Province dials up cellphone legislation

A cap on the cost of cancelling a cellphone or wireless contract is one of several steps under proposed legislation to protect consumers from the shock of opening their bills, according to a news release from the province.

The province is introducing legislation that would make it easier to understand the costs and terms of wireless services agreements while ensuring service providers are upfront with information before contracts are signed.

If the legislation is passed, customers would benefit by:
- contracts will be written in plain language;
- contracts would spell out which services come with the basic fee, and which would result in a higher bill;
- providers must get it in writing before they renew or amend a contract;
- only a modest fee would be charged for walking away from fixed-term contracts.

“We want to eliminate the 'cell shock' many people experience because the terms of their agreements lack clarity," Margarett Best, Minister of Consumer Services, said in the press release. “Service providers should give people the information they need so they understand the terms, and all costs of any cellphone and wireless services agreements they sign."

“Millions of Ontarians subscribe to wireless phone services and we are moving forward with important legislation that reaches the same objectives as those proposed in two bills I previously introduced,” Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti said. “This is a pocketbook issue that consumers want addressed, and our government bill contains measures that will make cellphone contracts considerably more fair and transparent."

Quick Facts
- The proposed legislation, which would affect new contracts, would take effect six months after being passed. It would also cover existing agreements that are amended, renewed or extended after that date.
- More than 70 per cent of Ontarians have a wireless services agreement.
- About 62 per cent of all complaints received by the federal Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services in 2010-2011 were about wireless services. More than 41 per cent of those complaints came from Ontarians.

Posted by Arron Pickard