COMPLAINTS TO TELCOS FALL BY MORE THAN 17%

Sydney, 28 October 2019: Customer complaints to telecommunications suppliers have dropped by more than 17% during the past year, signalling a welcome improvement in performance across the industry.

Communications Alliance welcomed the results released today by the industry regulator, the ACMA, in its report on service provider complaint data for 2018-19.

“We agree with the regulator that these data show that ongoing industry efforts to improve customer service, cooperation, and customer experience are producing positive results,” said Communications Alliance CEO, John Stanton.

The ACMA’s report is part of its Record Keeping Rules, which cover complaints made directly to telecommunications providers.

“It is encouraging to note that more than 94% of the contacts were resolved by the service provider and therefore only about one in twenty resulted in a complaint being made to the industry ombudsman,” Mr Stanton said.

“It’s also pleasing that the average time taken to resolve complaints fell significantly throughout the year.

“We do agree, however, that complaint levels remain higher than they should be – the industry is committed to continuing the current trend of improvement.

“We anticipate the revised Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Industry Code, which came into force on 1 August, will continue to drive better results,” Mr Stanton concluded.