Ofcom to form code of practice for mobile-provider complaints

Ofcom is so concerned about the way telecoms companies treat customer complaints that it is overhauling the way grievances are handled.

The communications regulator said that last year approximately three million people failed to resolve the complaints they had with their phone and broadband provider after 12 weeks.

Three quarters (77 per cent) of those consumers were also unaware that they could take their compliant to either Cisas or Otelo, the two free independent resolution services.

To improve the way complaints are handled, from next year, Ofcom will establish a single mandatory code of practice. This will enforce minimum, transparent and consistent standards covering the way providers handle complaints from consumers.

Companies will have to make their complaints procedure easily accessible and simple to understand, and ensure that grievances are dealt with fairly and in a timely manner.

The Code will also give Ofcom powers to take enforcement action against those providers who do not treat complainants fairly.

Ed Richards Ofcom’s chief executive said: “We want to make sure that when something goes wrong, consumers are able to find out easily how to make a complaint and can be assured that their provider will be able to handle their complaint effectively."

Ofcom receives “significant numbers of complaints each month” about the way communications companies handle customer complaints and decided to investigate.

It said its evidence showed that around 30 per cent of consumers reported a very poor experience when pursuing a complaint with their provider.

“The evidence suggests that providers' incentives to compete on the basis of customer service are not proving sufficient to ensure that individuals will receive satisfactory treatment from their provider when they try to pursue a complaint,” Ofcom said in a statement.

From next year, communications providers such as internet service providers and mobile phone companies will have to include information of the relevant dispute resolution service on all paper bills.

They will also have to write to consumers whose complaints have not been resolved within eight weeks to inform them of their right to take their complaint to a dispute resolution service.

Ofcom research shows that dispute resolution services offered by Cisas or Otelo improved the outcome for those consumers who would otherwise fail to pursue complaints out of frustration with their provider’s response or lack of response.

For example, of those complaints about mobile providers that were not resolved within 12 weeks, 91 per cent of complaints were subsequently resolved when taken to a dispute resolution service, compared with 51 per cent of complaints where the consumer did not go to a dispute resolution service.

A mandatory CoP will be introduced to provide consistency in standards and will give Ofcom powers to take enforcement action against those providers who do not treat complainants fairly.

The minimum standards for the handling of complaints will come into force on 22 January 2011, with the exception of the proposals to increase awareness of alternative dispute resolution, which will come into force on 22 July 2011.