[LINK] SMH/ACCAN: 'Telecommunications complaints soar again'

[Roger Clarke]

Telecommunications complaints soar again
Ben Grubb, Asher Moses
The Sydney Morning Herald
May 5, 2011
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/telecommunications-complaints-soar-again-20110504-1e8j8.html

THE federal government is under renewed pressure to tighten 
regulation on the telecommunications sector after another big rise in 
customer complaints.

New complaints for the quarter rose more than 30 per cent to just 
under 60,000, and a spokeswoman for the Communications Minister, 
Stephen Conroy, said the industry needed to do better at resolving 
complaints in the first instance.

Complaints from Vodafone customers to the Telecommunications Industry 
Ombudsman between January and March rose by 96 per cent from the 
previous quarter, to 14,670.

In a statement, Vodafone said complaints did indeed rise "sharply", 
particularly in January at the "peak of network and service issues". 
But it said decreases were recorded in February and March, "with a 
significant decrease in [ombudsman] complaints in April, similar to 
November 2010 levels".

The ombudsman said that most other large service providers also had 
an increase in complaints, although it did not reveal those figures.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network pushed for 
regulators to adopt tough new regulations for the industry.

It said the complaints statistics showed 2010-11 was destined to be 
the worst financial year on record for Australian telecommunications 
customers.

''The industry will point the finger at Vodafone and say, yet again, 
that there is no problem.

The truth of the matter is that complaints about customer service and 
complaint-handling issues continue to climb across the board,'' the 
chief executive of the network, Teresa Corbin, said.

Senator Conroy's spokeswoman said rising complaints were the reason 
the government released a discussion paper evaluating whether the 
telecommunications ombudsman was equipped to continue to deal with 
complaints. Submissions are on the department's website.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is also working 
through its Reconnecting the Customer inquiry. At the same time, the 
industry is revising its self-regulatory Consumer Protection Code.

''The government is considering whether new protections that enhance 
the well-being of consumers are needed," Senator Conroy's spokeswoman 
said.


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
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Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University