Continued Decrease in Complaints to TIO Good News for Telco Customers

Sydney, 20 March 2014 – Communications Alliance welcomed the news that telecommunications consumer complaints have fallen to a six-year low, as revealed in the latest figures from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), released today.

The TIO recorded a 30% drop in complaints about mobile coverage during the December 2013 quarter – bringing complaints of this type to a 3 year low. Overall complaints fell by 13 per cent compared to a year ago, to the lowest level recorded since 2008.

“This is great news for Australian telco customers and highlights the continued commitment of the industry to improve customer service,” Communications Alliance CEO John Stanton said.

“Customer service excellence has become the competitive battleground in the telco sector, which augurs well for customer satisfaction and further reductions in complaints.”

Mr Stanton said the TIO figures were in line with the latest Telecommunications Customer Satisfaction Survey released in January, which showed an increase in the percentage of customers satisfied or very satisfied with the service they receive and ongoing improvement in customers’ satisfaction with the ease of contacting their telecommunications provider.

“The industry’s concerted improvement efforts, combined with the impact of the revised and strengthened Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code has contributed to these welcome numbers.”

ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE

Communications Alliance is the primary telecommunications industry body in Australia. Its membership is drawn from a wide cross-section of the communications industry, including carriers, carriage and internet service providers, content providers, search engines, equipment vendors, IT companies, consultants and business groups.

Its vision is to provide a unified voice for the telecommunications industry and to lead it into the next generation of converging networks, technologies and services. The prime mission of Communications Alliance is to promote the growth of the Australian communications industry and the protection of consumer interests by fostering the highest standards of business ethics and behaviour through industry self-governance. For more details about Communications Alliance, see www.commsalliance.com.au.

Media information contact:

Kreab Gavin Anderson
Lucy Chamberlain lchamberlain@kreabgavinanderson.com 0402 106 613