The debate over customer service in Australian telecom continues, with consumer group ACCAN claiming that half of Australian adults had problems with a telecom product in the past year.
Research commissioned by ACCAN (the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network) found that 55% of Australians over 16 years old reported problems with their phone or internet providers over the last 12 months.
Of these, 39% were technical problems and 23% billing, payment or contract issues. The remaining difficulties were with customer service or complaint handling systems themselves.
Over two-thirds of people who had problems complained to the service provider. But one in three of those who had were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the outcome.
Only 4% of customers experiencing a telecom issue escalated to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), with 60% failing to see the point and 29% saying they had not heard of the agency.
ACCAN director of policy and campaigns Elissa Freeman said the research shows that the 230,000 cases sent to the TIO each year represent just the tip of the iceberg.