Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

TIO: complaints fall, but global roaming still an issue

Mobile service complaints dropped 11.4 per cent compared to the previous quarter, a 35.6 per cent drop compared to the same period last year.

Consumer complaints about mobile roaming charges have dropped, but the disputed amounts for complaints are increasing, with one customer lumped with a $147,908 bill after a European holiday, according to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).

Around $8 million in bills about global roaming were disputed in the July to September quarter this year.

New complaints to the TIO dropped 10.8 per cent in July to September this year to 37,777. New complaints are now 26.1 per cent lower compared to the same period last year.

Mobile service complaints dropped 11.4 per cent in the period compared to the previous quarter, a 35.6 per cent drop compared to the same period last year.

However, complaints about mobile phone services still make up most of the complaints to the TIO at 57.5 per cent.

Complaints about customer service accounted for 23 per cent of complaints, followed by billing and handling (19.8 per cent) and faults (17.9 per cent).

Complaints about network coverage increased 4.2 per cent, following five quarters of reductions. Disputes about credit defaults also increased around 5 per cent and disputes around consumers being notified about impending defaults increased around 10 per cent in the July to September quarter.

The TIO said the minimum credit default amount consumers can be listed for is under review, with the TIO looking to increase the minimum amount for a credit default from $100 to $300 in response to a discussion paper released by the Attorney-General on credit regulations in May this year.

The TIO recently revealed complaints about Optus increased 47 per cent, while complaints about Telstra dropped 21 per cent in 2011-12.

Optus complaints were driven by mobile-related services, according to the TIO, such as faults, inadequate spend controls and disputed Internet charges.

Complaints about Vodafone increased 11 per cent, with complaints primarily about inadequate spend controls on mobile phones and Internet usage charges on mobiles.

Meanwhile, complaints about Virgin also increased by 33.1 per cent and complaints about TPG dropped 23.7 per cent.

Overall, consumer complaints about telcos dropped 2 per cent in the 2011-12 year to 193,702.

Follow Stephanie McDonald on Twitter: @stephmcdonald0

Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU

Recommended

  1. Project management methodologies

  2. BT Financial embraces BI to better understand customers

  3. From CMO to CEO: Anametrix’s Pelin Thorogood

    CMO

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Attorney-General, mobiles, Optus, Telstra, TPG, Vodafone
References show all
Comments are now closed.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), complaints, Vodafone, optus, Telstra
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Moving to a Private Cloud? Infrastructure Really Matters!
    The Cloud isn’t about locality. It is about quality of service delivery, cost, and whether the services consumed satisfy our objectives. For the enterprise, you need to select the right QoS to mitigate the inherent risks or you face the problem of losing data and the ability to execute operationally. Read on.
    Learn more »
  • Agentless Security for Virtual Environments
    Virtualised datacentres, desktops, and cloud computing should be secured by the same strong protection technologies as physical machines. However, traditional agent-based solutions that are not architected for virtualisation can result in a number of significant operational security issues. Find out more about the first agentless security platform solution.
    Learn more »
  • Appropriate Backup Applications for Accelerated Virtualisation Projects
    As virtualisation increasingly becomes an investment priority, a recent EDG survey has found that the associated operating expense can easily become too high a hurdle. In this paper, leading IT organisations quantify the role of inappropriate data-protection as a large obstacle to a stable virtualisation implementation. Read more to find how to optimise your backup applications to meet the present protection requirements.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments