Govt to review telco consumer safeguards

In the wake of rising complaints about landline, mobile and internet services, the federal government has released the terms of reference for a review into consumer safeguards in the telecoms sector.

The review will seek to ensure that customers have access to effective complaints handling and remediation processes that hold telecoms operators accountable for their performance.

It will also aim to ensure consumers are provided with reasonable time frames for connections, fault repairs and appointments, and the possibility of compensation or penalties against providers for non-compliance.

Finally, the review will aim to allow customers to make informed choices and that they are treated fairly by their provider in areas such as customer service, contracts, billing, credit and debt management, as well as switching providers.

The first stage of the review will examine the existing regulatory model for handling consumer complaints.

The review has been launched in the wake of a 28.7% increase in customer complaints during the last six months of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. Total complaints grew to 84,914. Of these, 88% were from residential consumers and 11.7% from the small business sector.

On the consumer side, complaints about mobile services represented 29.4% of the total, compared to 28% for internet services and 11.1% for landline phone services. A further 30.8% involved multiple telecoms services.

For small businesses, 39.6% of complaints were about multiple services, with 21.9% concerning landline services, 20.9% regarding mobile services and 17.3% recorded about internet services.

Complaints about services delivered over the nbn surged 203.9% year-on-year to 22,827 as the rollout proceeded. Of these, just over 14,000 concerned service quality with the remainder involving connection delays.

But the rate of complaints as a proportion of activated nbn services fell to 0.67% from 0.80% during the first half of the year.

“The TIO’s six-monthly update report released today shows that the existing model for complaints handling and redress is not working. Customers are continuing to experience poor service and are unable to get their service provider to satisfactorily resolve issues,” Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield said.

“The fact that complaints to the TIO are still high across all types of fixed line and mobile services clearly shows that telcos need to lift their game. I have already directed the ACMA to put in place rules to support a better consumer experience during the nbn transition, including a complaints handling standard. It is now time to look at the effectiveness of consumer protections across the board.”

But Fifield noted that complaints to the TIO actually decreased 7.75% when compared to the first six months of 2017.

He added that the government has been advised that of the total number of nbn-related complaints, fewer than 5% were sent to nbn co to resolve, with many instead sent to a customer’s retail service provider.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/tashatuvango

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