TIO Annual Report 2006/07

Privacy

The TIO records complaints about privacy under several sub-categories. They include where:

• a person has been telemarketed by a TIO member
• a provider has denied a person access to information held about them
• information held by a provider about a person is not accurate
• a person is concerned about the way their personal information has been collected
• a person says that their silent number has been disclosed by their provider.

Landline (Privacy)

The event that had the most significant impact on privacy complaints was the the Federal Government’s introduction of the Do Not Call Register in May 2007. People can list their mobile and landlines on the register to opt out of receiving certain telemarketing calls. Substantial financial penalties can be levied against companies who continue to call people who are on the Do Not Call Register. The register does not apply to small businesses.

Despite the register being operational for only one month of the 2007 financial year, telemarketing complaints to the TIO have fallen substantially. This may have been because people opted to wait until the register was operational instead of complaining to the TIO and that telemarketing organisations had curtailed their activities in anticipation of the introduction of the register.

In 2005/06, 1,738 telemarketing complaints were received from users of landline services. This year, that had dropped by 60.9 per cent to 680.

The sub-category that attracted the most complaints after telemarketing was disclosure of silent numbers by a provider, where 182 complaints were logged, compared with 201 in 2005/06. Despite the relatively small number of complaints received, it is concerning that people may be left in a vulnerable position because a provider has disclosed their silent number.

The TIO has a position statement, Disclosure of silent numbers, detailing how it will deal with complaints of this nature. In cases where a person alleges they are at risk as a result of the disclosure of their phone number, the TIO may ask for evidence in support of the claim. One avenue of redress is for the TIO to award compensation against the provider.

Mobile (Privacy)

Privacy complaints were similar to those received from landline service users, but on a smaller scale.
Telemarketing complaints from users of mobile services rose marginally, from 120 to 133. More than likely this reflects the overall increase in mobile phone complaints. Fewer silent line disclosure complaints are received as customers normally have to opt in to have their mobile listed in a directory, whereas landline users have to opt out.

Internet (Privacy)

182 complaints were received about internet privacy issues during 2006/07. This number was an increase on the 106 complaints received in the previous year. However, in both years these complaints represented only 0.1 per cent of all complaints received by the TIO.

Complaints about telemarketing and spam (unsolicited marketing e-mail) from ISPs led to 55 complaints to the TIO. There were 14 complaints about inadequate advice provided by ISPs about how to block spam. The remaining 113 complaints were about a customer’s personal information being collected, disclosed, or inaccurately recorded or ISPs not allowing the customer access to the personal information it holds on them.

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