Telco Customer Complaints Fall to Nine Year Low – NBN Migration Experience Improves
Sydney, 15 December 2015 –Telecommunications consumer complaints to the industry ombudsman have fallen to their lowest level in nine years during the most recent quarter.The figures released by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) today show that complaints in the July-September 2015 quarter were 14.8% below the corresponding period last year and the lowest since the same period in 2006.
Communications Alliance CEO, John Stanton, welcomed the further improvement in industry performance, which has seen complaint levels drop by more than 40% in recent years.
“The latest results featured a 50% drop in complaints about excess data charges – underlining the success of improved spend management tools for customers and the industry’s drive to tailor mobile and data plans that avoid the risk of customers incurring such charges.
“The figures also point to a greatly improved experience for consumers who are migrating their services to the National Broadband Network (NBN). NBN-related complaints to the TIO rose by 4.6% during the quarter, but the number of active premises connected to the NBN rose by 26% during the same period.
“Clearly the efforts of service providers and NBN Co, combined with the Government’s Migration Assurance Policy and the migration guidelines put in place by Communications Alliance are combining to greatly reduce the incidence of issues when customers shift their services onto the NBN,“ Mr Stanton said.
“This is an encouraging trend that augurs well for the future roll-out of the network.”
The TIO also reported that complaints about delays in connecting to the NBN dropped by more than 14 per cent during the quarter.
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 contacts:
Communications Alliance
Hannah Ritchie
hritchie@kreab.com
0452 404 303