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Ottawa, 23 April 2012
Reference No.: 8405-B2 8480-B54-X
BY EMAIL
Mr. Philippe Gauvin
Senior Counsel-Regulatory Law and Policy
Bell Canada
19th Floor, 160 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 2C4
bell.regulatory@bell.ca
Re: $2 monthly fee for paper bills
Dear Mr. Gauvin:
The Commission has recently received a number of complaints from consumers in relation to notifications that they have received from Bell Canada concerning the delivery of consumer bills. In these notifications, Bell Canada stated that it is moving to e-bill as its standard method of delivering invoices to Bell Canada’s Internet customers and that, starting in June 2012, customers will be charged a $2 monthly fee if they continue to receive paper bills.
Bell Canada is requested to respond to the Commission staff’s interrogatories in the attachment to this letter by 3 May 2012.
Yours sincerely
“Original signed by M. Murray”
Michel Murray
Director, Decisions and Operations
Telecommunications
cc: Bob Martin, CRTC robert.martin@crtc.gc.ca
Attach.
ATTACHMENT
1. Will the $2 monthly fee for paper bills be charged only to customers subscribing to Bell Canada’s Internet service (whether Internet is received on a stand-alone basis or as part of a bundle of services)? If not, identify each specific telecommunications service in relation to which the $2 monthly fee applies.
2. If the $2 monthly fee is to be charged to customers of regulated telecommunications services,
a) identify Bell Canada’s authority for charging this rate (specify the applicable Commission order or decision and tariff reference).
b) will the $2 monthly fee be charged to new customers only? If so, are customers informed of this fee prior to subscribing to the service(s)? Please provide copies of documentation that informs customers prior to service subscription of the $2 fee for written bills.
c) Will the $2 monthly fee be identified as a specific item on customer bills? If not, explain in detail why the $2 monthly fee should not be specifically identified on customers’ bills in light of Regulatory measure associated with the provision of detailed monthly billing, Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2011-569, 2 September 2011.
d) How are customers of Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership impacted?
3. If the $2 monthly fee is to be charged to customers who do not subscribe to Bell Canada’s Internet service, what is Bell Canada’s justification for charging customers who may not have the option of obtaining Bell Canada’s bills electronically? Address whether customers who do not have the option of obtaining bills electronically are subject to an undue disadvantage.
4. If a customer subscribes to more than one telecommunications service (e.g. Bell Canada’s residential telephone and Internet services) and currently receives separate bills for each service, will the $2 monthly fee apply once, or will it apply for each paper bill delivered to the customer?
5. How will Bell Canada’s move to e-bills as its standard method of delivering invoices affect customers who have requested billing in alternative formats? For example, will the $2 charge apply to customers who have requested billing in alternative paper formats, such as large print or braille?
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