CRTC Webinar

February 6, 2025

Dear Directors, Presidents, Alternates and Executive Directors:

I hope everyone enjoyed a restful Christmas break full of peace, of joy, of laughter and goodwill. I sincerely hope that the New Year brings happiness and good health to ail.

Through the efforts of Trish McAuliffe, President National Pensioners’ Federation, I have been selected to participate in two webinars organized by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in February.

The object of these webinars is the following:

• Setter understanding of the lived experiences of seniors when dealing with television, Internet, mobile and phone service providers and the challenges they face, and
• Talk about potential solutions to address those challenges.

Not all seniors are affected by the same issues when dealing with their communications service providers, but certain issues may affect seniors more than individuals in other age groups and some seniors might be particularly vulnerable or feel they do not have sufficient technical knowledge.

The sessions will allow for discussion between seniors’ organizations and service providers such as Bell, Rogers, TELUS and others.

I am pleased to report that I have been selected to participate in the following sessions:

1. February 24^th to focus on the sales process and consumer rights
2. February 27^th to cover customer and technical support

I am writing to our member organizations seeking your input on these issues affecting your province or community. I want to emphasize that I will be speaking on behalf of members and seniors from ail provinces as we are a national organization of over 80,000 members. I would appreciate your thoughts on the following questions:

1. The sale process for seniors:
   • Can seniors find the plans, devices and equipment that meets their needs?
   • Are seniors aware of lower-cost options available?
   • ls the equipment available for seniors with mobility or cognitive challenges?
   • Do seniors feel they are subject to aggressive sales practices?

2. Consumer rights:
   • Do seniors have knowledge of CRTC codes of conduct for service providers?
   • Do seniors understand the process of logging an inquiry or complaint with their service provider?
     • Do seniors understand the process of logging an inquiry or complaint with the CRTC?

3. Customer support:
   • Can seniors access customer support representatives without barriers?
   • Are the current processes too complicated for seniors?

4. Technical support: Is plain language available, when offering seniors training on device and equipment use?
   • Are the steps in trouble shooting equipment issues too complicated for seniors?
   • How can the service providers simplify technical support?

Following the sessions a What We Leamed report will be created and published. The resulting report would help the industry in identifying how it can improve service delivery and address seniors’ needs, for example, creating best practices for interacting with seniors.

I value member organizations input on these issues and please provide me with such             retroaction no later than February 15, 2025. Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

Bill Berryman

President ACER-CART