Australian telecommunications industry peak body Communications Alliance has just released its most recent Complaints in Context report for the July - September quarter, which allows comparison of the customer service and complaint handing performance of service providers, regardless of their size.

Communications Alliance CEO John Stanton said: “While the increase in complaints is disappointing, industry continues to work on improving customer experience and is looking at how we can learn from the results of this last quarter.”

The industry-driven report is published by Communications Alliance using complaints data provided by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) and SIO data supplied by participating providers.

Per the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code, Stanton said the participants will be updated for the next report on the Oct – Dec quarter, to be published in January, to reflect the top 10 complaint recipients in the most recent TIO Annual Report.

Stanton says he has also used the Complaints in Context report publication as an opportunity to remind Australians about financial hardship options offered by telcos.

“We understand that the pandemic continues to have impacts on many Australians. Financial hardship assistance is always available to any customer who needs it. We encourage you to check your provider’s website to see what is available and don’t hesitate to let your provider know if you are having any challenges with your bills.” Stanton concluded.