Nearly 10 million Australians have experienced a problem with their phone or internet service, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman will announce at the CommsDay Summit today (4.00pm, 9 April 2018).
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman introduced a comprehensive survey for the first time in 2018 and surveyed almost 3000 people from across Australia’s residential consumers and small businesses.
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Who we are
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is a free and independent dispute resolution service for residential consumers and small businesses who have an unresolved problem with their phone or internet service.
The TIO is recognised by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as an external dispute resolution scheme that handles privacy-related complaints under the Privacy Act 1998.
The TIO recorded 33,141 new complaints from January to March 2015, a 12.1 per cent rise on the previous quarter. The figure is still lower than the number of new complaints recorded in the same quarter in 2014 - by 8.6 per cent - or any other January-March quarters since 2007.
“We received an increase in new complaints this quarter, but this is in the context of the continuing decrease in new complaints year-on-year,” Ombudsman Simon Cohen said. “Landlines, internet and NBN-related complaints all increased.
Proud @ TIO is dedicated to promoting an inclusive work environment where LGBTIQ+ employees and their families and friends are accepted, valued and are free from prejudice and discrimination. Proud @ TIO works across the TIO and also with key stakeholders to ensure the TIO’s service is fair, inclusive and accessible to members of the LGBTIQ+ community.
James McDonald, Assistant Ombudsman Early Resolution and Proud @ TIO’s Executive Sponsor is “thrilled” to oversee the launch of such an important employee reference group.
Posted 1.10pm
Update from Optus:
"Some services across fixed and mobile are now gradually being restored. This may take a few hours for all services to recover, and different services may restore at different sites over that time."
Posted 11.47am
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.
The Minister for Communications, the Hon. Michelle Rowland, today announced reforms that will allow the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to take direct enforcement action for breaches of industry Codes without first having to issue a direction to comply. The Government will also increase maximum penalties for breaches and establish a Carriage Service Provider (CSP) registration scheme.
As the cascade effects of the COVID-19 pandemic impact Australia’s phone and internet, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is preparing for the expected increase in urgent complaints from vulnerable and at-risk residential consumers and small businesses.
The Fairness Project Team is creating a vision for evaluating fairness at the TIO, and a methodology to measure the concept. The Team is currently trialling a series of questions emailed to a consumer or member at the end of a process. The questions are different for members and consumers, and are dependent on the stage of the complaint (for example, after referral or case management). All responses are anonymous.
This content is under review and may not reflect current legislation and Codes.
Complaints we receive about telecommunications contracts include claims that: