Media Release

22 October 2003
Telco Ombudsman Releases 2002/03 Report Card

Download the complete release (PDF format 3693KB/3pgs) or view below.

• From the TIO’s 2002/03 Annual Report
• Issue Statistics in tables
• Case Studies

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman received 55,515 complaints from consumers about telephone and Internet services last financial year – a 10% decrease on complaints received in 2001/02.

The TIO’s Annual Report for 2002/03, released today, reveals:

• an increasing level of consumer concern with credit and debt issues;
• an increase in complaints, from dial-up Internet users, about Internet dumping;
• an increase in complaints about mobile phone faults;
• a decrease in complaints about Internet and landline faults; and
• a decrease in complaints from mobile customers about disputed charges.

Billing disputes continued to be the most common cause of complaint, accounting for more than a third of total complaints to the TIO.

Telecommunications Ombudsman, John Pinnock, said the modest decrease in complaints this year was attributable to several factors, including:

• New procedures implemented by the TIO for handling systemic complaints;
• An apparent downturn in the entrepreneurial activity of telecommunications providers;
• Improved internal dispute resolution procedures, particularly in the larger companies; and
• An apparent decline in community awareness of the services of the TIO.

“The TIO’s new systemic complaints procedure is aimed at minimising consumer detriment, and ultimately reducing complaint numbers, by addressing the root cause of complaints deemed to be systemic in nature,” Mr Pinnock said.

“I’ve no doubt this procedure has made a real contribution to this year’s decline in complaints.”

Mr Pinnock also referred an apparent decline in the level of industry activity in 2002/03.

“In what appears to have been a comparatively quiet year there has been a marked increase this year in debt recovery complaints and in unauthorised customer transfer complaints against some providers.

“This suggests that there is pressure in the telecommunications industry to cut costs and improve returns,” he said.

Enquiries
TIO Public Affairs
Tel: 03 8600 8700
Email: tio@tio.com.au

From the TIO’s 2002/03 Annual Report:

• The TIO received a total of 17,256 enquiries and 55,515 complaints, comprising 62,670 distinct issues, in 2002/03. This represents a 10.9% decrease on complaints investigated last year.
  
• Most complaints were from residential consumers, 92.3%, and most, 90.9%, were made by telephone. 56% of complainants were men.
  
• The proportion of total complaints that were made by small businesses has declined, down from 8.7% to 6.8%.
  
• The TIO now has 910 industry members, including 764 Internet service provider members. During 2002/03, 14% of TIO members were charged for complaints logged against them.
  
• More than a third of complaints to the TIO related to billing. The bulk of these complaints related to disputed call or service charges.
  
• 60.2% of complaints handled by the TIO were about landline services, 26.3% were about mobile services and 13.5% were about Internet services.
  
• Landline Credit Control complaints increased by 82% in 2002/03, up from 2,374 in 2001/02 to 4,317 in 2002/03. Mobile credit control complaints increased by 48.7%, from 1,597 in 2001/02 to 2,374 in 2002/03.
  
• Internet dumping complaints increased by 175% from 1,271 in 2001/02 to 3,496 in 2002/03.
  
• Mobile faults complaints rose by 32.3%, up from 1,550 in 2001/02 to 2,051 in 2002/03. More than half of these complaints related to faults in mobile handsets.
  
• Internet and landline faults complaints declined – down from 2,384 in 2001/02 to 1,775 in 2002/03 in the Internet category; and down from 3,508 in 2001/02 to 3,022 in 2002/03 in the landline category.
  
• Mobile contracts complaints decreased from 5,168 in 2001/02 to 4,164.

The TIO’s Annual Report is available online or phone for a hard copy on 1800 062 058.

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