ACMA Records a Cutback of Telco Complaints

According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the number of complaints received by some of the country’s largest and leading telcos in the last quarter of the year 2020 was reduced to almost one-quarter year-on-year.

Complaints-handling Performance Report

Furthermore, ACMA also indicated that while the number of services only fell one percent YoY to December, complaints per 10,000 services fell 23.5% to 62. This was highlighted in ACMA’s latest telco complaints-handling performance report. 

Nevertheless, the weighted average days to resolve the issues and complaints raised by consumers and subscribers increased 17.3% YoY. This was from 9.8 days previously to 11.5 days, with the average days to resolve reaching five while the median was 3.5 days. 

On the other hand, escalated complaints to organisations like the TIO increased to 6.3% YoY to 29,753. This only means that the escalation rate rose 3.2% YoY. According to the report, there were 12 telcos with 500 or more complaints that were escalated to major organisations. Overall, the majority of telcos had an average of zero to 10% escalation rate for complaints although one specific telco had a 30.6% escalation rate.

What subscribers must note though is that even if the numbers provide an overall insight on the general complaint trend, these figures are not a true representation of the level of complaints. This can be attributed to the fact that the regulator only measures large and medium-sized telcos with 30,000 or more services. Therefore, this excludes the long tail of smaller internet service providers (ISPs) and telcos. This case specifically limits the sample size of satellite NBN users where only half of the subscriber complaints were measured due to the prevalence of small RSPs in that channel.

Mobile and NBN Broadband Services

For the last quarter of the year 2020, the total complaints for mobile as a percentage of total mobile services were 0.44%. On the other hand, the total complaints for NBN broadband as a percentage of total NBN broadband services was recorded at 0.84%.

Communications Alliance CEO John Stanton recognised the decrease in the numbers. He said, “ACMA’s data shows a nearly 25% decrease in complaints from one year ago and a 40% decrease from the same period two years ago. This reflects the hard work telcos have been putting in to improve customer service, including through the challenges of COVID.”

“Industry strengthened consumer protections with the revised Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code which commenced in August 2019. Additionally, telcos have been working on innovative service offerings and with carriers to increase customer choices and improve the customer experience,” he also added.