Investigation Finding Report

After analyzing the information and evidence from both parties we determined that the service provider reasonably performed its obligations towards the customer and found no error in its handling of the issue brought forth.

Issue 1: The customer’s complaint is that the service provider withdrew automatic payment from the customer either without consent, or in the incorrect amount and that their account’s nonpayment status having been reported to creditors or a credit bureau when they ought not to have been.

• The customer’s complaint is that their service provider reported the non-payment of their account to a collection agency after their automatic payments stopped deducting their monthly service fee in November 2024 because the credit card that the customer provided to the service provider expired in October 2024.
• The customer clarified that they updated their payment to a credit card in September 2024 without realizing that the card would expire in October 2024, and that their bank replaced the card with a new one with a 2028 expiration date. The customer explained that they were unaware that the service provider required the new expiry date, as the new card had the same card number and the online portal does not display a warning of expiry or the expiry date for the payment card.
• We reviewed the customer’s service agreement from October 12, 2024, which demonstrates that the customer agreed to a month-to-month term with a 24-month device repayment period in which the customer would pay $139.96 per month for their device and monthly service fees until October 12, 2026.
  • The agreement outlines that the customer will receive their bill monthly online, and that notifications will be available on their mobile device or by email when each bill is ready to be viewed.
  • The agreement states that the customer authorizes the service provider to provide information to third party collection agencies at any time, including for reporting payment history with the service provider.
• We reviewed the customer’s invoices from September 2024 through February 2025 which demonstrate that that customer made a payment on October 24, 2024, for the full amount of the October invoice, totalling $110.97. Following this payment, the customer received their November 2024, December 2024 and January 2025 invoices, which indicated no payment had been received and as a result, a balance was brought forward each month. We note that the customer paid their full balance due of $733.15 on January 16, 2025.
  • We note that the customer’s December 2024 and January 2025 invoices include a message to the customer that no payment was received for the previous invoice. All invoices also included payment options and self serve options for the customer to check their balance online. We further note that the customer is not disputing that they had access to the service provider’s online customer portal for their account.
• We reviewed a screenshot of the customer’s payment history which demonstrates that the customer’s last preauthorized payment was made on October 23, 2024, for $110.97, following which the next payment was a manual payment made online by the customer on January 16, 2025, for $733.15.
• We reviewed the contact and interaction records from the service provider for the customer’s account which demonstrate that the service provider removed the customer from preauthorized payments on October 31, 2024, as the customer’s credit card on file had expired. We note that the customer did not contact the service provider from October 23, 2024, when they contacted the service provider on an unrelated inquiry, until January 16, 2025, when they contacted the service provider regarding the missed payments.
• We reviewed screenshots of text notifications sent to the customer from the service provider between October 1, 2024, and January 7, 2025, which demonstrate:
  • The customer received notification that their e-bill was ready to view online on October 9, 2024, November 8, 2024, December 8, 2024, and January 7, 2024.
  • The customer received notifications on October 1, 2024, October 15, 2024, and October 26, 2024, that their credit card on file for preauthorized payments was going to expire by the end of the month. These notifications also included information on how the customer could update the information online.
• As a result, we find that the service provider met its obligations to the customer in that it notified the customer of both the upcoming expiry date of their payment card on file, as well as the missed payments as a result of the credit card being removed from the file. We note that there is no obligation for the service provider to display expiry dates for payment methods, and that the text notifications are sufficient to demonstrate the service provider took actions to mitigate the customer’s concern.