Are Aussie Telcos complaints 'turning the corner'?

The rising number of complaints made about Australian telcos appears to be turning a corner, according to the Australian Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). Rather than focusing on the second successive increase in overall complaints, Ombudsman Judi Jones based the claim on a drop in complaint numbers from Q3 to Q4. The TIO received 45,808 complaints in the third quarter of 2017/18, compared with 37,669 in the fourth quarter of 2017/18. A total of 167,831 complaints were made in 2017/18, 49.9 percent higher than the number of complaints made in 2015/16.

The quarterly drop was most noticeable in the mobile sector, and matters involving the connection of multiple services such as a landline and internet service. Mobile complaints fell by 18 percent to reach 11,995 complaints for the quarter, and multiple service complaints fell 21 percent to reach 10,517 complaints for the quarter.