Complaints against telecom companies soar in Australia

Customer complaints about phone and internet companies in Australia have risen by a whopping 54 per cent over the last year, according to figures released by the telecommunications industry ombudsman (TIO) on Thursday. But on the positive side, about 90 per cent of these were resolved on referral back to the company.

The ombudsman's office dealt with over 230,000 complaints against communication companies from individuals and small businesses in the last financial year. More than 100,000 of these were made against Australia's biggest telecom company, Telstra.

Its closest rival Optus Mobile was at the receiving end of 30,000 complaints. Hutchinson 3G, Vodafone, and Soul also saw a large increase in complaints.

Releasing her annual report, ombudsman Deirdre O'Donnell said one of the biggest rises in complaints concerned 'smart phones', or mobile phones with internet access.

O'Donnell said customers are often confused by the billing plans for smart phones. "Our view is that the plain English rules ought to operate: free should be free, unlimited should be unlimited, a cap should be a cap," she said.

She also said other key topics of complaint continue to centre on poor customer service and complaint handling.