I'm not remotely close to being involved to the level of those making
statements...
But as a casual observer, I think the one pain point is that a telephone number
is an identity.
Once obtained, it becomes embedded in the branding, is a point of contact and
is part of the life blood of the company (or person).
Unfortunately, bundling of phone, hardware and other services by contract have
been linked to the phone number. A bad provider or bad experience or a better
deal or a change of business or whatever... should not be directly linked the
ownership of that number. It is essentially allowing a company or person to be
held hostage by a creditor or contract due to the disruption that it could
cause. When in fact, they should be in line like all other creditors or go the
route of the courts... allowing the business to decide to breach or challenge
the contract WITHOUT the hostage component. Providing free hardware over a
period is the same as providing credit. If there is a default, get in line like
all the other creditors... you should have done your homework.
Bundling discounts is also similar... hell, even email addresses are... Want
to jump ship from Rogers? You lose that @Roger.com address! You sure you want
to do that?
Very frustrating...
Regards,
Chuck
-----Original Message-----
From: Reza - Voipernetics [mailto:r...@voipernetics.com]
Sent: June-19-15 7:56 PM
To: "Asterisk Business [biz@taug.ca]"
Subject: Re: [biz] Bell business hassles.
/*Greetings Phil, Greetings Nabeel:*/
Since there is a fair bit of confusion and I get this question most of the time
from my resellers, here is a very detailed response for everyone, to what I
call the CRTC 576 decision, which is my favourite.
Nabeel's quote, " /Just a tangential comment, that 2 year max contract term for
wireless applied to consumers, not businesses./ "
Phil's quote, " /I know the crtc slaped mobile carriers a year so ago with now the 2
year max contract terms./ "
Both of you are right. But there are more updates as of January 23 2015. I have direct first hand
experience with this and fortunately the law is on the side of "the end user" and allows
us small telcos to be in competition with the deep pockets, eliminating monopolization and
extortion, giving the consumer (every day folks) and _small-business**_ owner "choices"
to escape from monopolization and extortion.
I am using the strong word extortion primarily because I know first hand certain
voip providers under certain circumstances has told their subscribers, "Pay up
your balance owing for the remainder of the
contract, or else... ". To address the inconvenience issues which
hurts the service end-user and in cases has caused much financial hardship and
damage, CRTC has some amazing policies in place as of January 23, 2015. This
has favoured me as a service provider and will favour other providers such as
yourselves.
In a recorded phone conversation with a CRTC Policy Officer, I said, "What if I
installed equipment worth $2,000 free of charge and the end
user owes me $10K in services, and I do not allow them to port out? ".
The response from the officer was, "Per CRTC policy, you must release the number.
Any money owing is a matter of the court and collections".
The very long story short in layman's language:
* 30 Day cancellation policies are not allowed at this stage.
* 12 / 24 / 36 / 48 month contracts are not allowed any more (for
services).
* Removal of any mention of a 30 day cancellation policy is ordered by
the CRTC in terms of use / policies etc.
* End User can choose to bail anytime (even if they owe you thousands
of dollars)
* Customer has the right to port number to another carrier of their
choice.
* Service providers cannot abruptly terminate an end user's services
for non-payment of fees without giving them "reasonable notice".
* End User can bail out to a new provider the next day of the "notice
of termination".
* As long as there is a "dial tone", the customer / end user can
request a port out to a new provider.
Sure, service providers (Bell & Rogers included) can make an end user sign a contract,
but the end user can "cancel" it anytime after January
23 2015 without getting penalized. Nabeel, Phil, the best analogy I
can give is the three of us can sign a contract that we will drive 100 km per
hour and cross every red light on a 60 zone. In essence that contract would not
hold in court as we would be breaking the law. And that contract itself could
put us in trouble as we have agreed to do something illegal.
_*Hopefully the above summary will help both of you understand and help
other competitors understand.*_ The decisions and new policies in
place has been a result of 100+ complaints to the CRTC and hundreds of pages of
appeal and concerns from competitors and new service providers who were losing
opportunities due the the Bell and Rogers contracts.
Below are **direct** quotes from CRTC for everyone's convenience:
** CRTC Defition of "_*small-business*_ ":
Source: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2014/2014-576.htm#fnb9
" The telecommunications industry ombudsman, the Commissioner for Complaints for
Telecommunications Services (CCTS), defines a “small business” as a business _*whose
average monthly telecommunications bill is under $2,500.*_"
My favourite CRTC decision, what I call the "576" decision. To be more
specific, the Regulatory Policy 2014-576.
" /The Commission determines that 30-day cancellation policies for local voice
services, Internet services, and broadcasting distribution services (e.g. cable and
satellite television services) *will be prohibited as of 23 January 2015.*/**"
Source: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2014/2014-576.htm
Point Number 39: " The Commission hereby _*prohibits*_ the use by
telecommunications service providers _*of 30-day cancellation policies for
individual and small-business customers*_ of retail telecommunications services.
This will empower these consumers to make informed choices in the competitive
market, and will contribute to making this market more dynamic. "
Source: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2014/2014-576.htm
Point Number 40: " Accordingly, the Commission directs Canadian
carriers that provide retail local voice services including VoIP, and/or
Internet services to individual or small-business customers to adhere to the
following requirement, as a condition of providing these services pursuant to
section 24 of the Telecommunications Act, no later than 23 January 2015:
Cancellation date
* Customers _*may cancel their contract at any time*_ by notifying
their service provider.
* Cancellation takes effect _*on the day that the service provider
receives notice of the cancellation*_.
* The Commission notes that pursuant to Broadcasting and Telecom
Regulatory Policy 2011-191, Canadian carriers and BDUs _*must
accept a customer cancellation request from a prospective new
service provider, on behalf of a customer*_.
Source: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2014/2014-576.htm
Point Number 42: " Finally, the Commission directs Canadian carriers to (i)
modify the terms and conditions specified in tariffs (for regulated services) and
terms of service (for forborne services) _*to remove any mention of 30-day (or
similar) cancellation policies, and
(ii) issue any revisions no later than 23 January 2015.*_ "
There is enough wealth and enough opportunities for everyone on earth.
Competition promotes innovation and quality services.
So go out there and acquire your new customer with confidence.
CRTC is on your side.
So Phil, per your quote, " Would love to see some answers on this, like all
businesses everything should be contract free :) customers should stay with you because
they like you not because there boxed in. " -- Yes, all services should be contract
free, empowering the end user.
That has been my moto and sales approach for the past 10+ years and the
consumers love it. But you already knew that because that's your
philosophy too! :)
Cheers!
Reza.
--
FOUNDER & SR. TELECOM ANALYST
VOIPERNETICS COMMUNICATIONS
TEL: 647-847-2287 x2016
Philip Mullis wrote on 6/19/2015 2:47 PM:
Hey folks,
Wonder if anyone has experience or an answer to this issue,
Bell has an auto renew in most of there contracts for 3 year periods, I
have many new customers that keep porting to me but getting bitten by there
bell renewal clause.
Im hearing such tales as just by paying there last invoice in there term
schedule, that bell accepts that as a clause for a full automatically 3
years renewal again.
Has anyone got experience in trouncing these shitty ass business practices?
I know the crtc slaped mobile carriers a year so ago with now the 2 year
max contract terms.
Would love to see some answers on this, like all businesses everything
should be contract free :) customers should stay with you because they like
you not because there boxed in.
