Figure 25: Differences in experience, level of concern and support for action by Urban/Rural - text version

There are two icon charts and two tables in this figure comparing responses between all respondents, those who reside in urban areas and those who reside in rural areas by those who experienced sales practices they consider aggressive or misleading, those who experienced a specifc set of sales practices, the level of concern with access to services in rural areas and support for a series of potential actions to address aggressive or misleading sales practices. The first icon chart titled ‘Experienced aggressive or misleading sales practices’ shows the proportion who said yes they experienced sales practices they consider aggressive or misleading and among those who have experienced such sales practices the proportion who indicate it took place within the last 12 months. All 1809 respondents, 1647 residents of urban areas and 162 residents of rural areas answered as follows:

• Yes, 40% Total, 41% Urban, 28% Rural
• Experienced within last 12 months, 60% Total, 59% Urban, 62% Rural

The first table titled ‘Personally experienced any of these situations’ shows the proportions who said yes they experienced a series of five types of sales practices. All 1809 respondents, 1647 residents of urban areas and 162 residents of rural areas answered as follows:

• Salespeople pushing telecommunications products or services you are not interested in, 55% Total, 56% Urban, 53% Rural
• Technical support representatives trying to sell you products or services during the support call or interaction, 39% Total, 39% Urban, 34% Rural
• Rebate/discount offers where terms differ from the original information provided by the providers, 32% Total, 33% Urban, 26% Rural
• Salespeople providing details of telecommunications products or services which end up being false, 31% Total, 32% Urban, 22% Rural
• Rebate/discount offers where terms are not disclosed before purchase, 28% Total, 28% Urban, 22% Rural

The second icon chart titled ‘Concerns with the telecommunications sector in Canada’ shows the proportion who said they are extremely or very concerned with access to services in rural areas. All 1809 respondents, 1647 residents of urban areas and 162 residents of rural areas answered as follows:

• Extremely concerned or very concerned, 34% Total, 31% Urban, 60% Rural

The second table titled ‘Support for the following actions being taken’ shows the proportion who said they strongly or somewhat support each potential action presented. All 1809 respondents, 1647 residents of urban areas and 162 residents of rural areas answered as follows:

• Creation of a mandatory code of conduct for telecommunications providers, 83% Total, 82% Urban, 90% Rural
• Monetary penalties for companies engaging in aggressive or misleading sales practices, 83% Total, 82% Urban, 87% Rural
• Publicly released report on complaints received regarding sales practices, 82% Total, 81% Urban, 87% Rural