The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) aims to provide fair and independent resolution to issues raised about the services provided by various telecommunications networks. This is the reason why they generate a report regarding the most common complaints raised by consumers to their providers. According to their latest report, internet problems are logged as the most common issues reported by consumers.

In line with this, it is a good idea to delve deeper into the complaints by service type as logged in the report.

Complaints by Service Type

Internet Service

Internet service issues comprised the largest portion of the complaints recorded in the year 2019-2020, which is similar to the trend in the year 2018-2019. However, during the second quarter of 2019-2020, more complaints regarding mobile services were logged compared to the complaints regarding internet issues. Nevertheless, the complaints recorded regarding internet services peaked in the fourth quarter of 2019-2020.

Mobile Service

Complaints about mobile service issues hold second place after the complaints about internet service issues. However, it is notable that during the second quarter of the year 2019-2020, complaints regarding mobile service issues took the top spot. Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that the number of complaints due to internet service issues dropped significantly during this quarter because the complaints about mobile service issues remained at a steady rate.

Multiple Services

Complaints about multiple service issues, which relate to dissatisfaction on more than one service type, saw a significant fall from more than 7000 issues recorded in the first quarter to only over 6000 in the second quarter. However, a rising trend can be noted from the second quarter up to the final quarter of the year. Nevertheless, the complaints recorded no longer breached the number of complaints logged during the first quarter because the number of complaints in the fourth quarter did not reach 7000.

Landline Service

The highest number of complaints recorded regarding landline issues were reflected in the first quarter of the year, while the second quarter saw a significant decrease in the complaints too, much like the trend of multiple issues recorded. Complaints about landline service issues slightly increased from the second quarter to the third quarter of 2019-2020, but from there, it once again decreased by a couple of hundreds. 

Property Service

Property service-related complaints saw a consistent decrease from the first quarter of the year throughout the fourth quarter. This type of service complaint made up the least portion of the overall complaints logged in the year 2019-2020, with the numbers not even reaching half a thousand.

Overall, the internet tops the complaints by service type, making up 33.7% of the numbers, while mobile closely follows suit with 31.2% of the complaints lodged. Multiple issues comprised 21.5% while landline comprised 12.6%. Property service-related issues only made up 1% of the overall numbers.

Top 10 General Issues

The top 10 general issues recorded are:

1. Service and equipment fees
2. Lack of action or delayed action by the provider
3. Lack of phone or internet service
4. Delay in establishing a service
5. A resolution was agreed but it was not met
6. Intermittent service or frequent dropouts
7. Slow data speed
8. Failure to cancel a service
9. Misleading conduct when making a contract
10. Charging of termination fee

With 42,152 complaints recorded, service and equipment fees made up 33.2% of the total complaints lodged. Compared to the previous year, this figure is 3.5% higher. On the other hand, complaints about the charging of termination fee only comprised 4.1% of the total figure, with only 5,224 complaints recorded. This significantly dropped by 23.2% from having recorded 6,805 complaints in the previous year.

Top 10 Internet Issues

Concentrating on the top complaint by service type, the top 10 internet issues are:

1. Service and equipment fees
2. Lack of action or delayed action by the provider
3. Delay in establishing a service
4. Intermittent service or frequent dropouts
5. Slow data speed
6. No phone or internet service
7. A resolution was agreed but it was not met 
8. Failure to cancel a service
9. Missed appointment
10. The provider cannot be reached

When it comes to the complaints specifically regarding internet service issues, service and equipment fees comprised 32.8% of the total figure. This was closely followed by the lack of action or the delayed action of the provider in addressing the issues they receive, which makes up 32% of the total figure. Rounding up the list is the complaint that the provider cannot be reached, which made up 4.7% of the total number of complaints regarding internet service issues recorded.

Conclusion

Regardless of the issue at hand, both providers and customers must work together to reach a viable resolution. Nevertheless, providers should ensure that they are taking the necessary measures to improve their service particularly in delivering internet connectivity. On the other hand, customers must also be vigilant enough in escalating any issue they encounter promptly.