The TIO received 29,301 complaints in the December 2005 quarter, a 2.6% decrease on the September 2005 quarter

Of these, 12,094 (41.3 per cent) related to landline services, 11,678 (39.7 per cent) to mobile services and 5,529 (19 per cent) to internet services.

Customer Service

The largest increases in complaints for the December quarter were in the Customer Service categories. Customer Service complaints totalled 8,150, or 27.8 per cent of all complaints received. All Customer Service complaint types recorded increases, with significant increases in Failure to Deal with Complaint, a new category. The Failure to Deal with Complaint keyword category is designed for claims that a provider has failed to deliver on an undertaking it has made or an obligation under the Complaint Handling Code to resolve a complaint. For example, failure to call back, advise of an outcome, apply credit or advise a customer of their external avenues of recourse. The largest increase of 44.9 per cent was recorded in internet complaints while mobile customer service also record a substantial 40.7 per cent increase. Landline complaints recorded a more modest increase of 32.6 per cent.

Contracts

Internet contract complaints rose by 13.5 per cent largely as a result of increased complaints about ADSL services. The most significant increases in terms of ADSL contracts included the general complaints category, which includes items such as members not abiding by terms and conditions, (up by 43 per cent), termination fee complaints (24.8 per cent) and complaints related to point of sale advice (8 per cent increase). Landline complaints rose by 15.2 per cent. General complaints about contracts increased by 25.7 per cent, in conjunction with complaints of alleged incorrect information provided at the point of sale (up by 12.7 per cent). Mobile complaints continued to record further decreases, reducing by 12.7 percent. The decrease is largely due to a small number of TIO Members reducing the level of complaints. The TIO is concerned, however, about the substantial 200% increase in complaints related to the alleged non-receipt of terms and conditions and will monitor these complaints over the next quarter.

Customer Transfer

The December 2005 quarter saw an encouraging 35.7 per cent decrease in landline transfer complaints. Complaints related to telemarketing have reduced by 34 per cent during the December quarter but still account for nearly 39 per cent of all landline Customer Transfer complaints. The reduction in overall landline Customer Transfer complaints is primarily due to a number of larger TIO Members reducing the volume of complaints logged against them, rather than the actions of a single Member. Internet transfer complaints related to DSL services accounted for 0.9 per cent of all internet complaints. Allegations of unauthorised transfers of DSL services account for nearly 46 per cent of internet transfer complaints. Approximately 32 per cent of internet transfer complaints relate to alleged delays in processing the transfer.

ACIF Codes

The TIO recorded 4,823 code breaches, including 167 confirmed breaches. In terms of total numbers this reflects a 69.3 per cent increase on the 2,849 breaches recorded during the September 2005 quarter. Possible breaches of the Complaint Handling Code recorded the greatest rise, a substantial 296 per cent increase. The prime cause for this is complainants alleging that they were not advised of their external avenues of recourse such as the TIO, after indicating to their supplier that they remained dissatisfied with the outcome of a complaint. Breaches of the Prices, Terms and Conditions Code increased overall by 68 per cent, while a 32.8 per cent increase in Credit Management Code breaches was also recorded. The increase in PTC Code breaches was based on allegations of suppliers not supplying products that fitted the customer’s stated requirements. The alleged failure to advise of the likelihood of credit management action combined with allegations of suspension of services without notice were the prime drivers of the increase in Credit Management Code breaches.