Your Consumer Rights for Mobile Phones (The Wireless Code of Conduct)
Every Canadian with a mobile plan is protected by the Wireless Code. It explains your consumer rights and the rules your provider must follow. We created the Code to make it easier for you:
- to understand your mobile plan
- to change providers
- to prevent bill shock
- to return your cellphone if you are unhappy with your service
- and more!
Your Consumer Rights
Read the simplified Wireless Code and What the CRTC’s Wireless Code Means for You to learn more about your rights. You can also learn more about why the CRTC created the Wireless Code in 2013 and what changes were made as a result of a review of the Code in 2017.
Make a Complaint
Do you have a complaint that you have not been able to fix with your provider? Do you think your provider is not following the rules in the Code?
Contact the CCTSFootnote 1. They take your complaints about your mobile plan and the Wireless Code (and read their Guide to making a complaint).
Results of the Code
Public opinion surveys
We have asked Canadians about their mobile plans and experience with wireless service providers, each year, since the Wireless Code was created. Here's what we found:
- Wireless Code Public Opinion Research – Fall 2016
- Wireless Code Public Opinion Research – Spring 2016
- Wireless Code Public Opinion Research 2015
- Wireless Code Public Opinion Research – Executive Summary (April 7, 2014)
- Wireless Code Public Opinion Research – Quantitative Research Report (April 7, 2014)
Ensuring providers follow the rules
Each year the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services reports publicly on all consumer complaints about the Wireless Code. These reports list the types of complaints that have been resolved and what steps were taken to resolve them. Read their annual and mid-year reports.
We made all providers report publicly on their compliance to ensure they were following the rules. You can read the results in the Implementation Report Card [PDF] which is based on the providers’ Compliance Reports.
The CRTC has also commissioned a report by Deloitte LLP to provide an overview of the collection and use of Canadians’ Personal Information (PI) by Wireless Service Providers (WSP) and third party entities. The report aims to:
- Contribute to the CRTC’s overall understanding of current and emerging privacy issues in the wireless market, in support of furthering the goals of the Telecommunications Act; and
- Assist the CRTC with its review of the Wireless Code, a mandatory code imposed as a condition of service on WSPs pursuant to section 24 of the Telecommunications Act, by providing insights as to how the Wireless Code is meeting its objectives with respect to its privacy provisions.
Clarifying the Code
Providers have asked us to clarify some parts of the Code. To learn more about these clarifications, read the CRTC Decisions related to the Wireless Code.
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