1 Aug 2008—TDR Second Quarterly Report press release
The full text of the press release, and Q & A paper issued by Telecommunication Dispute Resolution (TDR), regarding the second TDR Quarterly Report. A copy of the release and Q & A paper can be download at the bottom of the page.
Telecommunication Dispute Resolution Service, Second Quarter Results
The number of people using New Zealand’s first independent telecommunication dispute resolution service continues to increase, according to the organisation’s second Quarterly Report. The results, released today, show 23 per cent more people used the Telecommunication Dispute Resolution (TDR) service in this quarter, compared to the previous four months.
The TDR Council’s chairman, consumer law advocate Bill Bevan, said the increase in complaint numbers was also helping to achieve one of the service’s more long-term goals, which was to identify systemic issues in the telecommunications arena.
“This is an important element of the scheme because it offers an insight for both companies and consumers into areas where better communication or improved service delivery may lead to a reduction in overall complaints,” he said.
The TDR service was implemented and is managed by Dispute Resolution Services Ltd (DRSL). DRSL General Manager Neil McKellar said although there had been an increase in complaint numbers, few were resulting in a formal, adjudicated process.
“Most jobs were closed at Level One in the TDR process, because resolution was still being attempted through the scheme members’ internal complaints handling processes,” he said.
Mr McKellar said while it was still too early to properly define what systemic issues there might be in the telecommunication sector, some common themes were starting to appear. Complaint handling and contractual terms and conditions featured again in the second quarter report – these same areas were also mentioned in the first report, published in May.
How complaints were handled by telecommunication companies continued to feature in complaints to TDR in this quarter, mainly to do with how telecommunication companies recorded and numbered their consumer complaints, and how they communicated with customers around complaints.
Few of the customers who had contacted TDR appeared to understand their provider’s complaints handling process and in particular whether their provider had registered their issue as a complaint, the report says. In the majority of cases, consumers thought they had made a complaint but the companies had recorded their issues as requests for information, enquiries, concerns or faults.
The TDR report also said timing and lack of information about contractual terms and conditions meant some customers were still not being fully informed of their contractual rights and responsibilities. Scheme Members were relying on their websites providing the information, which caused problems for some customers, the report said.
Of the complaints that had been received for the quarter, 45 per cent related to billing and credit. A further 31 per cent were to do with service and product delivery (failures and delays in connection, disconnection and functionality). Customer service complaints made up 11 per cent of complaints, eight per cent related to network performance (speed and service interruptions) and faults accounted for three per cent of complaints. The remaining two per cent of complaints were listed as ‘Other’ – calls that did not fit the standard categories.
The report says TDR is also meeting its budget and performance targets.
TDR is a free service, which can be used by any consumer whose telecommunications company is a member of the TDR scheme.
Consumers must have raised their complaint with their telecommunication company first, and given the company a chance to respond. If the consumer is not happy with the outcome or it has taken more than six weeks to resolve, TDR can get involved.
The service has been established by the Telecommunications Carriers’ Forum (TCF) – a collective of telecommunication companies – along with leading consumer advocates such as Consumers’ Institute, TUANZ and Citizens Advice Bureaux.
The TCF established the TDR Council, made up of half industry and half consumer representatives, to provide the overall governance of the service.
A full copy of the quarterly report can be found on the TDR website www.tdr.org.nz.
Ends
Contacts:
For Telecommunication Dispute Resolution
Bill Bevan, Telecommunication Dispute Resolution Council Chair
Phone: Whitireia Community Law, 04 – 2376811
Email: commlaw@wnc.quik.co.nz
For the Telecommunication Carriers’ Forum (TCF)
Ralph Chivers, TCF CEO
021 576 424
For Dispute Resolution Services Ltd.
Neil McKellar, Dispute Resolution Services General Manager
Phone: 04 – 918 4919
Mobile: 0274 999 949
Fax: 04 – 918 4901
Email: neil.mckellar@drsl.co.nz
Scheme Members:
Airnet NZ Ltd
CallPlus
Communitel
Digital Island
Eziphone
Faxware International Limited t/a TNZ Group
Genesis
ihug
igrin Internet
Kordia
Orcon
Snap Internet
Telecom
TelstraClear
Vodafone
WorldxChange
Websites:
Telecommunication Dispute Resolution
www.tdr.org.nz
Telecommunication Carriers’ Forum
www.tcf.org.nz
Dispute Resolution Services Ltd.
www.drsl.co.nz
Background:
The TDR service was established by the Telecommunication Carriers’ Forum, and is based on a Customer Complaints Code that has been agreed to by the TCF members. Development of the Code began in May 2005, and it was formally endorsed by the TCF late 2006. The TCF then established a Council to govern the Scheme and appoint a company to implement the service.
The formal structure:
Questions and Answers: 2nd Quarter TDR Results Press Release
Q. Have you had the volume of disputes you expected up to this point?
A. TDR is currently getting the volume of calls that it predicted. However, if the number of disputes coming in continues to grow at the same rate, the annual estimate will be exceeded.
Q. What type of dispute has been the most common?
A. Almost half (45%) of the disputes raised with TDR have related to billing issues, and mostly these have been disputed amounts that customers have been charged.
Service and product delivery have accounted for the next largest percentage of complaints received (31%). The majority of these complaints deal with failures and delays in connection, disconnection and functionality.
The remainder of the disputes related to customer service (11%) network performance (8%) and Faults (3%). The remaining two per cent of complaints were listed as ‘Other’ – calls that did not fit the standard categories. These are very similar levels to the calls TDR received in the first quarter.
Q. What has been the most common outcome from the disputes?
A. Most of the disputes have been dealt with at ‘Level 1’, where a formal complaint has been made to TDR, but TDR has had to refer the complaint back to the supplier. This has generally been because resolution is still being attempted through the companies’ internal complaints process and deadlock has not been reached.
Q. How much has it cost so far?
A. The service is free to consumers. The Scheme Members have paid $211,000 to set up and run the scheme to date.
Q. Which company is getting the most complaints?
A. The Scheme has been used by customers from CallPlus, ihug, Orcon, Telecom, TelstraClear and Vodafone and WorldxChange.
Releasing the total complaint numbers per Scheme Member could be misleading – the company with the most complaints may be most actively promoting TDR to its customers, and therefore could have the most robust customer service, not the worst.
For specific information about TDR complaints, please contact the company concerned.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are customers being made aware of TDR?
TDR is being promoted through all of the Scheme Members to their customers. TDR information is also available through all Citizen Advice Bureaux, Community Law and Ministry of Social Development Heartland Centres. Telecommunication customers can go to any of these sources for more information, or get in touch with TDR.
How do customers lodge a complaint?
Customers must take their complaint up with their telecommunication provider first, before coming to TDR. Their telecommunication company must also be a member of the TDR Scheme.
Once a customer has reached the end of the company’s complaint system without reaching a resolution, or if the customer has not heard from the company in over six weeks, TDR can help. The process begins with the customer making the complaint to TDR in writing.
For more information about the TDR process, please see the TDR website at www.tdr.org.nz.
The Complaint Process:
