According to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, wireless carriers are not providing adequate coverage and are selling consumer products they cannot use.
Core items:
- The Ombudsman received 63,000 complaints about mobile phones in two years
- People have been left without phone reception in emergencies
- Help services powered by online bots and automation do not follow all customers
A report released today shows that mobile phone complaints to the Ombudsman’s office have increased sharply over the past two years, although the overall number of complaints has fallen.
The Bureau received 63,000 complaints about mobile phones during this period.
The report includes examples of people stuck in an emergency with no cell phone service.
“People come with an idea of what they think they want and are being sold products that they may not want, need or understand,” said Telecom Industry Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert.
Some people living in high-risk emergency areas told the Ombudsman that during emergencies they lost all communication lines and had difficulty restoring phone service.
“During our outreach, 10 rural consumers told us they were experiencing significant delays in restoring their wireless service following a natural disaster,” the Ombudsman’s report reads.
“Some consumers said that even after these delays, their service was less reliable than before the disaster.”
The report shows that the use of phones has changed over the past decade.
People are now using smartphones for banking, two-factor authentication, doctor appointments, directions, and emergency alerts.
Ms Gebert said this means reliable access to the network is more important than ever.
“It moves from a sense of helplessness that some people feel when they don’t have it every day to a matter of life and death when we’re in a natural disaster situation,” she said.
rural black spots
The report found that people living in areas with no service were being sold plans that were contracted out to providers with no coverage in their areas.
“It has the potential to hit particularly the most vulnerable to a significant degree,” Ms. Gebert said.
Between 2020 and 2022, the Ombudsman received 5,811 complaints about poor phone coverage.
Ms Gebert said people should question new products marketed to them and vendors need to pay more attention.
She said to ask for coverage maps and whether or not a customer would receive service.
“We have examples of customers who might be from regional and rural areas in subway areas and the service they’re selling doesn’t work at home… that’s not okay,” she said.
“Are you actually going to get consistent coverage as you move around your farm and if it’s not what you expected, talk to your telco.”
According to the report, smaller, low-cost telcos often offer very limited telephone access to customer service representatives.
Recommendations include making it easier to talk to a “real person” on the phone rather than an online robot, more honest sales pitches, and payment methods better suited to individuals.
“We really want the telecom industry to really listen and stand up to hear what their customers want and need,” said Ms. Gebert.
She urged people who cannot reasonably resolve disputes to contact her office.
“There are obligations to turn to us if certain complaints cannot be resolved. I don’t see any rush towards people who are referred to us by providers,” said Ms. Gebert.
Provisional measures
Customer Marc Chick said he lives just outside of Wangaratta – a regional hub of 30,000 people.
He said he had a smartphone designed to work on the 4G network but had to tether it to the 3G network because 4G wasn’t working where he lived and worked.
He said his phone signal came from Beechworth, 25 miles away, although there is a tower 5 miles from his home.
He built an antenna using an old 3G internet dongle to power his cell phone in his workshop.
“It’s so damn unreliable,” said Mr. Chick.
“When I’m in the workshop, I actually have the phone connected to the antenna.”
Telstra responds
Brett Davies, a resident of Far East Gippsland, said there was no cell phone coverage where he lived and he communicated with the outside world via satellite landlines and the Internet.
Mr Davies said he is unable to leave his home at the moment because a landslide has blocked his road to East Gippsland.
He was previously said to have been without a landline for three months when all lines were burned in the Black Summer bushfires.
Telstra has since installed a solar battery-powered satellite tower on its neighbor’s property.
Mr Davies said he used a satellite landline phone.
“It works most of the time,” said Mr Davies.
Maurice McCarthy, Optus’ managing director of customer service, said Optus has “raised the bar” in its customer service.
“We constantly listen to our customers and work to resolve their issues simply and efficiently,” said Mr. McCarthy.
Telstra was contacted for comment.
#Cell #phone #providers #sell #customers #services #Ombudsman