Monday, September 21, 2009

Phone Company Rebate

The Supreme Court found middle ground when it ruled on a case that could put some money in your pocket. Canadian telephone companies filled a $650 million fund with money collected from urban land line customers from 2002 to 2006. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ordered phone companies to spend $350 million of this money on broadband internet for remote areas and give the rest back to customers.

The phone companies appealed to the Supreme Court to spend the whole $650 million on broadband, and consumer groups wanted the whole amount given back to customers. In the end the Supreme Court decided that the CRTC’s middle of the road plan was reasonable.

So, you can expect to get some money back if you’ve had a land line for a while. But, don’t expect too much. Although the refund amount isn’t set yet, various estimates are between $5 and $20.

2 comments:

  1. Is this automatic? What if you have switched companies? I have been with Primus then Rogers for landline services over the past few years.

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  2. Anonymous: These are excellent questions, but I have no definitive answers yet. I suspect that the rebate will be automatic for customers who are still using the same service, but customers who have moved on are another can of worms.

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