The Australian Communications and Media Authority welcomes a further drop in complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), as announced today by the TIO.
‘The 12 per cent annual decrease in new complaints is another positive sign that the industry is improving customer care,’ said ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman.
‘Three consecutive years of decline in TIO complaint numbers since 2010-11 – down 30 per cent in total – also suggests that the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code (TCP Code) is providing more effective safeguards to consumers.’
The TCP Code—which comprehensively delivers on the key recommendations of the ACMA’s Reconnecting the Customer report—introduced a range of initiatives from 1 September 2012, including spend management alerts, unit pricing, critical information summaries and improved complaint handling practices.
‘It’s also encouraging to see that complaint issues about mobile network performance fell by 55 per cent since last year,’ Mr Chapman added. ‘This reflects significant network investments by industry and perhaps a sharper focus on customer service in this particular area since the ACMA announced its Mobile Network Performance Forum initiative last year.’
The ACMA is continuing its compliance activities to ensure that all telco providers comply with the TCP code requirements.
The ACMA’s compliance activities over the next year will focus on usage alerts, customer transfer and complaint handling.
Photo Credit: Neil. Moralee (cc)