from: CBC Marketplace <info@newsletters.cbc.ca>
reply-to: CBC Marketplace <watchdog@cbc.ca>
| | | | This is your Marketplace Watchdog for Friday, Mar. 20, 2026.
By: Bobby Hristova
| | |
| |  | | | Customers complain about long wait times, multiple calls to resolve simple issues with Rogers, Telus, Bell
| The
offer seemed straightforward. In early January, a Bell chat agent
promised Vicki Sloot that if she upgraded to a new Bell Fibe TV box, she
could keep all of her specialty programming sports channels like TSN
and Sportsnet. Plus, she’d be paying $5 less a month.
The next day, her new equipment arrived — but she was missing the
speciality channels. She went back to Bell, who told her she had only a
“basic starter plan” and that it would be an extra $25 a month to get
them back.
So began an eight-week odyssey through Bell’s customer service
department, consisting of hours spent live chatting and on the phone
with different agents and an eventual escalation to Bell’s resolutions
team.
“It’s impossible to get a single right answer that is consistent
throughout each support agent,” said Sloot, who lives in Toronto.
Sloot is one of more than a dozen customers with whom Marketplace has
spoken who say they are frustrated with the poor customer service they
received from Canada’s big three telecoms: Rogers, Bell and Telus.
Complaints include long hold times, multiple transfers and escalations,
dropped calls and overall poor communication, which can make seemingly
simple issues take days or weeks to get sorted.
Employees at two of the largest telecom companies, Rogers and Telus, told Marketplace that
front-line customer service representatives have less incentive to help
customers issue credits or lower bills, and said they’re measured on
their abilities to increase customers’ bills.
Amas Tenumah, an Oklahoma City-based author and customer service expert
who consults companies on their customer service practices, believes
Bell is following a pattern he has seen many times before.
“The system is designed to frustrate as many people as possible,” he
said. “Part of the design is that people will give up so that
[companies] don't have to incur that expense.”
In a statement, Bell acknowledged Sloot had to take more steps than necessary to rectify the issue.
Communications director Ellen Murphy said that “the assertion that we
have deliberately designed our customer operations to avoid resolving
issues is just simply not true.”
“We strive to make it easier for our customers to do business with Bell,
and in this instance, we did not live up to our customer commitments,”
Murphy added.
A Rogers spokesperson said it has an intensive training program for new
customer service agents, including six weeks of training and two weeks
of monitoring and coaching on calls.
“We’re working hard to ensure we deliver a great experience for our
customers at every touchpoint and continue to invest in training, tools
and technology to continuously improve,” the spokesperson said in a
statement.
Asked for comment, Telus didn’t respond to the claims made by the employees.
Read more from Marketplace journalists Madeline McNair, Tomi Joseph-Raji, Daniela Silva and Asha Tomlinson.
| | |
 | | | Another Loblaw store fined $10K for promoting imported food as Canadian. Sobeys could be next
| A
year after the “Buy Canadian” movement started sweeping the country,
the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is cracking down on grocery
stores that promote imported food as Canadian.
So far this year, the federal regulator has issued two fines to
Loblaw-owned grocery stores for this type of violation. The CFIA is also
investigating Canadian labelling and advertising practices at grocer
Sobeys’ head office, CBC News has learned.
“Canadians have been clear that they want to support Canadian businesses
and buy Canadian products,” the agency said in an email. “The CFIA will
take the appropriate action to protect Canadians from misleading
claims.”
Loblaw and Sobeys, Canada’s largest grocers, have each told CBC News
that they strive for accurate country-of-origin signage but noted the
task is challenging when dealing with large inventory.
Since the Buy Canadian movement ignited in February 2025 in response to
U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war, customers on the hunt for
Canadian products have become fed up with grocery products plastered
with maple leaves and patriotic logos that turn out to be American
imports — the subject of a Marketplace investigation in January.
At the same time, many grocers have also been using patriotic symbols and signage to spotlight domestic products.
Back in September, CBC News reported that the CFIA had identified 27
violations in 2025 where grocers, mostly national chains, made erroneous
country-of-origin claims. Even so, the agency hadn’t issued any fines —
which didn’t sit well with shoppers.
But now, the CFIA’s approach to enforcement has changed.
Read more from the CBC’s Sophia Harris.
| | |
 | | | Canadians might soon be waiting longer to have their air travel complaints heard
|
The
federal government is currently weighing whether to renew funding meant
to address a massive backlog of airline passenger complaints — funding
that if not extended could result in Canadians having to wait longer to
have their cases heard.
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) — a quasi-judicial tribunal and
regulator tasked with settling disputes between airlines and customers —
has been dealing with a backlog of air passenger complaints since the air passenger bill of rights was introduced in 2019.
Those regulations require an airline to compensate passengers when a
flight is delayed or cancelled for a reason that is within the airline's
control. Passengers who feel they've been unfairly denied compensation
can bring their cases to the CTA.
In 2023, the federal government earmarked nearly $76 million for the CTA
to clear the backlog, but that temporary funding is set to expire this
year. The backlog of complaints has more than doubled since the
government set that money aside.
On the day the funding was announced, the backlog was estimated to be
42,000 complaints. The CTA told CBC News that it now sits at roughly
95,000 complaints.
For its part, the agency says the ballooning backlog is largely due to
an increase in complaints — and it argues it has become more efficient
since a new system was put in place in 2023.
"The CTA is currently trending towards its fourth straight year
receiving over 40,000 complaints, and in January 2026, it received its
highest ever monthly total of complaints at 5,685," a CTA spokesperson
said in an email.
Data from the agency's annual report
indicates it has gone from processing roughly 15,000 complaints (or
fewer) per year to settling more than 30,000 in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Transport Minister Steven
MacKinnon didn't say one way or another if the funds would be renewed.
"We are aware of the concerns related to delays and the backlog of
complaints. Our government continues to review the resources required to
support the work of federal agencies and to respond to the needs of
Canadians and passengers across the country," the spokesperson said in
an email.
Read more from the CBC’s Darren Major.
| | |
| | What else is going on?
| | | Hyundai recalls thousands of 2026 Palisade SUVs, halts some sales after death of toddler in Ohio
About 8,000 vehicles recalled in Canada, over 60,000 in U.S. due to issue with power seats
| Thinking of moving to a more 'affordable' part of the country? Consider this
From affordable housing in Alberta to high taxes in Quebec, there are
many widely accepted claims about the cost of living in different parts
of the country. But are these preconceptions accurate?
| Life-threatening complications overlooked in weeks after childbirth, researchers say
Study suggests 30 per cent of near-death cases happen weeks after delivery, when fewer supports in place
| Self-harm among young Canadians is on the rise, specifically in girls, new research finds
Latest research doesn't look into what's driving the increase, but experts suggest social media plays a role
| Fortnite is hiking cost of its currency to 'pay the bills.' Are its battles against Google and Apple to blame?
Parent company Epic Games has for years been embroiled in antitrust action against the tech giants
| | |
 | Do you know someone who has been hurt by an e-bike or e-scooter? Do you have concerns about e-bikes and e-scooters? If so, we want to hear from you. Email us at marketplace@cbc.ca.
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