Residential consumers and small businesses who experience connection issues or associated problems when migrating to the national broadband network should talk directly to their service provider as early as possible.
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The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) welcomes the remedial direction issued by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to provider Potukuchi Trading Pty Ltd, Trustee for Global Financial Solutions, trading as 1800 BizPhone.
Impacts of pandemic, complaint trends and ‘love scams’: Ombudsman talks to Vic financial counsellors
Judi detailed how, due to the shutdown of overseas call centres, many telcos struggled to respond to their customers in the early stages of the pandemic, and this was the source of many financial issues for consumers. In this period, the TIO saw a 1500% year-on-year increase in consumers unable to contact their telco about an internet issue.
Complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, as a proportion of services in operation (SIO), were 9.0 complaints per 10,000 for report participants, for the period April to June 2017. This is up from 8.4 for the period January to March 2017.
About the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) provides a free and independent dispute service for small business and residential consumers who have an unresolved complaint about their telephone or internet service in Australia.
While the TIO supports strong action to disrupt scams and protect consumers, the submission raises concerns about the Government’s proposed solution:
From Thursday 1 October 2020, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman will return to a 10-day timeframe for telcos to respond to non-urgent complaints. This is a positive sign that supports the way telco industry is managing phone and internet complaints after six months of upheaval.