Quarterly figures up while year on year improvement continues
Telco complaints as a proportion of services in operation (SIO) increased 29 per cent in January-March 2016, but dropped 13.8 per cent from the same time last year. The results were released today in the Complaints in Context report by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and Communications Alliance.
The January to March quarter generally sees an increase in complaints to the TIO. Seasonal factors contribute to increased complaint numbers, including summer weather events that can disrupt fixed line services.
The total complaints per 10,000 SIO for all participating providers was 6.2, representing a 13.8 per cent decrease on the same time last year (down from 7.2). The January-March 2016 figure of 6.2 represents an increase of 29.2 per cent from October-December 2015.
Complaints per 10,000 SIO increased for four of the five industry participants during the January quarter.
During the same quarter last year there was a 7.4 per cent increase in complaints as a proportion of telcos’ SIO, from 6.7 to 7.2.
Complaints in Context is a quarterly report jointly published by the TIO and Communications Alliance. The January-March 2016 report can be found on the TIO website and the Communications Alliance website.
New complaints per 10,000 services in operation
| Provider | Oct-Dec 2014 | Jan-Mar 2015 | Apr-Jun 2015 | Jul-Sep 2015 | Oct-Dec 2015 | Jan-Mar 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telstra | 6.4 | 6.9 | 6 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 6.4 |
| Optus | 5.4 | 7.3 | 8.5 | 6.7 | 5.9 | 7.9 |
| Vodafone | 10.5 | 8.6 | 6.3 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
| amaysim | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Pivotel | 1.6 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| All participants* | 6.7 | 7.2 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 6.2 |
* Calculated by dividing participants' total TIO new complaints by participants' total SIO. Figures may change when there is a change in provider participants.