New report reveals the top five complaints plaguing telco customers

Dylan Crismale - Digital Content Editor

Last updated 08 May 2024

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has released new quarterly data on complaints received from telco customers.

The data was collected between January and March of this year. During this period the TIO received a total of 15,799 complaints, up by 9.1% compared to the previous quarter. However, the number decreased compared to the same period in 2023 when the TIO received a total of 17,777 complaints.

The top five complaints were:

Top five complaints to TIO (January to March 2024)

Complaint type	# of complaints	# same time last year	# last quarter	Change quarter on quarter	Change year on year
No or delayed action by provider	9,194	9,839	8,789	4.6%	-6.6%
Service and equipment fees	5,086	6,246	4,723	7.7%	-18.6%
No phone or internet service	2,223	1,721	1,642	35.4%	29.2%
Intermittent service or dropouts	1,573	1,753	1,288	22.1%	-10.3%
Delay establishing a service	1,348	1,117	1,187	13.6%	20.7%

Of the top five most reported complaints all except two saw a decrease year on year although all were up compared to the previous quarter.

The two biggest increases between this quarter and the last related to having no internet or phone service and slow speeds. No phone or internet service increased by 35.4% while slow data speed (9th overall most received complaint) increased by 29.4%.

Complaints for network outage dropped out of the top 10 issues, down to 352 complaints compared to 850 the previous quarter which coincided with the Optus outage.

While the TIO noted things were improving year on year it pointed to the fact that core issues with services remain. Three of the top 10 issues saw an increase year on year including no phone or internet service (29.2%), delay in establishing a service (20.7%), and inadequate fault testing (21.8%). Complaints relating to internet services made up 41.4% of all complaints the TIO received.

Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert said “When there is a data breach or an outage, we see a spike in complaints and that’s to be expected. But we continue to see the same ‘business as usual’ issues arise every quarter about poor customer service and reliability of technology to keep us connected – consumers largely have the same frustrations that the telco industry fail to tackle effectively”.

When it came to individual phone and internet providers, eight out of the top ten saw an increase in the number of complaints received about them compared to the last quarter.

Top 10 providers with the most complaints (January to March 2023)

Provider	# of complaints	# last quarter	Change quarter on quarter
Telstra Group	6718	5390	24.6%
Optus Group	3595	4440	-19%
Vodafone Australia Limited	1528	1187	28.7%
TPG Group	622	513	21.2%
iiNet Ltd	473	419	12.9%
Southern Phone Company Ltd	298	209	42.6%
Aussie Broadband Ltd	261	222	17.6%
Tangerine Telecom Pty Ltd	247	149	65.8%
Dodo Services Pty Ltd	230	230	0%
Exetel Pty Ltd	128	93	37.6%

Unhappy with your internet service provider?

These are the most popular NBN 50 plans with WhistleOut users this week:

#1	Dodo Editor's Pick	Dodo All Fixed Line nbn® Editor's Pick nbn50 Unlimited Plan All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Incl. $30/mth discount for 6 months based on the standard price $87.99/mth. Ends 08.12.26. T&Cs apply. $57.99/mth for first 6 mths, then $87.99/mth Min. cost $57.99 Go to Site*	$57.99/mth for first 6 mths, then $87.99/mth Min. cost $57.99	Go to Site
#2	amaysim	amaysim All Fixed Line nbn® NBN50 All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Special Intro Offer - Includes $10/mth off for the first 6 months, $75/mth for first 6 months, then $85/mth $75/mth for first 6 mths, then $85/mth Min. cost $75 Go to Site	$75/mth for first 6 mths, then $85/mth Min. cost $75	Go to Site
#3	Belong	Belong All Fixed Line nbn® NBN Standard Plus – Unlimited All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $36 off for 6 months - $55/mth for first 6 mths, then $91/mth (Offer ends 04.11.26) + Free $80 Mobile SIM $55/mth for first 6 mths, then $91/mth Min. cost $55 Go to Site	$55/mth for first 6 mths, then $91/mth Min. cost $55	Go to Site
#4	Tangerine Telecom	Tangerine Telecom All Fixed Line nbn® Value Plus NBN 50/20 All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $25/mth off for the first 6 mths, $64.90/month for first 6 months, then $89.90/month. $64.90/mth for first 6 mths, then $89.90/mth Min. cost $64.90 Go to Site	$64.90/mth for first 6 mths, then $89.90/mth Min. cost $64.90	Go to Site
#5	Superloop	Superloop All Fixed Line nbn® Extra-value nbn50/20 All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Incl. $20/mth off for 6 months! $69/mth for 6 mths, then $89/mth + Bundle & Save $69/mth for first 6 mths, then $89/mth Min. cost $69 Go to Site	$69/mth for first 6 mths, then $89/mth Min. cost $69	Go to Site
#6	TPG	TPG All Fixed Line nbn® nbn50 Unlimited Plan All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: $69.99/mth for first 6 months, then $89.99/mth. T&Cs apply. $69.99/mth for first 6 mths, then $89.99/mth Min. cost $69.99 Link not supplied	$69.99/mth for first 6 mths, then $89.99/mth Min. cost $69.99	Link not supplied
#7	iiNet	iiNet All Fixed Line nbn® nbn50 Liimitless All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $20/mth off for 6 mths – $69.99/mth for first 6 months, then $89.99/mth. Use code SAVE20FOR6 $69.99/mth + $10 Upfront for first 6 mths, then $89.99/mth Min. cost $79.99 Link not supplied	$69.99/mth + $10 Upfront for first 6 mths, then $89.99/mth Min. cost $79.99	Link not supplied
#8	Kogan Internet	Kogan Internet All Fixed Line nbn® Silver Unlimited All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Incl. $11/mth off for 12mths. $69.90/mth for first 12 months then revert back to $80.90/mth. Offer available until withdrawn. $69.90/mth for first 12 mths, then $80.90/mth Min. cost $69.90 Go to Site	$69.90/mth for first 12 mths, then $80.90/mth Min. cost $69.90	Go to Site
#9	Flip	Flip All Fixed Line nbn® Unlimited Family nbn50 All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Incl. $16.90/mth off for 6 months - $68/mth for first 6mths then $84.90/mth. New customers only. Ends 31.10.26. T&Cs apply. $68/mth for first 6 mths then $84.90/mth Min. cost $68 Go to Site	$68/mth for first 6 mths then $84.90/mth Min. cost $68	Go to Site
#10	Vodafone	Vodafone All Fixed Line nbn® Essential+ nbn® All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Save $10/mth when you bundle with a mobile plan with Vodafone. T&Cs apply. $94/mth Min. cost $94 Link not supplied	$94/mth Min. cost $94	Link not supplied

Dylan Crismale

Digital Content Editor

Dylan Crismale is a Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut, has been writing for almost a decade across a variety of Australian publications. He previously worked as a writer at Finder covering energy, internet and mobile plans. Dylan is passionate about finding the best deals to save people money and educating people about tech. When he's not sat at his desk Dylan loves working out, bingeing TV and hanging out with friends.

Read full bio