Wireless Code also
now applies to all wireless services contracts.
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School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
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Who Regulates Wireless Service Providers?
Several agencies and organizations have various roles regulating
wireless (cell phone) services, including:
• Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC), which functions to ensure the
confidentiality of customer information and fair treatment of
customers, and created the Wireless Code. The CRTC does not
regulate rates, or quality of services, or business practices;
• Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications
Services (CCTS), an industry-sponsored and funded nonprofit
corporation that tries to facilitate the resolution of complaints
about wireless service problems; and
• Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services administers the
Wireless Services Agreements Act and the Consumer Protection
Act, 2002.
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton)
Inc.
What Must Be In A Wireless Services Agreement?
Information required by the WSAA includes:
•
Basic information about the parties and the services:
o
o
o
•
your name, and the name, telephone and address of the service provider.
the date the agreement starts and its expiry date (if any);
a list of all included and optional services, how much they cost, and an explanation of how and when you will start to incur overage
charges.
Basic information about the goods being supplied or purchased:
o
o
o
o
a description of the goods (e.g., a smartphone), whether it is new or reconditioned, and how much you must pay if you cancel the contract
early;
whether the goods are restricted to a specific provider (e.g., if the smartphone is “locked”);
details of any trade-in you made;
if the supplier provides a third-party warranty, information about the manufacturer’s warranty, automatic warranties under the Sale of
Goods Act, and a copy of the manufacturer’s warranty.
o Payment Information:
o
o
o
the terms and methods of payments, and any charges for a particular billing format, e.g., an extra charge for paper bills;
the total amount due when you sign the agreement, the minimum monthly bill amount, and any extra payment due at the end of the
agreement;
how the provider calculates any early cancellation charges.
What Must Be In A Wireless Services Agreement? (cont’d)
Information required under the Wireless Code includes:
•
Regarding fees and other charges:
o
o
•
If you receive a subsidized device (e.g., a free or reduced price smartphone):
o
o
o
•
whether it continues on a month-to-month basis after the original term expires;
whether device upgrades or other amendments to the original agreement extend the term of the agreement.
Where you can find other important information such as:
o
o
o
•
the actual retail price of the device;
how much you are paying for it;
how much (if anything) you must pay to “unlock” it.
About the wireless services agreement:
o
o
•
any early cancellation fees, how much they decrease each month, and when a cancellation fee no longer applies;
the amount of any security deposit you must pay, and under what conditions it will be refunded to you.
rates for optional services;
notices about your data usage and roaming, and how to manage that;
how to contact the provider’s customer service department, and how to make a complaint to the CCTS.
The Wireless Code also covers other important issues such as:
o
unlocking your phone; warranties; lost or stolen devices; repairs; security deposits; and disconnection.
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
Other Important Protections for Consumers
• The Wireless Code contains important protections about roaming and data charges, and requires
the service provider to:
o notify you when your device is roaming in another country and tell you what voice, text, and data charges you may incur while
roaming;
o suspend national and international roaming charges when they reach $100 within a single billing period, unless you specifically
agree to pay additional charges;
o suspend data overage charges when they reach $50 within a single billing period, unless you specifically agree to pay additional
charges.
o Both the WSAA and the Wireless Code regulate cancellation fees:
o If your agreement was not for a fixed term and you did not receive a free or discounted device, you cannot be charged a
cancellation fee.
o If your agreement was for a fixed term and you did not receive a free or discounted device, your cancellation fee cannot be more
than $50, or 10% of the price for services for the time left under the agreement (based on a 2-year term), whichever is less. For
example: you have 4 months left on your term and you pay $100/month. You cannot be charged more than: 4 months x
$100/month x 10% = $40 cancellation fee. If you had 10 months left on your agreement, your cancellation fee would be the
maximum allowed, $50.
o If you received a device for free or at a discount, you may be charged a cancellation fee that takes the value of the device into
consideration. The WSAA contains the formula that the provider must use to determine the allowable cancellation fee.
o In any case, you must also pay for the services that you received before you cancelled the agreement.
2016, Community Law School (SarniaLambton) Inc.
Cancelling a Wireless Services Agreement
Both the WSAA and the Wireless Code allow you to cancel a wireless services contract without penalty
or cancellation fees under certain circumstances.
• If the agreement does not contain all the information required under the WSAA, or if you do not get a copy
of it within the required time frame (see below), you may cancel it at any time within one year of entering
into it.
o The service provider may require that you return any goods or devices that you received, and the cancellation is not effective until
you make the return.
o Once the cancellation is effective, the agreement is void and the provider may not ask for or accept payment for services under the
agreement.
• If you don’t receive a copy of the agreement when you sign it (if you make the contract in person) or within
15 days (if you make it online or by telephone), the Wireless Code allows you to cancel within 30 days of
when you do receive it, without penalty or cancellation fee.
• If your agreement includes a cancellation fee (e.g., because you got a free device), the Wireless Code allows
you to cancel without fee within 15 days if you return the device in near-new condition, with the original
packing, and if you have not gone over the usage permitted for the trial period.
o If you self-identify as a person with a disability, the trial period must be extended to 30 days and the permitted usage doubled over
that permitted under a 15-day trial period.
• If the agreement is in proper form, you may still cancel it at any time, but cancellation fees may apply.
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
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Other Consumer Remedies: Complaint to the Ministry
• If the service provider refuses to remedy the matter, the consumer should report the
problem to the Ministry of Consumer Services, which has broad investigative and
remedial powers.
• Online complaint forms are available on the Ministry’s website.
• The Ministry may order the service provider to comply with the provisions of the WSAA
and the Consumer Protection Act, 2002.
• The Ministry may also bring charges in Provincial Offences Court.
• The Provincial Offences Court may, upon conviction, impose upon an individual a fine
of up to $50,000, or imprisonment for a term of not more than two years less a day, or
both.
• A corporation that is convicted may be fined up to $250,000.
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
Consumer Remedies: Complaint to the CCTS
• The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS), hears and tries to
facilitate the resolution of complaints about cell phone and other wireless services problems.
• The CCTS is industry-sponsored and receives its funding directly from Telecommunications
Service Providers (TSPs), but operates completely independent of them.
• The CCTS takes complaints from individual consumers or small businesses against its TSP
members, who are not charged a fee for CCTS services.
• Membership in the CCTS is voluntary for wireless services companies, but most large providers
are members.
• The CCTS deals with a broad range of complaints, including its TSP members’ compliance with
the terms of service contracts, billing issues, and service delivery issues.
• The CCTS does not deal with the actual terms of a contract, prices, privacy/confidentiality, false
advertising, or general operating practices of the TSP that are beyond the specific contract
terms.
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
Ministry or CCTS: Who Hears What Complaints?
If you have problems with your wireless agreement, you may contact either the
Ministry or the CCTS. Consumer Protection Ontario has the following tips.
•
Contact the Ministry with questions or problems about:
o
o
o
o
•
your rights under the WSAA;
changes made to your agreement without your notice or consent;
if you didn’t get a copy of the agreement; or
you are owed a refund and you haven’t been paid.
Contact the CCTS with questions or problems about:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Cancelling your agreement within the trial period;
Data or roaming charges over what is permitted under the Wireless Code;
A roaming notification;
Unlocking your phone;
When service may be discontinued for not paying your bill; or
Prepaid phone cards.
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
15
If All Else Fails: Small Claims Court
•
If other dispute resolution alternatives fail, a consumer may sue the service provider in court. Ontario’s
Small Claims Court (SCC) is designed to be accessible to consumers. Some advantages of using the SCC
include:
•
•
•
Self representation: claimants in the SCC are not required to hire a lawyer to represent them. In fact, it is very common for
people to represent themselves at the SCC.
Low cost: with no lawyer required, the SCC provides an inexpensive way to file suit, and Court filing fees are also relatively low.
Available resources: because the SCC is designed for self-represented litigants, many resource guides have been developed to
assist with the process. These are available on the website of the Ministry of the Attorney General.
•
Even if pursing an action in the SCC, a consumer should not withhold payments that come due.
•
Instead, payments should be made to the service provider, with a request to the SCC for reimbursement
at the end of the action.
•
Alternatively, the consumer can arrange to pay the amount to the SCC in the context of the SCC suit.
•
At the end of the lawsuit, the Court will pay the provider what is owed and return any leftover funds to
the consumer.
2016, Community Law
School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.
And Finally….
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The webinar should be available online in the next few days
on the Your Legal Rights website at:
www.yourlegalrights.on.ca
For a list of upcoming public legal information webinars
visit: www.yourlegalrights.on.ca/training.
This webinar was brought to you by Community Law School
(Sarnia-Lambton) Inc. and Your Legal Rights with funding
from the Law Foundation of Ontario.
For more information about consumer issues visit the Consumer Law
section of Your Legal Rights at www.yourlegalrights.on.ca
For more public legal information webinars, including webinars on
other consumer protection topics, visit:
www.yourlegalrights.on.ca/training
For information about other consumer issues, social welfare laws,
and community advocacy training visit the Community Law School
website at www.communitylawchool.org
Community Law School
(Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.