There has been a 9.9 per cent rise in the number of complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) between October and December with the increase attributed to the Optus data breach.
The Optus data breach and the poor way it was handled with many customers left in the dark and not contacted by the company for months contributed significantly to the sharp rise of complaints to the TIO.
Unauthorised disclosure of personal information jumped to the third most complained about problem during the quarter along with mobile complaints about non-financial loss including stress and humiliation from a privacy breach also increased noticeably.
Complaints about mobile services increased 19.1 per cent compared to the previous quarter, complaints about internet services increasing by 10.2 per cent while landline complaints decreased 20.2 per cent.
Complaints about Optus increased 39.3 per cent compared to the previous quarter.
There was also a 20.8 per cent increase on complaints about iiNet.
“We began to see the impact of the Optus data breach on our mobile complaint issues at the end of the previous quarter, but the complaints from this period of October to December really highlight the problems people are experiencing because of the breach,” says Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert.
“Privacy and the unauthorised disclosure of personal information are not the only issues for consumers.
“We’re also handling an increased number of complaints from Optus customers about disputed termination fees, customer service problems, and failing to cancel a mobile service.
“We’re continuing to work closely with Optus to ensure consistent approaches are being taken to resolving complaints so that people can get a fair and reasonable outcome, and we have adapted how we work to handle the higher volume of complaints we received.”
Telstra was the most complained about company in the October to December quarter with 38 per cent of complaints closely followed by Optus at 36 per cent. Vodafone accounted for 7 per cent.
