Intermittent faults & the Customer Service Guarantee

The Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2000 (No. 2) is unclear in how it relates to intermittent faults, i.e. where a service is workable between faults, or where a provider attends to a fault but the fault recurs.

The following factors are considered by TIO Officers in determining whether the compensation under the Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) Standard should reasonably apply in each case:

• How often does the fault occur?
• Is the recurring fault exactly the same fault?
• What action has the provider taken to rectify any underlying cause of intermittent faults (e.g. replacing infrastructure)?
• How promptly does the provider attend to each fault?
• How inconvenienced is the customer by the faults?
• What is the quality of service like between faults?
• How does the customer's calling pattern vary across the period in question? (i.e. Does the fault appear to affect the customer's ability to use their service, and does this vary across the period or improve after the fault is attended to?)

In considering these sorts of complaints, the TIO examines:

• The provider's fault history for the service: to examine the nature of each fault, how and how often it was reported, the fault's likely impact on the customer, and any action taken by the provider
• The provider's customer care notes: to examine complaints raised with the general customer service area and the provider's response
• The complainant's itemised phone records: to examine the extent to which the customer has been able to use the service before, during and after the fault.

Next: Mass Service Disruptions