TIO argues against its abolishment

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has urged the government not to follow through with a proposal to abolish the TIO and replace it with a new external dispute resolution body.

The TIO made the argument in a submission (PDF) to the Department of Communications' Consumer Safeguards Review, which is seeking to address the rising volume of consumer complaints received by the Ombudsman over the last two years.

Because the TIO is currently funded by telecoms service providers, the government's consultation paper for the review suggests scrapping the TIO and replacing it with a new external dispute resolution body that is independent from the industry.

But the TIO insisted it is not correct to say the TIO is industry owned, and that the Ombudsman's decisions are not controlled by industry, government or consumers. The submission argues that the TIO already meets the desirable features of the proposed new external dispute resolution body.

The government's consultation paper meanwhile notes that the large majority of complaints to the TIO are resolved when referred back to the provider, indicating that most complaints should have been resolvable through internal dispute resolution processes.

The TIO said it currently provides support for operators to develop good internal dispute resolution practices, including training and feedback to providers about their processes, but responsibility for regulating internal practices does and should rest with ACMA.

In addition, the TIO recommended against a proposal to eliminate the referral process within the external dispute resolution scheme. The TIO asserted that it would be inconsistent with principles of accessibility and efficiency to place barriers to consumers accessing the external dispute resolution scheme.

The submission states that TIO agrees with the possibility proposed in the consultation paper that the Ombudsman or the replacement external dispute resolution office being conferred powers to award financial compensation for consumers for non-financial losses.

Currently, the TIO can only consider a compensation claim by a consumer for embarrassment or humiliation caused by a privacy breach under the Privacy Act. But a 2017 independent review of the TIO recommended that the TIO be permitted in exceptional circumstances to award “modest compensation” for non-financial or indirect losses.

The TIO notes that its counterparts in other industries as well as in Canada and the UK have powers to award compensation in circumstances including those where a consumer has suffered humiliation or injured feelings, or had to expend an inordinate amount of time or effort to resolve a situation.

Other circumstances include pain and suffering, reputational damage or a failure to inform consumers about the existence of the external dispute resolution body.

Finally, the TIO has recommended that the government introduce a registration or accreditation requirement for telecoms service providers. Such a scheme could ensure that employees are provided a minimum level of training to improve the customer experience and reduce incidences leading to complaints.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Syda Productions

Please follow us and share on Twitter and Facebook. You can also subscribe for FREE to our weekly newsletter and quarterly magazine.