The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has reported that complaints against telecommunications companies in the past 12 months were 21.1 per cent lower than complaints received in the year before.
The news, contained in the TIO Annual Report for 2018-19, was welcomed by the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, Paul Fletcher who said he was pleased to see a continuing downward trend.
“This reduction in complaints correlates with actions taken by the Government, regulators and the telecommunications industry to improve transparency, accountability and consumer experience for Australian telco users,” Mr Fletcher said.
“The report shows Australians across the country are seeing improved outcomes, with all States and Territories recording fewer complaints.”
He said the improvement followed the introduction of key measures including enforceable industry standards designed to improve the management of complaints, availability of information, and service quality and continuity when migrating to the NBN.
“The report also shows complaints by residential consumers decreased by almost a quarter (23.2 per cent) compared to the previous financial year (and) complaints by small business decreased by 6.2 per cent,” Mr Fletcher said.
“The decrease in complaints is good for consumers and small business,” he said.
“It’s especially pleasing to see a decrease of 16 per cent in complaints relating to services delivered over the NBN network.”
The TIO’s 68-page annual report can be accessed at this PS News link.
