This important reform will ensure family violence victim survivors are protected in their dealings with their telco. For the telcos, an enforceable industry standard will give them certainty about the appropriate way to help customers experiencing family violence.
Quotes attributable to Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert:
Complaints we receive involving priority assistance services include claims that:
Dana is the manager of Legal Aid NSW's Consumer Law practice group. She helps the most vulnerable people in NSW access their consumer protection rights in credit, insurance and general consumer protection matters.
The Ombudsman Judi Jones' TIO Opening remarks Inquiry into the business case for the NBN and the experiences of small businesses Joint Standing Committee on the NBN can be found here.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is expanding its Vision and Roles beyond dispute resolution, to deal more effectively with systemic issues. Through this new focus – reported in the June edition of TIO Talks, released today – the TIO aims to contribute to better customer service and complaint handling within the telecommunications industry.
The ACMA found that Urban Telecom contravened two clauses of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code. Firstly, for failing to ensure that its sales representatives are appropriately trained to promote and sell in a fair, transparent, responsible and accurate manner. Secondly, for failing to keep appropriate records.
New complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) in October-December 2015 were at the lowest level since July-September 2006, according to TIO statistics released today.
The TIO received 23,572 new complaints in the quarter, down 9.4 per cent compared to the previous period, and 20.3 per cent fewer than the same time in 2014.
The research, produced via a partnership between the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) and the TIO unearthed a suite of sobering assessments in relation to the vulnerability of the consumer market in the telecommunications industry.
The CPRC research revealed that 55 percent of Australians have experienced at least one problem with their telco in the last year – but of the quantum, 77 percent of customers chose not to make a complaint due to a sense that the process would be overwhelming.