Telco complaints to the TIO as a proportion of services in operation dropped 3.1 per cent in the July-September quarter to 6.2 complaints per 10,000 services in operation (SIO).
This represents a 16.4 per cent increase on the 5.5 complaints per 10,000 SIO during the same period in 2015.
The July-September reduction was driven by improvements in the number of complaints per SIO for both Telstra and Optus.
The 2016-2017 Annual Report for the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is now available.
Australian residential consumers and small businesses made 158,016 complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman in the last financial year (1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017). In this period, complaints about landline phones, mobile phones and internet services increased by 41.1 per cent.
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.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) received 36,256 new complaints in January-March 2014, 8.7 per cent more than in October-December 2013, but 9.4 per cent fewer than at the same time in 2013, according to TIO Talks, released today.
For the third quarter in a row, the TIO has received fewer than 20,000 complaints about mobile services. Complaints about mobile phones have dropped 19.4 per cent when compared to the same quarter last year.
Residential consumers and small businesses made 132,387 complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, highlighted in the Annual Report 2018-19 published today (25 September 2019).
However, complaints returning as unresolved - where the consumer and provider could not reach resolution - took longer to close. This year, 47 per cent of escalated complaints were closed within 60 days, compared to 2017-18 when this figure was 77 per cent.
The Board of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and the Ombudsman are pleased the report on Part A of the Government’s Consumer Safeguards Review (Complaints handling and consumer redress) recognises the importance and strength of the work of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman in resolving complaints that residential consumers and small businesses have been unable to resolve with their provider.
Published in early February, the TIO’s submission to Treasury and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, and the Arts (DITRDCA) supports the introduction of a mandatory scams Framework and sector specific codes for responding to scams.
Tracking how we perform against our goals ensures the TIO can adapt and grow in a changing communications environment, maintaining what’s working well and updating what’s not. As technology changes, and needs and expectations change with it, we remain focused on the future and providing a valuable service for all consumers, community and industry.
We’re committed to keeping you informed when we meet and surpass our benchmarks and highlighting the areas for improvement as we work towards our goals.
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.