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

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