Ref: 35/02
Date: 12 June 2002

The majority of consumers who contact Oftel's Consumer Representation Section (CRS) to make a complaint or an enquiry are happy with the service that they receive, according to research published today by Oftel.

The survey, carried out to see how satisfied consumers are with Oftel's complaints service, found that:

• almost nine out of ten consumers whose complaint or enquiry was dealt with by Oftel 'in-house' were happy with the service they received;
• 70 per cent of consumers were satisfied with Oftel's overall handling of their complaint or enquiry; and
• around four out of five consumers surveyed said that Oftel's service was at least the same, and in most cases better than other companies' service.

CRS is a public service that deals with telecoms related complaints and enquiries on behalf of the Director General of Telecommunications.

Details of the companies that Oftel receives complaints about, as well as the most common type of complaints, have also been published today on Oftel's website.

The time taken or failure to repair a fault is the problem most frequently complained about by fixed telephone customers. For mobile customers, being charged for a service that has already been cancelled is the most common complaint.

Since the last time data was published in December 2001, the number of complaints Oftel received has increased by around 10%. The average number of complaints for companies offering fixed line services has improved, but the average for the mobile industry is slightly worse.

David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications, said today:

"If a consumer has a complaint with their telephone company that cannot be resolved, they can contact Oftel who can provide help and advice on a wide range of telecoms issues.

"Oftel receives around 8,000 new cases per month which include complaints about Internet Service Providers and mobile and fixed line operators, as well as enquiries about certain aspects of Oftel's work.

"Oftel always acts quickly to raise issues with the telephone companies. I expect a prompt response from the companies to address the cause of the complaints made against them.

"Publishing the complaints information provides an important incentive for the industry to resolve the problems faced by their customers.

"The survey has highlighted certain areas where Oftel's performance could be even better. Oftel is taking steps to resolve these issues to further improve the service it offers consumers."

Notes to Editors:

1. Two documents have been published today by Oftel:

• Customer satisfaction with Oftel's complaint handling is available on Oftel's website at www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/research/2002/crs0602.htm; and
• Consumer complaints made to Oftel is also on Oftel's website at www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/consumer/comp0602.htm.

Hard copies are also available to journalists from Oftel’s Press Office on 020 7634 8991 and to the general public from Oftel’s Research and Information Unit on 020 7634 8761.

2. The survey was conducted on behalf of Oftel by Continental Research between October 2001 and March 2002 amongst 510 consumers. The results are subject to a margin of error of about 3-4%. The sample was drawn at random from Oftel’s database of consumers and comprised customers who had contacted Oftel during the preceding month. To ensure a representative sample was achieved, quotas were applied to the type of customer (business/residential), method of contact (phone/letter/e-mail/fax) and type of contact (complaint/enquiry). Business consumers were also over-sampled and then re-weighted to their natural proportion.

3. 'In-house' complaints refer to those that are dealt with by Oftel without having to refer consumers back to their telephone company or to another company or organisation.

4. Oftel has a policy of encouraging network operators and service providers to resolve consumer disputes directly with their customers. When disputes still cannot be resolved, customers have the option of coming back to Oftel for further assistance. In many instances, where Oftel has no specific powers to act, Oftel is successful in resolving disputes on a ‘good offices’ basis.

5. The complaints information sets out the number of complaints that Oftel received during the period 1 October 2001 to 31 March 2002 about fixed line and mobile operators.

6. Oftel's Consumer Representation Section can be contacted by tel: 0845 714 5000, textphone: 020 7634 5370, e-mail: advice@oftel.gov.uk, fax: 020 7634 8845, or post: Oftel, Consumer Representation Section, 50 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7JJ.