In 2006, a total of 17,296 complaints were received by ANACOM from the general public and from the end users of electronic communications and postal services. With only 3,754 complaints received in 2005, the 2006 figure represents a year increase of 361%. A key factor behind this rise is the impact of new legislation which implemented the complaint book system.
ANACOM also handled 6,597 requests for information, 3% less than the number received the year before.
Of the total of 17,296 complaints that ANACOM received in 2006, almost 70% were made using the complaint book system (11,773). The current monthly volume of complaints received in this way is expected to continue and may reach 15 thousand a year. The remaining complains were submitted directly to ANACOM, with 3,777 being sent electronically and 1,746 by other means.
While the electronic communications sector was the sector that was the object of the largest number of complaints (12,859 out of a total of 17,296), there was a sharp rise in postal sector complaints as a consequence of the introduction of the complaint book system (of the 4,157 complaints made about this sector, 3,948 were made using this system).
Within the electronic communications sector, the internet access service gave rise to the largest number of complaints, with 3,957 complaints received a figure which corresponds to 2.53 complaints per thousand customers; this is followed by the distribution of television by cable service, which was the object of 2,664 complaints, representing 1.47 complaints per thousand customers. The telephone service at a fixed location saw 3,087 complaints (0.97 complaints per thousand customers), while the mobile telephone service gave rise to the fewest complaints (3,562 complaints or 0.30 per thousand customers).
The most common issues behind the complaints included billing, customer service, support services, contract conditions and faults.
Regarding the follow up actions of the sectoral regulator as a result of the complaints received about the electronic communications sector, around 42% of the total volume of complaints referred to consumer issues, with there being very few complaints where ANACOM was in a position to intervene or to supply relevant information to the interested party. The remaining 58% of complaints referred to sectoral issues. With respect to these complaints ANACOM could inform the interested party of their rights, with only a third relating to issues which could imply a need for concrete investigative actions.
As far as the postal sector is concerned, almost all the complaints were connected to issues of relevance to the sector, with only around 5% of these possibly giving rise to concrete investigative actions.
In this context, 722 requests for clarification were sent to service providers in 2006, with 183 complaints being analysed from a litigation angle with a view to the possible instigation of legal proceedings.
