Rural internet provider unreliable and deceptive, Manitoba woman claims

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This article was published 21/02/2023 (930 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Manitoban is leading a lawsuit against a Canadian rural internet service provider, alleging unreliable connection, deceptive marketing and an onerous cancellation process.

The lawsuit seeks class-action certification.

New Brunswick-based Xplore Inc., formerly branded as Xplornet Communications, is the defendant in a statement of claim, filed in the Court of King’s Bench on Jan 27.

Rural Manitoba resident Darcie Gervin is the lead plaintiff.

The claim alleges Gervin paid in excess of $4,500 for services she didn’t receive or that didn’t meet the marketed offering.

Gervin seeks a refund for the Xplore packages she purchased, along with money to cover “general and special damages.”

Her lawyers seek compensation on behalf of people who bought Xplore’s wireless products and services, dating back to January 2003, that didn’t meet expectations.

“The class certification, we’re hoping, should bring a sufficient remedy for the folks that may have suffered,” said lawyer Jason Zushman.

Prior to the lawsuit, the Better Business Bureau flagged Xplore for “significant complaint activity” regarding customer service and contract issues.

The company has labelled itself Canada’s largest rural-focused broadband provider. It provides phone and internet services.

Gervin bought an internet package — the 25 LTE unlimited deal — and associated hardware from Xplore in June of 2019, according to her statement.

She did not get the consistent and reliable internet she was paying for, the statement alleges. She’d sometimes connect her phone (which a different provider serviced) to her computer and transfer data to get solid connection, the claim adds.

“The products and services which were provided by Xplornet were not (usable) in the way in which they were represented by Xplornet,” it reads.

The business offered Gervin discounts and incentives but “failed to remedy the service disruptions, lack of reliability, and speed issues,” the statement continues.

She then “experienced great difficulty” cancelling her package.

The statement says Gervin made several written requests to end the service, but she was told she could only cancel by calling Xplore. She then called on numerous occasions, spending hours on the phone, to reach the right line for cancellation.

The phone call leading to the deal’s termination lasted roughly two hours, Gervin estimated. She ended the contract last September.

She now doesn’t have problems with internet connection, despite paying a similar price to Xplore’s, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit’s claims against Xplore include negligence, violating consumer protection legislation and breach of express and implied warranty.

“In numerous instances, Xplornet or its sales representatives have offered consumers, and those consumers have unknowingly accepted, subscriptions for internet services at speed tiers that Xplornet knew, or Xplornet ought to have known, that Xplornet could not, and did not, provide to those customers,” the statement says.

Xplore is disputing the claims and will “respond vigorously” in a statement of defence to court, Maggie Burzawa, Xplore’s public affairs manager, wrote in a statement.

“These are the unproven allegations of a single customer,” she said, adding Gervin didn’t file a complaint with the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services.

On its website, Xplore directs customers with complaints to the CCTS.

“Xplore is proud of its reputation for providing reliable high-speed internet service,” she wrote.

A complaint to the CCTS isn’t the only way to resolve the situation, Zushman said.

The Better Business Bureau has noted a pattern of complaints against the company, including failure to provide promised internet speeds, failure to clearly disclose in their terms and conditions that internet speed can go as low as 0.1 megabits per second before it’s considered a breach of contract, and failure to install adequate internet service towers in rural areas.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com