Statistical Report Complaints and Requests for Information 2009

Full version Statistical Report Complaints and Requests for Information 2009 (PDF 1347 Kb) http://www.anacom.pt/streaming/statistical_report2009.pdf?contentId=1025064&field=ATTACHED_FILE

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Preamble

This report looks at the enquiries which ICP - Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ICP-ANACOM) received in 2009 about the communications market in Portugal.

The presentation of data takes into consideration all the enquiries addressed to this Authority by end-users of communications services and by the general public, directly or through other entities. The analysis of data focuses only on the universe of complaints and requests for information, making a distinction in this analysis between reception in writing – letter, fax, email, online and through complaint books ¹ - and those resulting from contacts made over the telephones and/or presented in person to the public attendance services.

The enquires are classified according to ICP-ANACOM’s own taxonomy, which has been developed and refined with a view to best accomplishing this Authority’s regulatory and supervisory activity.

For the first time in this report, data is given by provider of the service subject to the complaint, in the context of electronic communication services. This has been done with the intention of contributing to greater transparency in the information made available to the market. Initially, it has been decided to present the information in the form of bands, by service, although this methodology may be changed in the future to provide more incisive analysis of the market.

The reading of this document should take the following considerations into account:

• The subject of an enquiry may involve more than one service and/or issue.
   
• In the context of electronic communication services, as well as overall indicators being presented for each service giving rise to complaints, the level of analytical detail (by issue and by provider) is limited to services with an expression in the total of complaints received which exceeds 1.5%;
   
• The average number of customers in the electronic communication sector is calculated by means of a questionnaire sent to the service providers.

Statistical analysis

Over the course of 2009, ICP-ANACOM received 42,842 written enquiries about the communications market. Of these 41,989 were complaints, 590 requests for information, 45 suggestions, 40 petitions and 178 other types of communication.

Total enquiries per type

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The attendance services of ICP-ANACOM received a total of 6,022 enquiries, of which 5,232 were complaints and 790 were requests for information. The vast majority of enquiries were made by telephone and referred to the electronic communications sector, especially the fixed telephone service.

Written complaints

Compared with 2008, the overall volume of written complaints received in 2009 increased by 24%. Once again, note is made of the weight of complaints entered into complaint books, comprising 79% of the total volume of complaints received by this Authority and increasing further compared to 2008, by 4%.

Total complaints by sector

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In terms of the sectors involved, as in previous years, most of the complaints referred to the electronic communications sector - both in terms of complaints addressed directly to ICP-ANACOM (7,382 complaints out of a total of 8,920 complaints), and in terms of complaints entered into complaint books (24,761 out of a total of 33,069).

Total complaints by sector

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• Complaints about electronic communications services

In terms of electronic communications, the Internet access service prompted the largest number of complaints per 1,000 customers, closely followed by the telephone service at a fixed location and the virtual calling card service.

However, compared with the previous year, in 2009 it can be seen that complaints about the Internet access service decreased significantly, falling by 45%. Meanwhile, the telephone service at a fixed location saw complaints increase by just 2%, while the number of complaints about the virtual calling card service rose by 130% compared to 2008.

Complaints by service
(comparison 2008/2009)

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Regarding the issues raised by complaints about the electronic communications sector, complaint books continue to register a predominance of issues in connection with equipment, technical support, customer service and billing - complaints which are typically associated with users visiting the offices of their service providers. On the other hand, the large number of complaints about billing (and especially incorrect invoicing), contracts (especially in connection to contractual alterations) and technical support stands out in terms of complaints addressed directly to this Authority.

Providers most cited in complaints (electronic communications)

In terms of the providers cited in the complaints, the decision was taken to define bands based on the indicator of number of complaints per thousand customers and to classify each operator based on the ratio reported.

The bands were defined with reference to the quartiles of this indicator for all providers and all services, whereby four bands were determined as indicated below.

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As such, it is possible to present, for each of the four services considered, the relative position of each operator in terms of the total number of complaints received by ICP-ANACOM.

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Broken down by service, this information shows that in the case of fixed telephone service, only ZON - TV Cabo Açoreana is in band A, with fewer than 0.7 complaints per thousand customers, although CABOVISÃO and AR Telecom are also reported with less than 1.8 complaints per thousand customers.

In 2009 there were only three operators in bands A and B, compared with 8 operators in bands C and D. It is noted that there were four operators in band D with levels exceeding 4.9 complaints per thousand customers.

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In the case of the fixed Internet access service, it was found that, to the contrary, most of the operators were in bands A and B. However, the four operators which have a combined market share which exceeds 90% are among those reported as having the most complaints per thousand customers and are found in bands C and D.

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Mobile communications services (voice, data, messages, etc.) were generally reported as giving rise to the fewest number of complaints directed at operators. With the exception of ZON TV Cabo, which was reported as receiving in excess of 4.9 per thousand customers and is placed in band, these operators are found between bands A and B.

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Finally, with respect to the subscription television service, it is reported that in 2009, ZON TV Cabo, both on the mainland and islands, is in bands A or B, together with CABOVISÃO and AR Telecom, both in band B. The remaining four operators have higher levels of complaints per thousand customers.

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• Complaints about Information Society services

In the context of information society services, in comparison with the same period of 2008, an increase of 781% is noted in the total number of complaints received, explained by the recent expansion of this Authority's responsibilities to include message-based valued added services ⁶.

• Complaints about postal services

With respect to the postal sector, the largest number of complaints referred to the correspondence service and, in terms of complaints directly addressed to this Authority, the situations giving rise to most complaints were those of delayed delivery and loss. In terms of complaints entered in complaint books, representing around 97% of the total volume of complaints, the vast majority stem from problems with customer services.

Written requests for information

Requests for information mostly focused on the electronic communications sector and information society services, with the remaining sectors having residual character.

Annexes

(See full version report in PDF)

 
¹ Received pursuant to Decree-Law No 156/2005 of 15 September, amended by Decree-Law No 371/2007 of 6 November and by Decree-Law No 118/2009 of 19 May. It is noted that not all entries in complaint books are actually complaints (around 0.6% of the total entries received refer to requests for information, petitions, suggestions or praise).
² There were also 572 communications received regarding other sectors outside the scope of ICP ANACOM’s remit and 883 communications which were illegible or without content.
³ The indicators of the Internet service refer to fixed and mobile accesses.
⁴ The telephone service at a fixed location includes indicators on the Virtual Private Network (VPN) services and Access to the Fixed Telephone Network.
⁵ Only includes data on the mobile telephone service. The mobile broadband Internet access service is included in the Internet access service.
⁶ Decree-Law No 177/99 of 21 May, as amended by Decree-Law No 63/2009 of 10 March, gave ICP-ANACOM supervisory responsibilities with respect to message-based valued added services (SMS). Message-based valued added services are information society services provided by means of messages supported by electronic communications services. The use of these services requires the payment by the users, in immediate or deferred form, of a value which is additional to the price of the electronic communications service, as consideration for the provision of the transmitted content by the information, entertainment or other service.