Phone Terms of Service

Please read the terms of services below

The Terms of Service, TB80 of the General Tariff, set out the basic rights and obligations of both Tbaytel and its customers. They were approved by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), effective February 6, 1997. The Terms of Service are available in English and French and have equal force in both official languages.

1. General

1. Except as otherwise specified, these Terms of Service apply with regard to services for which the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commissihon has approved a Tariff.
2. These Terms do not limit Tbaytel's liability in cases of deliberate fault or gross negligence, anti-competitive conduct or of breach of contract where the breach results from the gross negligence of Tbaytel.
3. Tariffed services offered by Tbaytel are subject to the terms and conditions contained in;
   1. these Terms;
   2. applicable provisions of Tbaytel's Tariffs; and
   3. any written application, to the extent that it is not inconsistent with these Terms or the Tariffs.
4. All of the above bind both Tbaytel and its customers.

2. Effective Date of Changes

1. Subject to sub-section 2.2, changes to these Terms or the Tariffs, as approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, take effect on their effective date even though applicants or customers have not been notified of them or have paid or been billed at the old rate.
2. The old non-recurring charges for the transactions in question apply where service which was to be provided by a certain agreed-upon date was, through no fault of the applicant or customer, not so provided and in the meantime a rate increase has gone into effect.

3. Obligation to Provide Service

1. Tbaytel is not required to provide service to any applicant where:
   1. Tbaytel would have to incur unusual expenses which the applicant will not pay; for example, for securing rights of way or for special construction;
   2. the applicant owes amounts to Tbaytel that are past due other than as a guarantor; or
   3. the applicant does not provide a reasonable deposit or alternative required pursuant to these Terms.
2. Where Tbaytel does not provide service on application, it must provide the applicant with a written explanation upon request.

4. Tbaytel Facilities

1. Except where otherwise stipulated in its Tariffs, or by special agreement, Tbaytel must furnish and install all facilities required to provide service.
2. Upon termination of service, the customer must return Tbaytel equipment.
3. Tbaytel must bear the expense of maintenance and repairs required due to normal wear and tear to its facilities up to the demarcation point, except that Tbaytel may charge for the additional expense incurred when the applicant or customer requires maintenance and repair work to be performed outside of regular working hours. This section does not apply where otherwise stipulated in Tbaytel Tariffs or by special agreement.
4. A customer who has deliberately, or by virtue of a lack of reasonable care, caused loss or damage to Tbaytel's facilities, may be charged the cost of restoration or replacement. In all cases, customers are liable for damage caused to Tbaytel facilities by customer-provided facilities.

5. Tbaytel Right to Enter Premises

1. Tbaytel's agents and employees may, at reasonable hours, enter premises on which service is or is to be provided, to install, inspect, repair and remove its facilities, to inspect and perform necessary maintenance in cases of network-affecting disruptions involving customer-provided facilities, and to collect proceeds from coin telephones.
2. Prior to entering premises, Tbaytel must obtain permission from the applicant, customer or other responsible person.
3. Entry is not subject to sub-section 5.1 and 5.2 in cases of emergency or where entry is pursuant to a court order.
4. Upon request,Tbaytel's agent or employee must show valid Tbaytel identification prior to entering premises.

6. Deposits and Alternatives

1. Except as otherwise stipulated in its Tariffs, Tbaytel cannot require deposits from an applicant or customer at any time unless the applicant or customer:
   1. has no credit history with Tbaytel and will not provide satisfactory credit information;
   2. has an unsatisfactory credit rating with Tbaytel due to payment practices in the previous two years regarding Tbaytel's services; or
   3. clearly presents an abnormal risk of loss.
2. Tbaytel must inform the applicant or customer of the specific reason for requiring a deposit, and of the possibility of providing an alternative to a deposit, such as arranging for third party payment, a bank letter of credit or a written guarantee from a third person whose credit is established to the satisfaction of Tbaytel.
3. An applicant or customer may provide an alternative to a deposit provided it is reasonable in the circumstances.
4. At no time may the total amount of all deposits and alternatives provided by or for an applicant or customer exceed three months' charges for all services, including anticipated long distance charges.
5. Tbaytel shall credit interest on customer cash deposits held by Tbaytel for the period during which the deposit is retained and the interest rate shall be the Canadian chartered bank deposit rate for non-chequable savings deposits as published in the most recent Bank of Canada Review, Schedule F1.
6. Tbaytel must show on the customer's monthly billing statement, the telephone number of a company representative to whom any inquiry regarding a customer's deposit may be directed. Tbaytel shall provide a written statement to the customer of the total amount of the deposit held with accrued interest upon customer request or at the time of refunding the deposit.
7. Tbaytel must review the continued appropriateness of deposits and alternative arrangements at six month intervals. When service is terminated or the conditions which originally justified them are no longer present, Tbaytel must promptly refund the deposit, with interest, or return the guarantee or other written undertaking, retaining only any amount then owed to it by the customer.

7. Restrictions on Use of Service

1. Service may be used by the customer and all persons having the customer's permission to use it. In the case of business telephone service, joint use within the meaning of Tbaytel's Tariffs is permitted only upon approval by Tbaytel in accordance with the applicable provisions of its tariffs.
2. Customers are prohibited from using Tbaytel's services or permitting them to be used for a purpose or in a manner that is contrary to law or for the purpose of making annoying or offensive calls.
3. Customers are prohibited from using Tbaytel's services or permitting them to be used so as to prevent a fair and proportionate use by others. For this purpose, Tbaytel may limit use of its services as necessary.
4. Tbaytel's facilities must not be re-arranged, disconnected, removed, repaired or otherwise interfered with except in cases of emergency, where specified in Tbaytel's Tariffs or by special agreement. Terminal equipment provided by the customer may be connected with Tbaytel's facilities, pursuant to the provisions of the General Tariff or by special agreement.
5. No payment may be exacted, directly or indirectly from any person by any party other than Tbaytel for the use of any of Tbaytel's services, except where otherwise stipulated in Tbaytel's tariffs or by special agreement.

8. Customer Liability for Calls

1. Customers are responsible for paying for all calls originating from, and charged calls accepted at, their telephones, regardless of who made or accepted them.

9. Dispute Procedure

1. Customers may dispute charges for calls that they do not believe originated from or were accepted at their telephones. The dispute procedure set out in the introductory pages of the telephone directory should be followed and customers must pay the undisputed portion of the bill.

10. Confidentiality of Customer Records

1. Unless a customer provides express consent or disclosure is pursuant to a legal power, all information kept by Tbaytel regarding the customer, other than the customer's name, address and listed telephone number, is confidential and may not be disclosed by Tbaytel to anyone other than:
   • the customer;
   • a person who, in the reasonable judgement of Tbaytel, is seeking the information as an agent of the customer;
   • another telephone company, provided the information is required for the efficient and cost-effective provision of telephone service and disclosure is made on a confidential basis with information to be used only for that purpose;
   • a company involved in supplying the customer with telephone or telephone directory related services, provided the information is required for that purpose and disclosure is made on a confidential basis with the information to be used only for that purpose;
   • an agent retained by Tbaytel in the collection of the customer’s account, provided the information is required for and is to be used only for that purpose;
   • a public authority or agent of a public authority, for emergency public alerting purposes, if a public authority has determined that there is an imminent danger that threatens the life, health or security of an individual and that the danger could be avoided or minimized by disclosure of the information; or
   • an affiliate involved in supplying the customer with telecommunications and/or broadcasting services, provided the information is required for that purpose and disclosure is made on a confidential basis with the information to be used only for that purpose.
2. Express consent may be taken to be given by a customer where the customer provides;
   • written consent;
   • oral confirmation verified by an independent third party;
   • electronic confirmation through the use of a toll-free number;
   • electronic confirmation via the internet;
   • oral consent, where an audio recording of the consent is retained by the carrier; or
   • consent through other methods, as long as an objective documented record of customer consent is created by the customer or by an independent third party.
3. Tbaytel's liability for disclosure of information contrary to sub-section 11.1 is not limited by sub-section 16.1.
4. Upon request, customers are permitted to inspect any Tbaytel records regarding their service.
5. Tbaytel may also release to a law enforcement agency, in accordance with the terms of a tariff approved by the CRTC, the identity of the service provider, but not the name of the customer, associated with a specific telephone number.

11. Tbaytel-Initiated Changes in Telephone Numbers and Service Arragements

1. Customers do not have any property rights in telephone numbers assigned to them.Tbaytel may change such numbers, provided it has reasonable grounds for doing so and has given reasonable advance written notice to the customers in question, stating the reason and anticipated date of change. In cases of emergency, oral notice with subsequent written confirmation is sufficient.
2. Whenever Tbaytel changes a customer's telephone number on its own initiative, it must, unless there are insufficient central office terminations available, provide reference of call service without charge until termination of the customer's service or distribution of updated directories for that district showing the new number, whichever occurs first.

12. Refunds in Cases of Service Problems

1. Where there are omissions, interruptions, delays, errors or defects in transmission, or failures or defects in Tbaytel facilities, Tbaytel's liability is limited to a refund of charges, on request, proportionate to the length of time the problem existed. With regard to long distance service and short period private line service, the refund shall be computed in a similar manner, provided Tbaytel is advised promptly of the problem. No request is necessary where a problem in primary exchange service lasts twenty-four hours or more from the time Tbaytel is advised of the problem. However, where the problem is occasioned by Tbaytel negligence, Tbaytel is also liable for the amount calculated in accordance with sub-section 16.1.

13. Limitation of Liability

1. Except with regard to physical injuries, death or damage to customer premises or other property occasioned by its negligence, Tbaytel's liability for negligence, including negligence with regard to intercept, reference of call service and emergency service from coin telephones, and also for breach of contract where the breach results from the negligence of Tbaytel, is limited to the greater of twenty dollars ($20.00) and three times the amounts refunded or cancelled in accordance with sub-sections 13.1 and 15.1, as applicable.
2. Tbaytel is not liable for:
   1. any act or omission of a telecommunications carrier whose facilities are used in establishing connections to points that Tbaytel does not directly serve;
   2. defamation or copyright infringement arising from material transmited or received over Tbaytel's facilities;
   3. infringement of patents arising from combining or using customer-provided facilities with Tbaytel's facilities; or
   4. copyright or trademark infringement, passing off or acts of unfair competition arising from directory advertisements furnished by a customer or a customer's directory listing, provided such advertisements or the information contained in such listings were received in good faith in the ordinary course of business.

14. Payment Time Limit

1. The payment time limit is forborne from regulation pursuant to Telecom Regulatory Policy 2009-424, Section III. Late payment charges will be calculated as set out on the customer invoice, or at www.tbaytel.net.
2. In exceptional circumstances, for example when a customer has incurred a significant amount of long distance charges and presents an abnormal risk of loss to Tbaytel, prior to the normal billing date Tbaytel may request payment from the customer on an interim basis for the non-recurring charges that have accrued, providing the customer with details regarding the services and charges in question.
3. No charge disputed by a customer can be considered past due unless Tbaytel has reasonable grounds for believing that the purpose of the dispute is to evade or delay payment.
4. Tbaytel may request immediate payment in extreme situations, provided that a notice has been issued pursuant to sub-section 17.2 and the abnormal risk of loss has substantially increased since that notice was given or Tbaytel has reasonable grounds for believing that the customer intends to defraud Tbaytel.

15. Libility for Unbilled and Underbilled Charges

1. Unless there has been customer deception with regard to a charge, customers are not responsible for paying a previously unbilled or underbilled charge except where:
   1. in the case of a recurring charge or a charge for an international long distance message, it is correctly billed within a period of one year from the date it was incurred; or
   2. in the case of a non-recurring charge other than for an international long distance message, it is correctly billed within a period of 150 days from the date it was incurred.
2. In the circumstances described in sub-section 18.1, unless there has been customer deception, Tbaytel can not charge the customer interest on the amount of the correction. If the customer is unable to promptly pay the full amount owing. Tbaytel must attempt to negotiate a reasonable deferred payment agreement.

16. Liability for Charges that Should not Have Been Billed and Those That Were Overbilled

1. In the case of a recurring charge that should not have been billed or that was overbilled, a customer must be credited with the excess back to the date of the error, subject to applicable limitation periods provided by law. However, a customer who does not dispute the charge within one year of the date of an itemized statement which shows that charge correctly, loses the right to have the excess credited for the period prior to that statement.
2. Non-recurring charges that should not have been billed or that were overbilled must be credited, provided that the customer disputes them within 150 days of the date of the bill.
3. A customer who is credited with any amount that should not have been billed or that was overbilled must also be credited with interest on that amount calculated as the Canadian chartered bank deposit rate for non-chequable savings deposits as published in the most recent Bank of Canada Review, Schedule F1, for the period during which the error occurred.

17. Minimum Contract Period and Cancellation Before Service Commencement

1. The minimum contract period for Tbaytel services is one month commencing from the date the service is provided, except where otherwise stipulated in Tbaytel's tariffs or where Tbaytel has stipulated a longer period in instances in which special construction is necessary or special assemblies are installed.
2. A customer who cancels or delays a request for service before installation work has started cannot be charged by Tbaytel. Installation work is considered to have started when the customer has advised Tbaytel to proceed, and Tbaytel has incurred any related expense. A customer who cancels or delays a request for service after installation work has started, but before service has started, will be charged the lesser of the full charge for the entire minimum contract period plus the installation charge and the estimated costs incurred in installation less estimated net salvage. The estimated installation costs include the cost of unsalvaged equipment and materials specifically provided or used plus the cost of installing, including engineering, supply expense, labour, and supervision, and any other disbursements resulting from the installation and removal work.

18. Customer-Initiated Termination of Service

1. Customers who give Tbaytel reasonable advance notice may terminate their service after expiry of the minimum contract period, in which case they must pay charges due for service which has been furnished.
2. Before expiry of the minimum contract period, customers may terminate their service in which case they must pay the full charges for the entire minimum contract period or, in the following circumstances, charges due for service which has been furnished:
   1. in the event of the death of the customer during the minimum contract period, the termination is effective from the date Tbaytel is notified of the death;
   2. where the customer's premises are destroyed, damaged or condemned by reason of fire or other causes beyond the customer's control, so that they must be abandoned, the termination is effective from the date Tbaytel is notified;
   3. in the case of directory listings for which a specific charge applies and in the case of directory listings with regard to joint use of service, in the event of the death of the listed party or any joint user or when either acquires separate telephone service, the termination is effective from the date Tbaytel is notified of the death or from the date of the commencement of the separate service;
   4. where a change to the base rate, exchange or local service area affects the customer's service, the termination is effective from the date Tbaytel is notified of the customer's desire to terminate service;
   5. where a customer replaces any Tbaytel service with another Tbaytel service, the termination is effective from the date of the replacement, subject to the terms of Tbaytel's Tariffs and, notwithstanding sub-section 1.3 item (c), the terms of the contract for the service in question;
   6. where a customer's service is taken over without lapse by a new customer at the same location, the termination with respect to the original customer is effective from that date. However, if at that time the new customer discontinues any of the original service or facilities, the original customer must pay the full charge for such discontinued service or facilities for the entire minimum contract period;
   7. where the circumstances specified in sub-section 21.2 items (a) through (f) do not apply, the minimum contract period is greater than one month at the same location, and the customer has given Tbaytel advance notice, the termination is effective when the customer pays the termination charge specified in the contract for the service in question or, where such charge is not specified, a termination charge of one-half of the charges remaining for the unexpired portion of the minimum contract period; and
   8. in the case of directory listings for which a specific charge applies and in the case of directory listings with regard to joint use of service, where the listing has appeared in a directory and the customer's service is terminated or the listed party or joint user moves to another location, and the customer has given Tbaytel advance notice, the termination is effective on the date of that service termination or move, subject to a minimum charge of one month, and as of such time as no reference of call service is provided from the old to the new number.

Tbaytel-Initiated Suspension or Termination of Service

1. Tbaytel may suspend or terminate a customer's service only where the customer:
   1. fails to pay an account of the customer that is past due, provided it exceeds fifty dollars or has been past due for more than two months;
   2. fails to provide or maintain a reasonable deposit or alternative when required to do so pursuant to these Terms;
   3. fails to comply with the terms of a deferred payment agreement;
   4. repeatedly fails to provide Tbaytel with reasonable entry and access in conformity with sections 5.1 and 5.2;
   5. uses or permits others to use any of Tbaytel's services so as to prevent fair and proportionate use by others;
   6. uses or permits others to use any of Tbaytel's services for a purpose or in a manner that is contrary to law or for the purpose of making annoying or offensive calls;
   7. contravenes sub-sections 8.4 or 8.5; or
   8. fails to provide payment when requested by Tbaytel pursuant to section 17.4.
2. Tbaytel may not suspend or terminate service in the following circumstances:
   1. failure to pay non-tariffed charges;
   2. failure to pay charges for a different class of service at different premises or for service in the name of another customer, including failure to pay the account of another customer as a guarantor;
   3. where the customer is prepared to enter into and honour a reasonable deferred payment agreement; or
   4. where there is a dispute regarding the basis of the proposed suspension or termination, provided payment is being made for undisputed outstanding amounts and Tbaytel does not have reasonable grounds for believing that the purpose of that dispute is to evade or delay payment.
3. Prior to suspension or termination, Tbaytel must provide the customer with reasonable advance notice, stating:
   1. the reason for the proposed suspension or termination and the amount owing (if any);
   2. the scheduled suspension or termination date;
   3. that a reasonable deferred payment agreement can be entered into (where the reason for suspension or termination is failure to pay);
   4. the reconnection charge;
   5. the telephone number of a Tbaytel representative with whom any dispute may be discussed; and
   6. that disputes unresolved with this representative may be referred to a senior Tbaytel manager.

   Where repeated efforts to contact the customer have failed, Tbaytel must deliver such advance notice to the billing address.

   For the purposes of sub-section 22.3, reasonable advance notice for the termination or suspension of the service of a customer that is a competitor will generally be at least 30 calendar days.

4. In addition to the notice required by sub-section 22.3, Tbaytel must, at least twenty-four hours prior to suspension or termination, advise the customer or another responsible person that suspension or termination is imminent, except where:
   1. repeated efforts to so advise have failed;
   2. immediate action must be taken to protect Tbaytel, from network harm resulting from customer-provided equipment; or
   3. the suspension or termination occurs by virtue of a failure to provide payment when requested by Tbaytel pursuant to sub-section 17.4.
5. Except with customer consent or in exceptional circumstances, suspension or termination may occur only on business days between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., unless the business day precedes a non-business day in which case disconnection may not occur after 12 noon.
6. Suspension or termination does not affect the customer's obligation to pay any amount owed to Tbaytel.
7. In the case of services that have been suspended, unless suspension occurs during the minimum contract period, Tbaytel must make a daily pro rata allowance based on the monthly charge for such services.
8. Tbaytel must restore service, without undue delay, where the grounds for suspension or termination no longer exist or a payment or deferred payment agreement has been negotiated.

   Where it becomes apparent that suspension or termination occurred in error or was otherwise improper, Tbaytel must restore service during business hours on the next working day, at the latest, unless exceptional circumstances do not permit this, and no reconnection charges shall be levied.

Questions about Terms of Service should be directed to the Secretary General at Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2

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