Commission asks: Why so many telco complaints?

Thursday, 29 October 2020

Customers don’t always understand the deal they are on, and find it hard to get through to phone providers, Consumer NZ says.

Telecommunications providers are being told to lift their game and improve outcomes for consumers, as the Commerce Commission ponders what could be done to address a rising number of complaints about the sector.

The commission said the number of consumer complaints was an indicator of consumer experience and, over the past year, consumer complaints and inquiries to the industry dispute resolution scheme, the Telecommunications Disputes Resolution Scheme (TDR), and the Commerce Commission hadincreased.

In the first half of this year, TDR closed 1117 complaints and inquiries.

The commission is asking for views on the key pain points being experienced by consumers and what needs to be done to address them, across all dimensions of customer experience. This includes selecting and buying telecommunications services, the day-to-day performance of the service and provider, changing to another provider, and the complaints process.

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“We’re asking for specific examples of the problems consumers are running into and views on how things could be done better. This will help us to understand what needs to change to make a meaningful difference for New Zealand consumers,” said telecommunications commissioner Tristan Gilbertson.

“We look forward to working with industry and consumer stakeholders to produce a plan for improving consumer outcomes – so we get satisfaction levels up and complaint levels down.”

Consumer NZ head of research Jessica Wilson said there were big gaps in customer service from telecommunication providers.

She said customers complained about the amount of time they had to wait when they tried to speak to a customer service representative. “Ironically, they are one of the worst for answering the phone.”

Others said they had unhelpful service when they did get through. Billing disputes were also common, she said, and customers sometimes did not understand the package or deal they had been sold.

She said the dispute resolution scheme was not working as well as it should. “Lots of people don’t even know it’s there.”

The scheme did not “name and shame” providers that were found to have treated customers poorly, which made it less effective, she said.

Telecommunications Forum chief executive Geoff Thorn said, with nearly 8 million telecommunications connections in New Zealand, the number of consumers’ complaints and inquiries raised with TDR, relative to connection numbers, was very low compared to other countries.

He said the majority of complaints were resolved by providers without any scheme intervention.

Vodafone spokeswoman Nicky Preston said a large number of the complaints it received related to the services of fibre providers rather than Vodafone itself.

“To provide our customers with better internet service, then Chorus and the other LFCs should be held to the same quality standards that retailers are, such as via the Telecommunications Disputes Resolution service.”

She said a growing number of customers sought help via website, app, chatbot or interactive voice response services.

At Spark, spokeswoman Lucy Fullarton said the number of complaints TDR received about Spark had fallen.

“While we are pleased with the reduction in complaints, we are always looking for ways to improve our customers’ experiences and are looking forward to working with the Commerce Commission and the broader industry to understand the trends and how we can keep improving.”