They Raised My Price Mid-Contract
Whether that was allowed comes down to one question: were you inside a commitment period, or on month-to-month?
The short answer. If you are inside a fixed-term contract, your monthly price is a key contract term and your provider needs your informed, express consent to change it. If you are on month-to-month, they can generally raise it with advance notice — and an increase you find unreasonable may still be perfectly lawful.
Last updated: September 2026
Fixed Term: They Need Your Consent
The Wireless Code and the Internet Code both work the same way here. A provider must not change the key terms of your contract during the commitment period without your informed and express consent — and the minimum monthly charge is a key term. So is your data allowance.
“Express consent” means you actually agreed. Not that you kept paying. Not that a notice appeared on page four of a bill. If you did not agree to the new price, the increase should not have happened.
One exception, and it is a sensible one. A provider can change a key term without asking if the change clearly benefits you — lowering the rate for a service, or increasing your usage allowance. They do not need permission to give you more.
Month-to-Month: They Generally Do Not
This is the part most people are surprised by. The protection above attaches to the commitment period. Once you are out of contract and on a month-to-month plan, your provider can generally change the price with advance notice to you.
That is why “I have been a customer for eleven years and they put my bill up” is a real grievance but often not a rule violation. Long tenure is not a contract. If you are out of term, the price is not fixed.
Two Facts Decide Your Case
Before you call anyone, establish these. Everything else follows from them.
- Are you inside a commitment period? Your contract or account portal will say. If you took a subsidized phone, you are almost certainly in one.
- What notice did they give, and did you agree? Find the email, letter or bill message. Keep it. If they say you consented, this is the document that settles it either way.
What the CCTS Can and Cannot Do
Worth knowing before you file, so the outcome does not disappoint you.
| It can | It cannot |
|---|---|
| Investigate whether the provider followed your contract and the CRTC codes | Force a price reduction where the increase was lawful |
| Order refunds or credits for charges that were improper | Decide that a lawful price is too high |
The CCTS is free, independent of your provider, and can order reimbursement of proven financial losses up to $5,000. Reach it at 1-888-221-1687, and see our full CCTS guide for the process and the one-year deadline.
What to Write
For a fixed-term increase you did not agree to. Paste it into the CCTS form, or send it to your provider first:
"I am a [provider] customer (account [number]). I am in a fixed-term contract that began on [date] and runs to [date]. My agreed monthly price was $[amount]. On [date] my bill increased to $[amount]. I did not give express consent to this change, and the minimum monthly charge is a key contract term under the [Wireless Code / Internet Code], which a provider may not change during the commitment period without the customer's informed and express consent. I contacted [provider] on [date] and spoke with [name/reference number], who [their response]. I am asking that my price be returned to $[amount] and the difference refunded."
The rules on your bill keep moving
Activation and cancellation fees were banned in 2026, self-service cancellation is mandated for 2027, and the CRTC is weighing outage refunds now. We follow those proceedings and email once when something is actually decided.
Related
- Charged a fee to cancel? — that one is banned outright
- They sent my disputed bill to collections
- Where to complain about your provider