Figures reveal that telecom provider complaints rise by a third

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16th November 2015 18:10 - Telecommunications

According to recent figures from Ombudsman Services: Communications, the number of complaints placed against telecom providers has increased by 35 per cent since 2012 in the three months from July to September.

Ombudsman Services: Communications provides a dispute resolution service to assist customers resolve complaints. So far this year, they have received 15,542 complaints about telecoms providers, a rise of 5 per cent since last year.

Of the complaints placed in September 2015 one in three (31 per cent) related to billing issues such as complex invoices, direct debit amounts or wrong account details.

As well as this, 23 per cent of the complaints made related to service issues and 16 per cent related to contract issues, such as cancellations and mis-selling.

Within 2015, those in the Midlands have been the least satisfied with their telecoms provider, accounting for one in ten of all complaints made this year.

Closely following the Midlands as the least satisfied telecom customer was those from the North West, making up 8 per cent of the complaints made this year. Those from Inner London also were found to be dissatisfied with their telecom provider (7 per cent).

Cable.co.uk said that complaints to the ombudsman about mobile phone and broadband providers increased by 20 per cent in 2014, in comparison to the year prior.

An annual comprehensive multi-sector survey by The Ombudsman Services’ Consumer Action Monitor 2015 revealed that customer complaints in the United Kingdom nearly doubled between 2013 and 2014, from 38 million to 66 million.

According to the ombudsman, telecoms providers should do more to ensure that customers have better experiences.

An Ofcom report said that there was a “considerable room for improvement” within the telecoms industry when it comes to assisting customers with accessing Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Ofcoms report into accessing the Alternative Dispute Resolution was published in September and revealed that in 75 per cent of cases investigated, customers had not been sent notification letters, which are key to taking the case further.

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