How to File a CCTS Complaint
The step-by-step process for escalating a phone, internet, or TV dispute your provider won't fix.
The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) is Canada's independent body for resolving disputes between consumers and their phone, internet, and TV providers. It is free for consumers, and most providers are required to participate. When your provider won't fix a billing error, honour a contract, or deliver the service you're paying for, the CCTS is where you escalate.
Last updated: August 2026
There is a one-year deadline. Under the CCTS Procedural Code, the CCTS will not act on a complaint received more than one year after the date you knew — or reasonably ought to have known — the facts behind it. Don't let a long back-and-forth with your provider run out the clock.
Is the CCTS the Right Place for Your Complaint?
The CCTS handles disputes about wireless, internet, home phone, long distance, and TV services between individual consumers and participating providers.
| The CCTS handles | The CCTS does not handle |
|---|---|
| Billing errors and disputed charges | The price itself — rates you consider too high |
| Contract disputes and cancellation problems | Broadcasting content (that's the CRTC or CBSC) |
| Service delivery and quality problems | Privacy complaints (Office of the Privacy Commissioner) |
| Unwanted services you can't remove from your bill | False or misleading advertising (Competition Bureau) |
| Credit and collections disputes with your provider | Unwanted telemarketing (National Do Not Call List) |
Not sure where your issue belongs? Our where-to-file guide sorts the common cases across the CRTC, CCTS, and CBSC.
Before You File
The CCTS requires that you give your provider a chance to fix the problem first. Do this properly and your complaint is much stronger:
- 1
- 2Document everything. Dates, times, representative names, reference numbers, and exactly what you were told.
- 3Gather your evidence. Bills showing the disputed charges, your contract or service agreement, and any emails or chat transcripts.
- 4Decide what resolution you want. A refund of a specific amount, a service removed, a contract cancelled without penalty — the CCTS works better with a concrete ask.
The CCTS Process, Step by Step
Submit Your Complaint
Use the CCTS online complaint form — the CCTS says it takes about 15 minutes. Describe the issue, the steps you've taken with your provider, and the resolution you want. The CCTS first checks that the complaint is within its mandate; if it isn't, they tell you where to go instead.
Your Provider Gets 20 Days
The CCTS sends your complaint to the provider, who will contact you to try to resolve it. The provider must report back to the CCTS within 20 days on whether the complaint was resolved. The CCTS notes that the vast majority of complaints are resolved at this stage — respond promptly to any offers so the clock keeps moving.
Conciliation and Investigation
If you and the provider can't agree, the CCTS steps in as an independent third party — first mediating informally, then investigating. It evaluates your complaint against your contract, the provider's terms of service, and the regulatory codes that protect you (like the Wireless Code, Internet Code, and TV Service Provider Code).
The Outcome
The investigation ends in findings you can accept or reject. If you believe the CCTS made an error, you can request a Case Review. If the provider fails to honour a resolution, the CCTS has enforcement mechanisms, including referral to the CRTC.
What the CCTS Can — and Can't — Order
Per the CCTS's own process guide, it can require a provider to:
- Fix billing errors and credit you for service you didn't receive
- Restore a service
- Correct inaccurate reporting to credit bureaus
- Reimburse proven financial losses up to a maximum of $5,000, including compensation for inconvenience in appropriate cases
What it can't do: punish or fine providers, or order them to change how they operate. Those are regulator functions — if your goal is systemic change rather than fixing your own account, that's a CRTC intervention.
Free Complaint Template
Fill in the bracketed details and paste this into the CCTS form. Factual and specific beats long and angry:
"I am a [provider] customer (account [number]). Since [date], [describe the problem — e.g. I have been billed $X per month for a service I did not order / my promised credit of $X has not been applied / my service has not worked as contracted]. I contacted [provider] on [dates] and spoke with [names/reference numbers]. I was told [their response]. The issue remains unresolved. I am seeking [specific resolution: refund of $X, removal of the service and a credit for all charges since [date], cancellation without penalty]. I have copies of my bills and my contract available."
Frequently Asked Questions
Is filing a CCTS complaint free?
Yes. The CCTS states its service is free of charge for consumers in Canada. It is funded by the participating service providers, not by complainants.
Is there a deadline?
Yes — one year from the date you knew, or reasonably ought to have known, the facts your complaint is based on. This comes from the CCTS Procedural Code, and it applies even if you were still going back and forth with your provider.
How much can I get back?
The CCTS can require reimbursement of proven financial losses up to $5,000, plus billing corrections, credits for service not received, service restoration, and corrections to credit bureau reporting.
CCTS or CRTC — which one do I want?
If the problem is your own bill, contract, or service: CCTS. If the problem is what a broadcaster aired, a rule being broken, or an industry-wide practice: the CRTC. The CCTS resolves individual disputes; it cannot fine providers or change their practices.
Does my provider participate in the CCTS?
Most Canadian providers of phone, internet, and TV services are required to participate — including Rogers, Bell, Telus, and their flanker brands. The CCTS website lists all participating providers.