Report reveals telco customers’ frustrations as complaints rise

New data has revealed customers’ ongoing frustrations with Australia’s telco companies, with close to 16,000 complaints lodged to the industry’s authority in the first quarter of 2024.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) revealed on Wednesday that issues such as service reliability, data speed and customer service continue to plague consumers.

The TIO’s report for the first quarter of 2024 shows a total of 15,799 complaints, marking a 9.1 per cent increase from the previous quarter but a 10.9 per cent decrease from the same period last year.

Consumers have expressed significant dissatisfaction with issues including non-functional phone and internet services and slow data speeds, which saw increases of 35.4 per cent and 29.4 per cent, respectively. Other notable increases in complaints included delays in service setup, intermittent service and fees for services or equipment.

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert said Australia’s telco companies were failing to address customer needs.

“This data demonstrates that telcos must focus their attention on the bread and butter issues that consumers face,” she said.

“Namely, slow action when problems arise, slow data speeds, and challenging customer service for consumers to have their issues fixed.

“We continue to see the same ‘business as usual’ issues arise every quarter about poor customer service and reliability of technology to keep us connected – consumers largely have the same frustrations that the telco industry fails to tackle effectively.”

Responding to the report’s findings, Optus said it was pleased with the 19% reduction in complaints against the telco following the network outage in 2023 that left more than 10 million customers without internet or phone service.

“We are very pleased to see the 19% (QoQ) and 32.3% (YoY) reduction in complaints, which is a result of the commitment and hard work of all our teams in rebuilding trust with our customers,” an Optus spokesperson said.

Provider-specific complaints

Among the top 10 service providers, eight saw an increase in the number of complaints against them. Tangerine experienced the most significant jump, with complaints rising by 65.8 per cent, largely due to a data breach earlier this year.

In response to the TIO report, Tangerine CEO Andrew Branson said the company was committed to “turning things around” and improving customer satisfaction.

“We’re not immune to the challenges that come our way, and we’re not perfect,” he said. “We understand the frustrations that may arise, especially in the aftermath of our recent data incident.”

The top three providers based on the volume of complaints are Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone, with Telstra seeing an increase in complaint proportion from 37.2 per cent to 42.5 per cent this quarter. Conversely, Optus’s share of complaints dropped from 30.7 per cent to 22.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, a Telstra spokesperson said the telco had focused on ironing out customer pain points over the past year.

“While any complaints are still too many, the year on year downward trend shows that the work we are doing is paying off for customers,” they said. “We remain focused on our customers and improving the way we serve them.”

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