Contents

1. TIO Christmas Opening Hours

2. Annual Report Errata – a message from the Ombudsman

3. New Pending Level 2 Procedure set to benefit members

4. TIO releases new and updated Position Statements

5. Do you want your organisation to learn more about the TIO

1. TIO Christmas opening hours

The TIO will be open on all business days over the Christmas period
Below are the TIO’s working hours.

Member Communications will have a skeleton staff available for queries over the festive period.

Investigations staff will alter the due date for responses to take into account the public holidays.

2. Annual Report Errata – a message from the Ombudsman

The TIO recently launched its 2007 Annual Report and I have since discovered that two members had incorrect statistics recorded against them in the report tables. I have listed those errors and the corrections below.

I would like to offer my sincere personal apology for these errors to TransACT Capital Communications Pty Ltd (TransACT) and Commander Australia Ltd (Commander). Immediate measures have been taken to rectify the errors. The online version of the report has been corrected and can be found here.

If you have any queries about the Annual Report and the statistics please contact Member Communications on 03 8600 8700.

Deirdre O’Donnell
Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman

3. New Pending Level 2 Procedure

The TIO has introduced a new procedure to assist with the speedy resolution of complaints.
Due to the significant increase in complaints to our Office, the TIO has been experiencing a backlog of complaints awaiting review by an Investigations Officer. This new procedure aims to reduce the backlog of complaints while at the same time making the TIO’s investigation procedure more transparent to members.

What does the new procedure entail?

• Each week, members with cases in the Pending Level 2 queue will be notified that their customer has returned to the TIO and the complaint is waiting to be assessed by an Investigations Officer.

• Members will receive a spreadsheet with details of the customer’s name, TIO reference number, contact and service details and a brief description of the complaint issues. **

• This means that you have the opportunity to review how the complaint was initially dealt with and decide whether to try to resolve the complaint directly with the consumer prior to any action by a TIO Investigations Officer.

• You do not need to contact TIO investigations to discuss the complaints. However, if progress or a resolution is achieved you may like to consider copying the TIO in on the details (e.g. a copy of your confirmation of a agreed resolution). If this is the case, please email your information to members@tio.com.au and we will add it to the file at no additional cost to you.

Where does this procedure sit in the TIO’s processes?

When TIO Enquiry Officers (EOs) refer a complaint at level 1 to the member, the consumer is always offered a pathway back to the TIO if they do not feel that their complaint is resolved.

If the consumer calls the TIO back and advises that they were not satisfied with how their complaint was dealt with, upon further questioning, an EO may advise that the complaint warrants further consideration by an Investigation Officer (IO). The consumer may be asked to write in to provide further details and/or evidence.

Once adequate information is received, the EO places the complaint in a queue for an IO to consider. This is called the Pending Level 2 queue

If a complaint is placed in the Pending level 2 queue, it does not necessarily mean that the matter will automatically become a Level 2.

When an IO takes a complaint from the Pending Level 2 queue, they will either raise a Level 2 or advise the consumer that no further action will be taken by the TIO based on the information. In either situation, the IO must spend time assessing the complaint and will always call the consumer to discuss it.

The benefits of this procedure for our members include:
• Reduced TIO costs if a member can resolve issues prior to the TIO raising a Level 2
• An indication of which customers/complaints return to the TIO after referral to a member’s complaints department at Level 1.

**Early in the New Year this will be replaced by an email that will be automatically generated when a complaint is placed in Pending level 2 status. This means you can review complaints in real time.

Please contact Byron Thompson from Member Communications for more information about this procedure on 03 8600 8787.

4. TIO releases new and updated Position statements

The TIO’s Position Statements set out the TIO’s approach to investigating and resolving particular types of complaints. They apply equally to complaints from residential and small business complainants, unless specifically stated otherwise.
While the TIO’s Position Statements reflect and acknowledge industry practice/legislation about various telecommunication issues, they more often concern issues about which there is no or minimal regulatory guidance.

Disputed default listings
This position statement has replaced previous position statements, Notification of intention to report an unpaid account to a Credit Reporting Agency and Credit management of incorrectly calculated charges

Telemarketing
The TIO receives many complaints about telemarketing calls. Consumers either say that they want these calls to stop because they interrupt their daily activities, or they raise concerns about the circumstances of the call, e.g. the time they received the call or the contact information the telemarketer provided. Our power to investigate complaints about telemarketing is limited.

Disputed internet dialler charges
This revised position statement incorporates our view that service providers could take more timely action to investigate these complaints when consumers first query charges, e.g. by advising customers to obtain and print copies of their temporary internet files.

Services provided to minors
This replaces our old statement, Young people and contracts. The core of our position, is that we consider contracts for the purchase of third party services separately from contracts for telecommunications services

5. Do you want staff at your organisation to know more about the TIO?

Member Communications may be able to visit your premises and speak about the role of the TIO or tailor a workshop for staff new to the role of TIO liaison. Members who have participated in such workshops in the past have reported lower rates of escalation of TIO complaints and a greater understanding of the industry’s complaint handling mechanisms and resources.
Call us in the New Year on 03 8600 8700 to talk to us about a visit.