Aussie telco complaints on the decline: ACMA

Australian operators are delivering better levels of customer service with the number of complaints moving lower and “bill shock” less prevalent, according to a major annual national study.

The Australian Communication and Media Authority’s (ACMA) report “Reconnecting the Customer – Tracking Consumer Outcomes” reveals that the overall incidence of complaints has decreased from 36% in 2013 to 31% this year.

A significantly lower number of complaints related to mobile phone services was a feature of the result.

The study also showed that the incidence of consumers complaining about unexpectedly high bills was now at 19% for post-paid mobile services, down from 33% in 2013.

Complaints for product bundles fell from 26% to 31% over the same period.

The extra amount consumers are complaining about has fallen from an average AU$94 ($68) to AU$60 ($44).

In more evidence that Australian consumers are more engaged with their telecom services, consumers are monitoring their expenditure with SMS alerts and apps.

“In good news for consumers, fewer are experiencing unexpectedly high bills, and they are making better use of spend management tools to monitor and track their expenditure,’ said ACMA’s acting chairman, Richard Bean.

“They have a clearer understanding about the cost of their communications services, and are better able to plan and budget accordingly.”

A separate study looking at consumer migration to new technologies also had some positive results, showing that 82 percent of Australian consumers saying it was either easy or not difficult to connect to the new National Broadband Network (NBN).