Over the last couple months I’ve helped a number of people who have experienced trouble dealing with their respective telecommunication companies take the complaint to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman to have it resolved. In each case they were frustrated with the lack of outcome achieved, had no idea that the TIO existed and all had a positive outcome. Based on those experiences I thought I’d share a few tips here for trying to fix a problem with your provider and how to deal with the TIO.

First up, I need to explain who the TIO is and what they do.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman was established in 1993 by the Federal Government to assist customers of telecommunications companies and ISPs resolve disputes they may have with their providers. Any such company providing telecommunication services to Australians is by law required to become a member of the TIO scheme.

Although I’ll go into more detail later, in short the TIO will step in to help resolve complaints once the customer has exhausted all reasonable means of attempt themselves. Case managers at the TIO are experts who have experience in the field, and are usually in a much better position to negotiate a fair outcome than the average consumer.

Best of all the TIO is a FREE service to consumers.

The TIO isn’t considered a point of first call. It’s expected that you’ll take all steps to resolve the dispute first before asking for TIO involvement.

It’s also important to remember that the TIO doesn’t exist to help you weasel out of a deal just because you’re unhappy or can get something better elsewhere, nor is it a service to take advantage of just because you can’t get your own way. I’ve actually seen a post on the WhirlPool forums a couple of years back in which the author complained that he (or she) signed up for a mobile phone deal with a carrier, and a month later found a better deal with another provider. A request was made to cancel the contract without penalty, which was obviously rejected. The stance taken by the post author was that “I CAN’T GET MY WAY SO I’M GOING TO THE TIO!”. If you’re being unreasonable or the TIO has no jurisdiction over the matter, you’ll probably be told this when lodging your complaint. A list of some of the things the TIO can and can’t assist with is available here.

Dealing with your provider

It’s a great idea to try to resolve your complaint directly with your carrier or ISP first. Unless your circumstances are unusual, this usually means two or three instances of contact (for example, call center and a supervisor or manager).

One great tip for dealing with the provider is to put your concerns in writing. Why? Because it works on a number of levels: Call Center staff are unlikely to leave detailed notes on your account, and unless you record the phone call, there will be no evidence of any agreement or promises made towards an outcome. Contact forms and emails will rarely get to the correct person or department, and usually only provide a generic and unhelpful response directing you back to the call center.

When putting your complaint in writing, don’t ramble. Stick to the following format:

John Smith
1 Noservice St
Melbourne Vic 3000

23rd November 2011

Large Telco Company
GPO Box 412
Melbourne Victoria 3000

Service Difficulties

(a brief introductory paragraph)

(an outline of the problems you are having)

(a paragraph explaining any action you’ve taken to date)

(and finally, a list of any action you want the company to do to resolve the issue and the timeframe you want it done in)

Regards

John Smith

It’s important not to make any threats or be unreasonable. Stick to the facts, keep it simple but be firm in your dealings. Include any account numbers and contact details relevant to the issue as well as anything else relevant, such as photographs or documents.

When sending your letter it’s a great idea to send it registered post with a confirmation of delivery. This will cost you $5.65 (based on postage costs as of the date of this blog post), but has a couple of benefits. Firstly, you’ll have proof that you lodged and sent your letter, and secondly, a delivery confirmation proves that the letter was received by the provider – they won’t be able to say they never received it.

You probably should allow 7 business days to receive a response, so if you post the letter on a Monday, allow them until the following Wednesday to get back to you. This roughly equates to 5 business days plus 2 to allow for the post.

If you’re lucky you’ll find someone will contact you to discuss your situation and negotiate an outcome. If you’re happy with the result, great. But if you find that the provider isn’t willing to help or doesn’t get in contact with you, it’s probably time to take it to the TIO for resolution. Keep in mind though that the provider may offer an outcome different to the one you were expecting, and it’s important to consider if their response is reasonable based on the circumstances. You don’t have to accept it straight away – if necessary ask for a day or two to think about it if you think you need that.

Kicking it up a notch: going to the TIO

Once you’ve decided to take your complaint to the TIO it’s a fairly simple process. Complaints can be lodged in person if you’re in Melbourne (their office is located in Collins St, just opposite Southern Cross station) or by phone, fax, post or email.

Once your complaint has been accepted and a case manager assigned you’ll receive confirmation with a case number.

At this point the TIO will forward your complaint on to the provider, at which point they have 10 days to get in contact with you – note that this doesn’t mean 10 days to resolve your issue, rather, just 10 days to make contact. Most providers have a department which are dedicated to resolving incoming TIO complaints, so it’s unlikely that you won’t hear back within this time frame. In some cases you may be provided with a direct contact number in which to initiate contact yourself.

The TIO may, depending on your situation, direct the provider not to do something while the issue is being resolved. For example, if you’re trying to resolve an unusually large bill, the provider may be directed not to debit this amount from your credit card in the interim. You’ll still be responsible for any undisputed amounts, and should continue to pay them as normal.

Most complaints will have been resolved at this stage, either by the provider agreeing to your requests or a suitable outcome negotiated and agreed to. If not, you can then return to the TIO who will then take over and deal directly with the provider on your behalf.

The TIO may investigate the matter in further detail, requesting more information from both yourself and the provider. For example, the company may provide reasons why it cannot or is unwilling to agree to your wishes, which may or may not be legitimate. Regardless, the TIO will look at all sides to try and negotiate what is best for you and is considered reasonable for the situation.

Even if the TIO does negotiate an outcome that the company agrees upon, you aren’t required to accept it. However, if you choose not to, the TIO will generally not involve itself in the matter any further and any action you take beyond that through other channels will be at your own cost, and the company will no longer be required to honour any outcome previously agreed upon.

In rare circumstances the TIO may actually make a binding decision, and will direct a company to rectify your complaint. Such decisions are usually required to be undertaken within a set time period and are bound by law. Actual outcomes may include compensation, fixing something, refunding you or releasing you from contract, but are all dependant upon your situation.

Personal Experiences

I’ve used the TIO twice in the past, both against Vodafone.

In the first instance it was regarding an excessively large overseas roaming bill – even though a Vodafone representative agreed it was incorrect, they refused to remove or amend suspect charges as it was too difficult to sort the correct from the incorrect ones, and declined to find any acceptable middle ground.

The second case involved the infamous Vodafone coverage debacle of 2010 (and probably still ongoing) in which my attempts to port away from Vodafone without penalty fell on deaf ears.

After TIO involvement in both cases saw reasonable outcomes. My roaming bill was reduced to a resonable $500 (legitimate charges would have been higher than this, but the Vodafone representative agreed that I had been treated poorly and unfairly by their company in trying to resolve this) and my request to port away without penalty was agreed to without complaint.

I’m glad that we actually have an ombudsman for the telecommunications industry, but it’s something we shouldn’t need in the first place. It says a lot about the state of the industry for consumers that the TIO even needs to exist in the first place. Thankfully ACMA is taking a look at customer service standards and may look at introducing a code of conduct for providers to adhere to.

If you’re looking to deal with the TIO or just want to get further information, you can visit their website.

Oh, just an important note: You probably shouldn’t use this post as an exact guide to resolving problems with your provider or dealing with the TIO. Consider what’s right for you in your circumstances, and make any decisions on the best course of action by researching information directly from the TIO website. Just sayin’.