OTTAWA — Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI.B) has agreed to donate $275,000 to post-secondary schools as part of a settlement with the federal regulator, which launched a investigation into its telemarketing practices.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said Thursday Rogers has agreed to conditions over its use of automated calling to tell its prepaid mobile customers how to buy more minutes. Rogers is the latest of the big three telecommunications companies to come under fire from the CRTC for its telemarketing practices.
“This latest investigation reinforces our commitment to protecting the privacy of consumers and educating businesses about their responsibilities,” said Masood Qureshi, the CRTC’s senior manager of telemarketing regulation.
“We are pleased that Rogers is working to address our concerns and changing its telemarketing practices.”
Rogers did not admit fault, but agreed to stop making the calls without consent of its customers and to review its policies to ensure it follows the CRTC rules. The company also said it would donate $175,000 to the Ecole polytechnique de Montreal and $100,000 to the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
The CRTC said the amount Rogers paid out is proportionate to its overall share of the prepaid mobile market.
The CRTC’s Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules are designed to reduce unwanted calls to Canadians. Automated calling devices can only be used with a consumer’s prior consent, or by police, fire departments, schools and hospitals with a public service message.
The CRTC has the ability to discuss corrective actions with telemarketers, including monetary penalties.
Similar agreements were reached earlier with Telus (TSX:T) and Bell Canada (TSX:BCE), neither of which admitted fault.
The CRTC hit Bell Canada with a $1.3-million penalty in December for violating telemarketing rules, by far the biggest penalty the CRTC has ever slapped on a company for breaking the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules under the Telecom Act.
Prior to last March, it had only imposed $73,000 in penalties after hearing 300,000 complaints.