Canada’s telecom regulator, the CRTC, has issued a ruling requiring all Canadian carriers to participate in the Commission for Complaints for Telecommunications Services.

The Commission was created three years ago to provide customers with an independent mechanism for filing compalints regarding telecom service delivery, billing, and contract issues.

Consumers filed some 3,700 complaints in the Commission’s 2009-2010 monitoring period. 52% of these complaints related to wireless carriers. The majority of consumers who complained were upset over billing errors, contract disputes, and so called “number portability,” which (in theory) allows users to switch carriers while keeping the same phone number.

Making CCTS membership mandatory “recognizes the need for certainty for both the
CCTS and consumers about the status of the CCTS during this holiday season and beyond,” the CRTC noted in its ruling.

The Ottawa-basesd Public Interest Advocacy Centre is complaining to telecom regulators about Bell Mobility, due to a $100 promotion that the carrier is offering in place of a $67 CRTC-ordered rebate.

In August, the CRTC ordered Bell, along with Telus and MTS, to refund a substantial amount of money to local telephone customers. The funds, which had been set aside for rural broadband expansion, amounted to $67.41 per Bell Canada customer.

Now, Bell is offering customers a $100 coupon in lieu of the rebate, in exchange for signing a two-year Bell TV or Bell Mobility contract.

“They’re basically providing an incentive to customers with their own money,” commented Public Interest Advocacy Centre executive director, Michael Janigan, when interviewed by CBC News.

Bell stands behind the offer, however, stating that it will benefit consumers.

“Considering that several hundred thousand people will sign up for a new Bell service at this time of year in any event, the promotion makes sense for a large number of customers who would be selecting a new Bell service anyway,” commented Bell spokeswoman, Marie-Eve Francoeur. “Keep in mind that we are offering almost 33 per cent greater value with the promotion than the rebate, and that $100 is on top of any other applicable promotions we have in market. Again, it’s the customer’s decision to choose the offer or the rebate cheque.”

Canada’s Competition Bureau is recommending a multi-million-dollar fine against Rogers Wireless, alleging that the cell phone giant has misled consumers in advertisements for its new discount wireless brand, Chatr.

After a two-month investigation, the Competition Bureau has concluded that there is no evidence to support Rogers’ claim that Chatr customers will experience “fewer dropped calls than [with] new wireless carriers.”

Two recently-founded carriers, Mobilicity and Wind Mobile, have complained to regulators about Rogers’ aggressive efforts to promote the Chatr brand.

“We take misleading advertising very seriously,” Competition Commissioner, Melanie Aitken, said earlier today. “Consumers deserve accurate information when making purchasing decisions and need to have confidence they are not being misled by false advertising campaigns.”

Rogers, however, expressed “surpirse” at the Bureau’s decision. “We have extensive, independent third party testing to validate our claims and we stand by our advertising,” commented Ken Engelhart, the company’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs. “We will vigorously defend this action in court.”

The Competition Bureau is asking for a $10-million fine to be levied against Rogers. The case is now headed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, where it will be tried under the Misleading Advertising provisions of Canada’s Competition Act.

Canadians now view texting behind the wheel as a bigger safety concern than drinking and driving, according to a new survey by the Canadian Automobile Association.

88% of the 6,000 people surveyed ranked texting and driving as a “very serious” threat, compared to 83% who said the same about drinking and driving.

“It signals a sea shift for people,” commented CAA spokesman, Ian Jack. “It’s part of Canadian culture now that, for almost everyone, you don’t get impaired and get behind the wheel of a car. The message hasn’t sunk in yet that it’s a really bad idea to be looking at your wireless device while driving.”

Seven of the ten Canadian provinces have implemented legislation that prohibits texting while driving, but these laws have been ineffective in that the practice is still widespread, particularly among younger drivers.

Other leading safety concerns include talking on the phone while driving, which 65% of respondents ranked as a “very serious” threat, driving while tired (61%), aggressive driving (55%), and excessive speeding (51%).

Western Canada’s leading telephone carrier, Telus Corp., has reportedly reached an agreement to settle a dispute with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CTRC), over its violation of automated calling regulations.

Until recently, Telus used automated calling devices to contact its prepaid wireless customers when their minutes were about to expire. Because prepaid users aren’t required to sign a contract and the practice was carried out without the customers’ express consent, Telus was in technical violation of CRTC regulations.

The company has now agreed to stop the automated calling practice and make a $200,000 charitable donation to Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration, for the creation of a new telecom scholarship. The CRTC, meanwhile, will apparently drop the complaint against Telus and won’t issue a fine.