Industry Welcomes a Further 10.5% Year-on-Year Fall in Complaints to the TIO

Sydney, 9 October 2015 – A further significant year-on-year reduction in telecommunications consumer complaints demonstrates that industry continues to deliver on its commitment to an excellent customer experience, Australian Telecommunications Alliance said today.

The Annual Report 2014-15, released by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman today, showed that complaints to the TIO have fallen by a further 10.5% over the past year and 37% during the past four years. The results also come on the back of significant increases in the numbers of telecommunications services in operation during the same period. Mobile complaints dropped to their lowest level since 2007-08.

“This is the fourth consecutive year of significant reductions in complaints and it is fair to say that industry is on a long-term path to greater customer satisfaction. The TIO results are backed by our quarterly national polling which also shows steady improvements in customer satisfaction since the commencement of the polling two and a half years ago,” Australian Telecommunications Alliance Director of Program Management, Christiane Gillespie-Jones, said.

“This improvement stems from various factors, including huge investments into improved networks, a strong Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code and, most importantly, an industry-wide commitment to deliver an outstanding customer experience.”

“We have seen very encouraging results in many areas – mobile coverage issues are down by a massive 49% which is only 20% of their 2010-11 level; complaints about excess data charges have fallen by over 30% in the past year and complaints about unexpected high bills have decreased by 58% – only 17% of their 2010-11 level – highlighting the effectiveness of improved spend management tools such as usage notifications,” Ms Gillespie-Jones said.

“It is very pleasing to see that over 90% of complaints are resolved by service providers without further TIO involvement.”

“Industry is not resting on its laurels and is determined to drive down complaint levels even further in the current year.”

She said that while the increase in complaints about connection delays and faults was relatively small, it is something that requires further analysis and will be watched carefully. One quarter of complaints about connection delays relate to the NBN which is being rolled out at a faster pace with the number of active NBN services having risen by 130% in the past year.

ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE

Australian Telecommunications Alliance is the primary communications industry body in Australia. Its membership is drawn from a wide cross-section of the communications industry, including carriers, carriage and internet service providers, content providers, platform providers, equipment vendors, IT companies, consultants and business groups.

Its vision is to be the most influential association in Australian communications, co-operatively initiating programs that promote sustainable industry development, innovation and growth, while generating positive outcomes for customers and society.

The prime mission of Australian Telecommunications Alliance is to create a co-operative stakeholder environment that allows the industry to take the lead on initiatives which grow the Australian communications industry, enhance the connectivity of all Australians and foster the highest standards of business behaviour.

Media information contact:
info@austelco.org.au