ANACOM received 17,427 complaints about electronic communications services in the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 18.6% compared to the 14,682 complaints received over the same period of 2013.
The mobile service gave rise to the largest number of complaints in the first three months of the year, with 4,906 complaints (about 28% of the total), 43.7% more than received over the same period of 2013. The most common reasons for complaints were equipment (49%), especially faults, and number portability (10%).
Bundled services made up the second most common cause of complaint, with 4,798 complaints reported in the quarter - almost 30% related to information provided at time of sale and about 25% related to cancellation of the service.
The Internet access service was the third most complained about service, although there was a fall of 11% reported in the number of complaints received in the period being reported (1,679 complaints) compared to the 1st quarter of 2013. The largest number of complaints cited issues with information provided to the customer at the time of sale (17.9%), internet speed (17.5%) and faults (14.5%).
The subscription television service was the object of 1,084 complaints over the quarter, 25.6% less than in the same period of 2013. The majority of issues reported were related to faults in the service (31.7%), the information provided at time of sale (22.9%) and cancellation of the service (14.1%).
The principal means of submitting these complaints to ANACOM was through complaint books, representing approximately 72% of the complaints received in this period. Complaint books are available to customers at the retail outlets of electronic communications service providers.
