142 complaints were received by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) during the first 6 months of 2015, the Authority said.
The Authority said that 91% of complaints were closed within 20 working days. The MCA also received 279 requests for information. A number of these claims related to practices adopted by service providers over which the MCA has no legal power to intervene. In such cases, the Authority referred complainants to the competent Authorities.
The most common complaints, the authority said, related to faults and quality of service, in particular, faults to the provision of fixed telephony and TV services. "Faults are generally caused by degradation, misuse, force majeure or third party disturbance. Faults could also be the result of damages to the service provider's infrastructure, damages to the subscriber's internal wiring or damages to the physical equipment. In the cases reported to the authority, the MCA monitored the actions undertaken by the service provider to ensure that faults were repaired in the shortest time possible. In those cases where the fault originated from the service provider's infrastructure, subscribers were offered compensation or refunds, as stated in their service contract".
Another source of complaints during the first half of 2015 related to termination of services and switching, the authority said. "While complaints of this nature decreased when compared to the previous quarters, it still was one of the most common issues encountered by subscribers. In some cases, the Authority had to follow up the matter with the concerned service provider until it ensured that the services where effectively terminated in line with the subscriber's request. In some other cases, the authority provided guidance to subscribers contacting it about the procedure they needed to follow to terminate the service". The MCA also received complaints related to the porting of telephony services. In such cases, the MCA contacted the service providers concerned to ensure that such numbers are ported successfully without undue delay.
Billing also proved to be another point of contention during the first six months. In cases where subscribers were found to be incorrectly billed, the Authority followed the matter with the concerned service provider until such charges were waived. "While the MCA noticed a decrease in complaints of this nature when compared to the previous quarters, the MCA will still continue monitoring this matter as this remains one of the most recurring complaints received by the MCA. The MCA also assisted those subscribers who required information regarding their bill by ensuring that the operator provided the necessary clarifications".
Complaints of a postal nature received by the MCA continued to decrease during the first half of 2015 with only two complaints received, they said. The MCA brought these cases to the attention of MaltaPost so that it could look into the matter and address any ensuing issues accordingly. No complaints regarding eCommerce services were registered during this period.
The MCA encourages those end-users who encounter any difficulties with respect to services regulated by the MCA in the event that their complaint with their service provider has not been addressed to their satisfaction. The public can contact the MCA on 21336840 or by email on [email protected].