ACMA wants your views on telcos' customer service

Stuart Corner
Monday, 19 July 2010 17:59

IT Policy - Regulation

The ACMA has kicked of a major enquiry into customer service in the telecoms industry with release of the enquiry's terms of reference, a consultation paper and call for "the broadest possible input on the problems telecommunications customers are experiencing with customer service and complaints-handling."

ACMA chairman, Chris Chapman, said: "We want to understand what the problems are - the way the telecommunications industry is dealing with its customers and the root causes of those problems. And critically, we want to identify enduring solutions that will improve customer service and complaints-handling, both now and into the foreseeable future."

He added: "The inquiry is being undertaken with the intention to significantly improve outcomes for Australian telecommunications consumers'¦We intend to gather evidence that will shine a light on the real problems causing the high numbers of complaints being made to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, problems which are broadly corroborated by strong anecdotal feedback."

He promised that the ACMA would be "looking also for solutions that will facilitate best practice customer service in an increasingly complex communications environment. We want consumers to regain confidence that they will receive the services they need in a way that meets their expectations."

The enquiry was announced by Chapman on 20 April. Since then, the ACMA says it has "canvassed widely with key stakeholders including the chief executives of Australia's leading services providers and consumer and industry representatives to craft terms of reference that will usefully allow the ACMA to get to the bottom of these issues and to develop an effective and meaningful analytical framework for future industry direction and policy-making."

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