19
June 2003– Issue 8
(covers period 1 April to 30 September 2003)
Fixed line market: complaints per 1,000 customers
Key:
Notes:
1) Average for fixed line market in previous publication was 0.3
2) Npower has recently been taken over by Tiscali
3) Complaints per 1,000 customers for Telco Global = less than 0.1
4) MIS-SELLING COMPLAINTS - where the service provider has, or will
be, changed without
customer's permission, are excluded from the above table because these
are generally not
"active" customers, they have not used the service and are
not included in customer base
information provided by the companies. Complaints that BT has prevented
a customer from
taking/keeping CPS are also shown here. The number of complaints received
by Oftel about
mis-selling are:
- British Gas (29)
- BT (16)
- Essex Telecom (11)
- One.Tel (63)
- Reach Telecom (57)
- SkyTalk (34)
- TalkTalk (34)
- Telecom Plus (20)
- Universal Telecom (12)
- Universal Utilities (15)
Mobile
market: complaints per 1,000 customers
Key:
Note:
1) Average for mobile market in previous publication was 0.4
2) Complaints per 1,000 customers for Virgin = less than 0.1
3) 4U has recently been taken over by Vodafone
4) Cellular Operations has recently been taken over by Vodafone
Internet
service provision market: complaints per 1,000 customers
Key:
Note:
1) Average for Internet service provision market in previous publication
was 0.3
Introduction
This publication
provides a broad picture of the level of complaints received by Oftel
between 1 April and
30 September
2003. The three graphs highlight the relative performance of the telephone
companies and Internet service
providers named.
Oftel believes that
publishing this information provides an important incentive to telephone
companies and Internet service providers to improve the quality of service
they offer to their customers.
Whilst individual
consumers may also find the publication of interest, our aim is to put
data in the public domain in an
accessible way. Oftel believes that other sources of information offer
more relevant information to help consumer choice. Examples of such
sources are:
The complaints data
is presented in the form of three graphs:
- Fixed
line market: company
complaints per 1,000 customers (business and residential combined)
per six months; and
- Mobile
market: company
complaints per 1,000 customers (business and residential combined)
per six months.
- Internet service
provision market: ISP complaints per 1,000 customers (business
and residential, broadband and narrowband combined) per six months.
Accompanying the
company specific data, to give an overall context, is information on
the issues most complained about for the period in question.
Fixed
line market
This relates to
complaints about all services accessed from a fixed telephone line,
including BT service, cable service, indirect access, carrier pre-selection,
and wholesale line rental.
Oftel received 57 complaints about Essex Telecom and 60 complaints about
Onebill Telecom, but we were unable to obtain customer base information
from these companies.
The total complaints
about the fixed line market included in this publication are:
27,100 (previous
publication = 28,300)
The Top 3 issues
during the period were:
|
Issue
|
|
Example
|
|
1 (1)
|
Failure or
time taken to repair
(7% of total complaints)
|
|
"Consumer
called to complain that they had been waiting eight days to have
line repair. They have been told twice the line would be repaired
shortly."
|
|
2 (2)
|
Complaint
ignored by telephone company
(5% of total
complaints)
|
|
"Consumer
unhappy about company's failure to look into her complaint despite
raising it with the company several times."
|
|
3 (3)
|
Difficulty
contacting telephone company
(5% of total
complaints)
|
|
"Consumer
unhappy at the length of time it takes to contact customer services."
|
Position in previous
publication shown in brackets.
Mobile
market
This relates to
complaints about all services accessed from a mobile telephone.
Oftel received 552
complaints about Hutchison 3G ("3"), but we were unable to
obtain customer base information
from this company.
The total complaints
about the mobile market included in this publication are:
19,950
(previous publication = 18,000)
The Top 3 issues
during the period were:
|
Issue
|
|
Example
|
|
1 (1)
|
Company ignores
customer's complaint
(6% of total
complaints)
|
|
"On three
occasions he was promised a call back from a manager, but he never
received one."
|
|
2 (1)
|
Concerning
Company's tariff / options package
(6% of total
complaints)
|
|
"Consumer
complained that he had changed the price plans on both his phones,
but he had not been receiving the discounts that he believed he
should be."
|
|
3 (-)
|
Problems with
the handset
(5% of total complaints)
|
|
"Consumer
is unhappy that the handset does not stay charged as the battery
keeps running down quickly. Also the hands-free kit does not work
with the phone"
|
Position in previous
publication shown in brackets.
Internet service provision market
This relates to
complaints about Internet service providers.
Oftel received 34
complaints about Breathe (now taken over by Vital Data) and 30 complaints
about Plusnet,
but we were unable to obtain customer base information from these companies.
The total complaints
about the Internet service provision market included in this publication
are:
4,700
(5,235)
The Top 3 issues
during the period were:
|
Issue
|
|
Example
|
|
1 (-)
|
Complaint
about a billing problem with Broadband service
(8% of total
complaints)
|
|
"Consumer'
complained that he has cancelled services, but is still being
charged. He has now been referred to a debt recovery agency either
though the debt relates to a period after he had cancelled service."
|
|
2 (-)
|
Complaint
about no, or erratic, connection to Broadband service
(7% of total
complaints)
|
|
"Customer
complained about constant disruptions to his broadband service,
either loss of service, persistent slow downs, or failure of email
service"
|
|
3 (2)
|
Complaint
ignored by ISP
(6% of total
complaints)
|
|
"Consumer
has complained that he has not received promised call backs from
company."
|
Position in previous
publication shown in brackets.
Criteria
used for inclusion in the graphs
Only companies with
a customer base of 100,000 and above are included. The customer base
figures used have been supplied
to Oftel by the named companies. Where Oftel does not have data for
the time period in question it has used the most recent available data
supplied to it. Oftel has also requested and relied upon confirmation
from all named companies, in advance of publication that the figures
used are accurate.
Analysis is based
on the number of consumers who make a complaint with Oftel about a company,
and not on the number of issues each consumer raises.
No complaint is
included in the analysis where a consumer does not provide either:
- a full postal
address; and/or
- an email address;
and/or
- a contact telephone
number.
The analysis will
not differentiate between business and residential customers.
The analysis will
not differentiate between Internet broadband and narrowband customers.
The published data
will cover complaints received from the whole UK population and will
not seek to distinguish between
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland or between regions.
Oftel will rely
on the latest customer base information supplied to it by companies.
The onus is therefore on companies to continue to supply regular customer
base information. Oftel will contact companies close to the publication
date to confirm
base numbers.
Where no confirmation is received Oftel will use the last available
information.
A complaint is defined
as consumer expression of dissatisfaction relating to their company
or service.
Calculation for
graphs:
1000 * A / B
where
A = Total number
of Consumer complaints to Oftel about a company in the 6 month period,
B = Average population of customer base for company during the 6 month
period.
Graph Scale: Results
are rounded to the nearest .1
Further details
can be found here in Oftel’s October 2001
Statement on Publication of Consumer Complaints made to Oftel.
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