Customers of Canada’s three largest telecommunications providers — Rogers, Bell and Telus — say they’re frustrated by contracts that lock them into agreements but allow the companies to raise prices at the same time.

In hundreds of emails to Go Public, customers say they are fed up with unexpected increases in monthly internet, TV and home phone bills during contracts.

They started writing after CBC News reported Cathy Cooper’s storya Rogers Communications customer in Sidney, BC, who was pleasantly surprised when the company raised the monthly rental price of TV boxes by $7 each ($12 each for newer customers).

Melani Norman of Toronto wrote that she received her “first bill of a new three-year contract with Bell, and the bills went up $5 a month for my TV before I even started.”

“It seems the promise Bell made to me was false.”

In email after email, telecom customers say they were never told about the language — often buried in fine print — that says companies are allowed to raise the price of certain items during a contract.

Some describe spending hours on the phone with customer service agents trying to understand their bills and fighting for the original monthly price they believe they were guaranteed.

Many said they found their contracts confusing.

A contract law expert says consumers have been complaining about one-sided telecom contracts for nearly two decades.

“These contracts are long — and even if you read them, you need at least a university-level education to understand them,” said Marina Pavlović, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law who specializes in consumer protection and society digital. .

Pavlović says the contracts are a “trap by design” and it’s time for Canada’s telecommunications regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), to investigate.

STOP | Buried in the fine print:

Calls for regulatory investigation into telecom price gouging | Go public

A growing number of Rogers, Bell and Telus customers have complained to CBC Go Public about what they consider to be deceptive contracts, leading to several calls to industry regulators to investigate.

“We need to rebalance them so that consumers feel they are more protected.”

Go Public asked Rogers, Bell and Telus for comment on whether customers feel misled. Neither would address growing customer frustration.

“I felt a bit dazed”

Norman says he agreed to a three-year TV, internet and home phone contract with Bell in August and was offered a monthly phone price.

When her first bill arrived in September, her TV service was already $5 more than she was led to believe. When she called to inquire, she says an agent told her the price would soon go up for phone and internet as well.

“It was a little bit like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,'” Norman said.

Her contract says the company can raise fees by up to $10 each calendar year, which she says was not explained to her over the phone.

“I felt kind of in a daze.”

A Bell spokesman told Go Public that it “regrets” the price increases were not clearly explained over the phone and that the company will now credit Norman’s account to cover the extra costs.

She also said that Bell “does not offer or advertise fixed contract prices” for any of its plans.

“Our pricing terms are clearly displayed on our website, in our contracts, and our customer service representatives are trained to explain them clearly to our customers,” she wrote.

Pavlović, the contract expert, says stories like Norman’s are so common “you almost have to be a CPA (certified professional accountant) to audit your account.”

It turns out that Norman is a CPA – who created a spreadsheet to track her Bell costs – and even she had a hard time figuring out her inflated bill.

“Cash Grab”

Customers of the major telcos are calling their experiences everything from “annoying” and “dumb” to “a money grab”.

Many describe repeatedly asking a customer service agent if the price they had agreed upon for two years was “guaranteed.” But after getting insurance, they saw their bills go up soon after.

Some wonder why they didn’t get a credit when they called to complain about a new charge, when friends and family were able to get the same charge reduced or even reversed.

When Carl Cameron of Wasaga Beach, Ont., called Rogers to “complain loudly” about a TV box increase, he says a manager offered him a 50 percent discount and claimed the deal was for ” infinite”.

“He didn’t send it to me in writing,” he said. “So it doesn’t mean anything.”

In an email to Go Public, a Rogers spokesperson said Cameron will maintain that discount as long as he has the box.

CRTC to hold consultations

Pavlović says she’s not surprised that many Canadians are frustrated by little-known provisions in their telecommunications contracts.

“Consumers feel very vulnerable,” she said. “Some of these services are absolutely essential to their lives and they really have no choice but to accept these terms that are heavily skewed in favor of the providers.”

Pavlović says the CRTC should investigate and could require prices to remain unchanged for the duration of a contract.

A CRTC spokesperson told Go Public that recent reports of price increases under existing contracts are “concerning.”

The regulator has since sent a letter the big telcos, which says they “shouldn’t surprise their customers with price increases above the price they originally agreed to” and reminds them that any additional charges – such as those related to equipment – “must be clear”.

STOP | The NDP calls for action:

NDP calls for government action on Rogers price hike

A week after CBC’s Go Public highlighted customer concerns about Rogers’ price hike, the NDP called on the Liberal government to require the telco to reverse the price hike or be barred from future federal contracts.

The CRTC spokesperson also said the regulator is launching consultations with telecommunications companies, the public “and any other interested parties” to ensure that the information provided to customers is “clearer and more consistent” so that Canadians can compare offers more easily and change services or providers if they wish.

NDP calls for liberal action

On Parliament Hill, the NPD is also calling for action. Industry critic Brian Masse says the government needs to use its power to get Rogers to reduce the recent rise in TV rental prices and not allow “weasel words” in contracts.

“The minister … has the ability to connect with Rogers and tell them to stop abusing Canadian consumers,” Masse told Go Public.

A spokesman for Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne would not say whether he would ask Rogers to reverse its recent price hike, writing: “We expect Rogers to clearly communicate contract terms and price changes to its customers.”

Meanwhile, the standing committee on industry and finance — made up of Liberal, Conservative, NDP and Bloc Québécois MPs — unanimously passed a motion to summon Rogers CEO Tony Staffeiri to appear before them.

When Go Public asked if the minister would ask the CRTC to hold a hearing that investigated contract language that allows telcos to raise prices during an agreement, the spokesperson did not respond. She said the minister “sent a text message with senior management” at Rogers, but did not elaborate on what was discussed.

Contract law expert Pavlović says a CRTC hearing is long overdue.

“We need to strengthen consumer rights.”