rogers class action lawsuit

Rogers customers in Toronto could get $400 rebate thanks to class action suit over outage

Rogers customers in Toronto may end up getting a decent monetary credit for the gigantic outage last Friday, thanks to a new class action lawsuit. 

Though the majority of the telecommuncations company's internet and phone services have returned since last Friday, when millions were left without connection, the saga continues with a new development.

Filed in Quebec's Superior Court on Monday by law firm LPC Avocat Inc., a class action suit aims to secure monetary compensation for everyone who was impacted.

In documents shared by the firm, the action wants to see every Rogers customer awarded $200 as the company did not perform the services listed in customer contracts and an additional $200 for "for the claim that Rogers made false representations."

Meaning if this suit went through, eligible plaintiffs could be awarded $400 each.

This move would also include customers of Rogers subsidiaries like Fido and Chatr.

Class actions are a type of lawsuit filed by or on behalf of a group of individuals against a single defendant.

The suit was filed in part because, as lawyers claim, Rogers' proposed credit to customers is "wholly inadequate" and doesn't account for other damages the plaintiffs suffered. The filing also alleges that customers were "misled by Rogers' marketing claims that it was Canada's most reliable network."

It seeks to repair damages for non-Rogers customers in Quebec who couldn't operate their phones or make transactions as well.

Though the suit would technically encompass millions of plaintiffs, it largely centres around a Quebec applicant who has being using Rogers' services since 2020.

On the day of the outage, the applicant woke up to see his phone not working and, as a result, encountered a number of issues throughout his day because of it.

The suit claims the man had a longer than normal commute because he couldn't access Google Maps on his mobile phone, causing the trip from St.Hubert to Blainville to take an extra 30 minutes and cost him extra gas money.

"He was extremely stressed because he was struck in traffic in Montreal and knew that he would not be able to call 9-1-1 in the case of an emergency," reads part of the suit.

The suit also aims to hold Rogers accountable for its "negligence and insouciance" with respect to obligations under Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulations to make 9-1-1 calls available at all times.

On July 12, the CRTC ordered Rogers to respond to detailed questions and provide a robust explanation regarding Friday's outage.

"The CRTC is requesting a detailed account from Rogers as to 'why' and 'how' this happened, as well as what measures Rogers is putting in place to prevent future outages," reads the federal regulator's notice.

As a result, Rogers has just 10 days (until July 22) to provide answers.

Lead photo by

Kris Pangilinan


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