TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPLAINTS IN CONTEXT FALL TO LOWEST LEVEL IN THREE YEARS
Sydney, 29 January 2019: The rate of consumer complaints about telecommunications services fell further in the most recent quarter – generating the best results seen since 2015.Complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) as a proportion of services in operation (SIO) for service providers who participate in the report decreased to 6.0 complaints per 10,000 services for the period October – December 2018. The full report, including participant ratios, can be found here.
This is now the fourth consecutive quarter in which the ratio has decreased – indicating that focussed efforts by service providers has improved service delivery and the overall customer experience.
It is the lowest ratio since October – December 2015.
Communications Alliance CEO John Stanton said: “a full year of improvement demonstrates without question that the hard work by telecommunications providers is reaping dividends for customers.
“Some of the (industry regulator) ACMA’s new customer-service-focussed instruments came into effect halfway through this period of improvement, while others commenced towards the beginning of this most recent quarter. This has been a multi-faceted effort, and collaboration between Industry, Government, and regulators has been an important part of this success.
“However, Industry will not rest on its laurels and will continue working to improve, and we hope to sustain this positive trend into 2019.”
Stanton also spoke to the benefits of the Complaints in Context report, explaining that “data from an unbiased and trustworthy source such as the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, presented in a comparable way over time, gives consumers useful information and clearly identifies important trends. We look forward to the expansion of the report to more providers when the revised Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code is published later this year.”
Complaints in Context is a quarterly report published by Communications Alliance with complaints data provided by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. This quarter and previous reports can be found here.
ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE Communications Alliance is the primary communications 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, platform providers, equipment vendors, IT companies, consultants and business groups.
Its vision is to be the most influential association in Australian communications, co-operatively initiating programs that promote sustainable industry development, innovation and growth, while generating positive outcomes for customers and society.
The prime mission of Communications Alliance is to create a co-operative stakeholder environment that allows the industry to take the lead on initiatives which grow the Australian communications industry, enhance the connectivity of all Australians and foster the highest standards of business behaviour. For more details about Communications Alliance, see www.commsalliance.com.au.
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info@commsalliance.com.au