TIO Annual Report 2003/04

Profile of Complainants

The TIO seeks to limit its requests for personal information from complainants as far as is practically possible and endeavours to ensure that the National Privacy Principles are very strictly applied to every complainant in every case. That said, certain information must be collected from complainants in order, firstly, to facilitate an investigation and, secondly, to ensure the correct allocation of resources within the TIO. For example, the TIO will ask for the personal address details of the complainant and the nature and number/address of their service, and other information such as how they came to know about the TIO. Some of this information is provided to the telephone or internet provider involved in the dispute so that it can respond to the complaint.

This year, 91.7% of all complaints were from residential consumers, slightly down on the 92.3% last year. Small business complaints increased to 7.5%, up from 6.8% the previous year. Anecdotally, the range and complexity of services, and number of Members catering for small business services is increasing and with it, the potential for confusion and problems. This year, as with last year, 56% of complainants to the TIO were male, and 44% were female.

Most contacts with the TIO (87.6%) were by phone; down from 90.9% reported last year. Email is rapidly becoming a preferred method of contact, with this year's figure of 8.0% being almost double last year's 4.5%. Dealing with emailed complaints, unless specifically set up to do so, can be difficult, with processing taking longer than telephone communications and complainants often expecting instant responses. Most complainants are still referred to the TIO via word of mouth or telephone directories, with an increasing number of consumers finding out about the TIO through our publications or website. Significantly, 10.7% of complainants in 2003/04 had previously had other complaints handled by the TIO.

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