Complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) dropped to their lowest level since 2007 in the July-September 2014 quarter.In total, 30,539 new complaints were recorded, representing a 9.1 per cent decline from the previous quarter and a 14.6 per cent decline year-on-year.
Excess data charge complaints for mobile services dropped 13.1 per cent on the previous quarter and 10.8 per cent year-on-year, however continue to be the main issue for mobile users who come to the TIO.
“I welcome this continuing drop in complaints,” commented ombudsman Simon Cohen. “It is encouraging to see that one of the biggest issues for the last financial year, excess data charges, is also trending down.”
Industry has welcomed the figures, with Communications Alliance CEO John Stanton stating telecommunications service providers “have innovated in many ways”.
Stanton said this includes “re-writing their product plans to help customers maximise the value of services, manage their monthly spend and avoid excess-usage charges”.
“Customer service has gone through a revolution in pursuit of better customer experience and easier, more satisfying ways to interact with service providers,” Stanton commented.
