Customer Service

Complaints about customer service are within the TIO's jurisdiction, including claims that a provider:

• was discourteous or rude
• did not answer calls from customers at all or within reasonable timeframes
• failed to address a complaint
• failed to escalate a complaint to a senior staff member on a customer's request, or
• failed to advise a dissatisfied customer about the TIO.

Such complaints may constitute breaches of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code, Chapter 9 - Complaint Handling.

Investigation of complaints

Before investigating such complaints, the TIO will ask the complainant to describe the circumstances that led to their complaint.

When investigating such complaints, the TIO will ask the provider to:

• respond to the complainant's claims, and
• supply evidence to support its position, e.g. customer care/complaint handling notes or copies of correspondence from/to the complainant.

Resolution of complaints

Complaints about customer service may be resolved in a number of ways, depending on the circumstances of the complaint. Remedies may include:

• An explanation of the circumstances that led to a complaint
• An apology
• Reimbursement/waiver of any charges resulting from the circumstances, e.g. service and/or call charges where a customer claims they tried but failed to contact their provider to ask for their service to be suspended or disconnected, and/or
• Release from a fixed-term contract.

When considering the reasonableness of any given outcome, the TIO will first consider the available information in order to establish whether there was poor customer service. Where poor customer service is indicated, the TIO will then consider:

• the nature and scope of any such service
• the frequency of any such service
• the level of inconvenience experienced by the customer as a result of such service
• the financial impact on the customer of such service
• any attempts the provider made to rectify the level of service after receiving a complaint from the customer, and
• whether the provider has breached any rule in the Complaint Handling Code.

Updated: 12 May 2008

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