Customer transfer
This category relates to difficulties encountered by consumers during the transfer of services between providers; for example, a transfer delay. Customer transfer issues also encompass claims by consumers that they had not authorised a transfer or that someone else had arranged it. In 2008/09 customer transfer issues increased by 18.8% compared to 2007/08.
The main sources of complaint around customer transfer issues were customers claiming that they experienced:
- delays in the transfer of services. This category formed 42.7% of customer transfer issues in 2008/09
- service providers transferring services without the customer ’s informed consent. In complaints of this nature, consumers commonly claimed that:
- they were contacted by a telemarketer and agreed over the phone to transfer their service subject to receiving more information
- the information provided by the telemarketer about the service was very different to the service that the provider eventually supplied
- they were provided incomplete or inaccurate information at the point of sale about the product, terms and conditions of the service
- the person who requested the transfer was not the authorised account holder. For example, the provider proceeded to transfer the service after obtaining the consent of the consumer’s spouse or child or employee
their service was transferred to the service provider even though they cancelled the transfer during the cooling-off period
- the service was transferred in error due to a service provider inputting incorrect details or the consumer not providing the supplier with correct service details
- service providers failing to reverse the transfer of a service or delaying the reversal of a transfer in circumstances where a consumer had shown that the transfer had not been properly authorised.
Customer transfer issues by category
|
2006/07 |
2007/08 |
2008/09 |
Delay |
1 568 |
25.2 % |
3 235 |
40.1 % |
4 097 |
42.7% |
Unauthorised — no informed consent |
2 195 |
35.3 % |
2 242 |
27.8 % |
2 343 |
24.4% |
Point of sale advice ¬product and terms |
265 |
4.3 % |
427 |
5.3 % |
632 |
6.6% |
Unauthorised — cancelled in cooling off period |
352 |
5.7 % |
468 |
5.8 % |
612 |
6.4% |
Unauthorised — not authorised customer |
700 |
11.3 % |
705 |
8.7 % |
602 |
6.3% |
Reversal — failure to reverse |
203 |
3.3 % |
215 |
2.7 % |
332 |
3.5% |
Unauthorised — administrative error |
255 |
4.1 % |
273 |
3.4 % |
295 |
3.1% |
Reversal — delay in reversing |
84 |
1.4 % |
175 |
2.2 % |
275 |
2.9% |
Sales tactics |
256 |
4.1 % |
157 |
1.9 % |
142 |
1.5% |
Others include complaints relating to the transfer of services where there was incorrect or insufficient information supplied at the point of sale about the name (identity) of the supplier or about the cooling off period or where the consumers claim that they were not made aware of the existence or specific amount of a fee for terminating the service |
337 |
5.4 % |
173 |
2.1 % |
261 |
2.7% |
Total |
6 215 |
|
8 070 |
|
9 591 |
|
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Reports | 2008/2009 | Complaint issue categories: Customer transfer 