How the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman handles complaints

Q: When can the TIO register a complaint?

A: The TIO is an office of "last resort". We will only register a complaint if:

1. you have contacted your telephone or internet service provider, explained your complaint and asked them to help you resolve it, AND
   
   
2. you believe your complaint is not resolved after you do this.

More information

How will the TIO handle my complaint?

Q: What will the TIO do when it receives my complaint?
A1: Telephone complaints to 1800 062 058 or visits to our office at Level 3, 595 Collins St, Melbourne

A TIO staff member will talk with you and record the details of your complaint.

If we do not have the power to investigate your complaint issue, we will do our best to refer you to an organisation that can help you.

If we have the power to investigate your complaint issue:

1. We will ask you if you have contacted the telephone or internet service provider to explain your complaint and ask for help resolving it.
• If you have not done this, we will ask you to contact the company's Customer Service department. The company has 30 days to finalise a complaint from the day you tell them about it.
  
  
2. If you have already raised your complaint with the company, we will classify the matter as a "Level 1" complaint and we will record information from you about:
   • how the company responded
   • why you think the complaint is not resolved, and
   • how you think it can be resolved.
     
     
3. We will assess your information and decide either:
   
   
   • not to take further action about your complaint, e.g. because the company may have proposed a fair and reasonable resolution.

   At this stage, you can ask for your complaint to be reviewed by our Review Officer if you are not satisfied with the TIO's decision.
   
   OR
   
   

• to refer you to a resolution department of the telephone or internet company which receives referrals from the TIO.

  It is a standard part of our process to give a company another opportunity to resolve a complaint directly with its customer. Up to 90% of complaints are resolved through this process of direct referral.

  The resolution department could be a particular person, if the telephone or internet service provider is a small company, or it could be a special team. These company representatives have the authority to investigate and propose resolutions to complaints.

4. The company will have 10 days to investigate and propose a resolution to your complaint to you.

   We will ask you to contact us again if your complaint is not resolved within 10 days. At that point, we may be able to take a more active role in helping to resolve the matter.

An exception to the process:

Sometimes we take a more active role in helping to resolve a complaint when you first contact us, for example if:

• your complaint requires urgent action that could be helped by our involvement, or
• you have discussed your complaint with the company many times over a period of more than 30 days, especially if you have spoken with senior staff like team leaders or managers.

In these situations, we may handle the matter as a Level 2 complaint.

A2: Written complaints either via online complaint, by fax to 1800 630 614 or by letter to PO Box 276, Collins Street West, Melbourne 8007

A TIO officer will read your correspondence and record the details of your complaint.

If we do not have the power to investigate your complaint issue, we will do our best to refer you to an organisation that can help you.

If we have the power to investigate your complaint issue:

1. We will check that you have contacted the telephone or internet service provider to explain your complaint and ask for help to resolve it.
• If you have not done this, we will ask you to contact the company's Customer Service area. The company will have 30 days to finalise a complaint from the day you tell them about it.
  
  
2. If you write that you have already contacted your telephone or internet service provider about your complaint, we will classify your complaint as a "Level 1" complaint. We will then consider what you say about:
   • how your provider responded
   • why you think the complaint is not resolved, and
   • how you think it can be resolved.
     
     
3. We will assess your information and decide either:
   
   
   • not to take further action about your complaint, e.g. because the company may have proposed a fair and reasonable resolution.

   At this stage, you can ask for your complaint to be reviewed by our Review Officer if you are not satisfied with the TIO's decision.
   
   OR
   

   • to forward your correspondence to a resolution department at the company which takes referrals from the TIO and write to you to tell you that we have done this OR call you to give you the number for the company's resolution department so you can talk with the provider about your complaint directly.

4. The company will have 10 business days to investigate, negotiate with you and propose a resolution to your complaint directly to you.

In our correspondence or telephone call, we will ask you to contact us again if your complaint is not resolved within 10 business days. At that point, we may be able to take a more active role in helping to resolve the matter.

An exception to the process:

Sometimes we take a more active role in helping to resolve a complaint when you write to us, for example if:

• your complaint requires urgent action that could be helped by our involvement, or
• you have discussed your complaint with the company many times over a period of more than 30 days, especially if you have spoken with senior staff like team leaders or managers.

In these situations, we may handle the matter as a Level 2 complaint.

What should I do if my complaint is not resolved after the TIO refers me to the company's resolution department

It is up to you to contact us again if you cannot resolve your complaint with the company's resolution department within 10 working days. We may then be able to take a more active role in helping to resolve your complaint.

Call us on 1800 062 058, email us or use our online complaint form.

We will want to know the answers to these questions:

1. Did you contact the provider's resolution department after we referred you?
2. If you spoke with the provider's resolution department, how did it respond to your complaint?
3. Do you believe your complaint is still not resolved? If yes, why not?
4. What resolution do you think would be fair and reasonable?

We will also want to see any documents and other information you have to support your complaint.

If we do not hear from you, we will assume that the complaint has been resolved and we will not follow up the matter.

Q: How the TIO investigates complaints that are not resolved during the first stage of complaint handling - Level 2 complaints

A: If your complaint is not resolved after we refer you to the company's resolution department, we may decide to take your complaint further. This means we will probably "upgrade" your complaint from a Level 1 to a Level 2 complaint.

When a complaint is classified as a "Level 2" complaint, we take an active role in the complaint. An Investigation Officer will speak individually to you and the company. They will also follow up these conversations with letters.

In general, the process involves helping you and your company to:

• identify the issues in dispute
• develop options and consider alternatives for resolving the complaint.

Our aim is to help you to reach an agreement with your service provider that is fair and reasonable. The TIO decides if a proposed resolution is fair and reasonable. We consider the full circumstances of the complaint, and assess all the information you and the company provide to us.

If we decide that the company has not proposed a fair and reasonable resolution, we may upgrade and investigate the complaint more formally at Level 3, then possibly Level 4.

If we decide that the company has proposed a fair and reasonable resolution we will close the complaint. If you are not satisfied with our decision, you can ask for your complaint to be reviewed by our Review Officer.

Q: How does the TIO decide whether an outcome is fair and reasonable?

A: We believe that what is fair and reasonable will depend on the circumstances of your particular complaint.

To guide us in our investigation and decision-making we have developed position statements. These explain our approach to investigating and resolving particular types of complaints.

We also take into account relevant laws and telecommunications industry codes of practice.

Q: What if I am not satisfied at the end of the process?

A: Please let us know if and why you are not satisfied with the complaint resolution proposed by your provider. We will consider your point of view and information, and reconsider whether the proposed resolution is fair and reasonable. Ultimately, we decide if a proposed resolution is fair and reasonable.

If you disagree with the decision made by the TIO officer handling your complaint, you can ask for our independent Review Officer to review your complaint. The Review Officer may recommend further investigation of your complaint, which may result in another outcome.

If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome after the Review Officer reports the results of the review to you (and after any of the Review Officer's recommendations are acted on), you are free to seek legal advice or help from another organisation.

Note: if the Ombudsman or Deputy Ombudsman dismisses a complaint, or makes a Determination or gives a Direction which binds a service provider, you are not able to ask for a review of their decision.

Q: How long will it take for the TIO to investigate my complaint?

A: The time it takes to resolve a complaint depends on the complexity of a complaint and the level of TIO involvement required. We classify Complaints into 4 levels.

Q: How does the TIO decide what classification a complaint should be?

A: The TIO classifies complaints as being Level 1, 2, 3 or 4, or an Enquiry.

1. We will classify your complaint as an Enquiry if:

• we do not have the power to investigate your complaint because it is outside our "jurisdiction". More information
• you have not contacted your telephone or internet service provider about your complaint, so it has not had any opportunity to investigate and propose a resolution. More information
• you do not give us your full name or information that helps us to identify the phone or internet service that your complaint is about. More information
• you only want us to give you general information and you do not have a complaint

2. Level 1 complaints involve matters that:

• we decide are simple and easily resolved, and/or
• have not yet been investigated by company team leaders or managers (a resolution department).

3. Level 2 and 3 Complaints involve matters that:

• may be complex and may require extensive negotiation and investigation
• have not been resolved, despite your attempts to negotiate with a company team leader or manager, or
• appear not to have been resolved after referral by the TIO to the company's high-level complaints department.

4. Level 4 Complaints are:

• unresolved Level 3 complaints, or
• disputes over the installation of telecommunications infrastucture known as "low-impact mobile phone facilities'".

Q: When will the TIO upgrade my complaint to a higher "level"?

A: The TIO may upgrade your complaint if:

• at Level 1 it is not resolved within 10 working days after referral to a provider's resolution department, or
• at Level 2 or 3
  • the service provider does not respond to us about your complaint, or
  • you are not satisfied with the service provider's proposed resolution and we decide that the resolution is not fair and reasonable.

At any stage of your complaint, we may not investigate further (or at all) if we decide there may be no grounds to take the matter further, or that your service provider may have proposed a fair and reasonable resolution to your complaint.

Q: Who will handle my complaint?

Alternative dispute resolution and the TIO

Q: What is Alternative Dispute Resolution?

A: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a means of settling a dispute outside a courtroom. It can be difficult, time-consuming and cost a lot of money to try to settle disputes through the courts. ADR is a more accessible and informal way resolving a complaint.

Q: How does Alternative Dispute Resolution apply to the TIO?

A: The TIO is an industry-based Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme. Our way of working is informed by the Australian Benchmarks for Industry-Based Customer Dispute Resolution Schemes.

Our role is to help consumers and telecommunications companies resolve complaints together. We investigate complaints by considering the facts provided by both parties, i.e. the individual/business with a complaint and their telephone or internet service provider. When we help resolve complaints we consider not only the law and good industry practice but also what is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances.

We stay independent of both parties at all times. We are not a consumer advocacy organisation. However, we acknowledge that there can be a power imbalance between an individual consumer and a big company with many staff and other resources. To redress this power imbalance we may support a consumer to present their complaint. This does not mean that any complaint will be decided in a consumer's favour.

Q: What is my role in the Alternative Dispute Resolution process?

A: When you lodge a complaint at the TIO, you are participating in the ADR process. We will ask you to:

• tell us how you think your complaint can be resolved, e.g. having the problem fixed, an explanation of events, an apology, compensation for lack of access to a telecommunications service etc.
• listen respectfully to other points of view, and be willing to:
  • discuss your complaint with us and your telephone/internet service provider
  • negotiate with your service provider
  • send information to us or your service provider
  • think about your version of events and the evidence you have to support your point of view. If there is no evidence to support your point of view, can you expect the complaint to be resolved in the way you first wanted?
  • be willing to compromise where this seems reasonable.

Your bills: we will ask you to pay all the charges on your account that are not related to your complaint and are not in dispute. Your provider has the right to ask you to pay undisputed charges and can take action to recover them if you do not pay them.

Q: What does the TIO expect from my telephone/internet service provider?
A: We expect your service provider to participate in the ADR process in similar ways to you. We ask it to:

• listen respectfully to other points of view, and be willing to:
  • discuss your complaint with you and TIO office
  • negotiate with you
  • send information to us
  • think about its version of events and the evidence it has to support its point of view
  • propose a fair and reasonable resolution to the complaint, based on all available information and discussions with all parties
  • be willing to compromise where this seems reasonable.

Credit management: we will ask the provider to stop credit management activity on charges related to your complaint until we close this complaint.

Last updated April 2008