Complaints received by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) increased by 4 per cent in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017.
In its statistical report on complaints and enquiries received in the first half of the year, the MCA said it received 117 complaints from subscribers of telephony, internet, television and postal services, 95 per cent of which were closed within 20 working days. The authority also received 328 queries.
Although the complaints received related to communication services, there were instances where the authority was not empowered by law to intervene and would refer the end-users to other entities.
In 95 per cent of cases, calls were answered by a call agent within five minutes
Quality of Service (QoS) issues topped the list of complaints received with faults being the most common type of QoS complaint received, with 34 cases reported.
Faults were generally caused by damage to the operator’s external network, damages to subscribers’ equipment, or damages to the subscribers’ in-house wiring. A number of factors could cause faults including weather conditions, damages caused by third parties and/or by end-users.
In the cases reported to the authority, the MCA monitored the actions undertaken by the service providers to ensure that faults were repaired within the shortest time possible.
The second most common type of complaint received was related to billing, namely incorrect billing with 21 complaints reported to the MCA. In seven of these cases, following the necessary investigations, the MCA determined that the service providers were required to take remedial action to address the issues reported.
The MCA also received 20 complaints related to postal services during the first half of 2018. The MCA brought these cases to the attention of the service provider so that it could further investigate the matters raised and address any ensuing issues accordingly.
Customer support was a key aspect of the service and customers expect immediate assistance when encountering any issues. To this effect, the MCA monitored the customer care response time provided in the industry. The information gathered through a series of mystery shopping calls made to GO, Melita and Vodafone customer care indicated that the average time taken for a call to be answered by a call agent was 1 minute 5 seconds.
In 95 per cent of cases, calls were answered by a call agent within five minutes.
The MCA encouraged those end-users who encountered difficulties with respect to the services regulated by the MCA to contact the authority if they were unsatisfied with the way their service provider handled their complaint.
The MCA can be contacted on 2133 6840 or by e-mail at customercare@mca.org.mt.