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Posts Tagged ‘TIO’

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman today released its annual report, which highlighted a spike in the number of complaints received, with mobile phone services leading the rise in complaints.

Of particular note there was a 26 per cent increase in disputes about internet charges on a mobile service.

According to the Report:

The TIO received a record number of new complaints in 2010-11, 197,682 or a substantial 17.8 per cent increase compared to the previous year, reversing the 4.6 per cent decrease in new complaints we reported in 2009-10.

The issue with the largest increase in mobile phone complaints was faults, with 56,475 issues raised or a 180.7 per cent increase from the previous year. The two most common complaints in this area include poor coverage (28,634 issues or a 609.6 per cent increase) and dropouts
(6,941 issues or a 482.8 per cent increase).

The TIO figures have been controversial in the past, with critics claiming that the TIO double and triple counts complaints, which results in the high headline number of complaints.

The TIO data will not doubt be seized on my the ACMA, who is looking at reform of the Telco industry following the release of its Reconnecting the Customer report.

Tags: ACMA, ISP Lawyers, telco lawyer, telecommunications law, telecommunications lawyer, TIO
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law, IT Law | Comments Off

The TIO has claimed success in its ‘Connect Resolve’ campaign, with only a minor increase of 1.8% in complaints over the period of the campaign.

The Connect Resolve campaign which ran between January 2009 and June 2009, was targeted at the 10 largest Telco’s in Australia with the aim of having Telcos:

“….refocus on their customers’ experiences and the need to improve their customer service practices.”

Throughout the campaign:

“….service providers received monthly data about their customers’ complaints to the TIO, as well as examples of consumer `voices’ so they could have a better understanding of which areas needed improvement, and further develop their customer service processes.“

The minimal increase of 1.8% during the campaign was in contrast to a 46% increase in complaints for the same period last year.

The Ombudsman said that:

“The stabilisation shows that our collaborative approach with service providers has been effective, but they need to continue their efforts to prioritise customer service,”

It is commendable that the TIO has in this instance taken the cooperative approach, but this campaign is the exception rather than the rule. We are still receiving regular complaints from our clients about the lack of impartiality of the TIO, and the confrontational approach taken in ‘resolving disputes’.

According to Cooper Mills Lawyers, Director and Telecommunications Lawyer Erhan Karabardak:

If the TIO wants to seriously reduce complaints they should (in addition to these types of campaigns) impose a complaint fee, which would have a significant impact on a large number of complaints that are made in bad faith, and which are without merit.

Tags: Erhan Karabardak, ISP Lawyers, Telecom Lawyers, Telecommunications Lawyers, TIO, TIO Complaints
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law | Comments Off

The TIO’s  recently released December 2008 quarter complaints statistics identify complaint handling as a problem area for ISPs and Telcos.

The TIO statistics show that complaints around complaint handling are increasing across all service segments:

Mobile services:

• Provisioning (an increase of 37.7 per cent, from 297 to 409)
• Customer Transfer (up 40.5 per cent, from 412 to 579)
• Complaint Handling (up 25 per cent, from 4,340 to 5,427)

Landline services:

• Complaint Handling (increasing by 55.1 per cent, from 3,957 to 6,137)
• Phonecard (up 70.1 per cent, from 281 to 478)
• Disability (up 117.4 per cent, from 46 to 100)
• Billing and Payments (up 40 per cent, from 6,999 to 9,796)

Internet services

• Complaint Handling (rising 31.5 per cent, from 2,782 to 3,657)
• Credit Management (up 30.7 per cent, from 1,177 to 1,538).

The statistics are a timely reminder of the Complaint Handling obligations contained in the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code C628:2007.

Clause 9 of the TCP Code imposes a number of obligations, the core of which are:

1. (clause 9.1.1) having a complaint handling process;
2. (clause 9.1.2) having a documented complaint handling policy;

It is also a requirement under clause 9.1.4 of the TCP Code that:

Suppliers must give the TIO a copy of their internal Complaint handling policy and advise the TIO of any significant changes within 7 days of the change, or as soon as practicable after that time.

The success of compliance can in large part be impacted by staff training and awareness of the procedures and policies. This needs to be addressed to ensure effective TCP Code compliance.

Non-compliance may cause the ACMA to take action by issuing formal directions or taking other enforcement action.

Tags: Code Compliance, isp law, ISP Lawyers, telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers, TIO
Posted in ISP and Telco Law | Comments Off

ACMA issues formal warning to Canberra ISP for failing to comply with the TIO Scheme.

The ACMA have issued a formal warning to ByteCard, a Canberra ISP who was allaged to have failed to comply with the TIO Scheme.

The warning comes after allegations that disputes raised with the TIO by customers remained unresolved, as a consequence of this ByteCard’s refusal to comply with the TIO Scheme. According to the ACMA:

“……Bytecard had failed to cooperate with the TIO in relation to two continuing matters. Both the TIO and ACMA have made attempts to encourage Bytecard to voluntarily comply with the TIO Scheme, without success.”

Part 6 of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 (’the TCPS Act’) imposes obligations on Carriers and CSPs (who are referred to as eligible carriage service providers, as defined by s127) to (among other things):

1. Enter into the TIO Scheme; and
2. Comply with the TIO Scheme;
   

In this case, the ACMA’s formal warning came about by the alleged failure of ByteCard (who is an eligible carriage service provider) to comply withe TIO Scheme.

Unless a CSP is exempt under s129 of the TCPS Act, they must comply with their obligations under Part 6.

Tags: telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers, TIO
Posted in ISP and Telco Law | Comments Off