When was the last time you opened your phone bill to find an unexpectedly high number staring back at you?
According to the latest report from The Australian Communications and Media Authority, this very thing is happening 14 per cent less than it was in 2013 – for post-paid mobiles, at least.
But if you are getting a shocker, the “extra” amount on average has reduced from $94 to $60.
One for the reasons may be self-monitoring, the report suggests, with use SMS alerts and apps designed to tell you your data usage up from 67 per cent in 2013, to 78 per cent.
Complaints are down, too, with a decrease from 36 per cent to 31 per cent in the last three years.
“In good news for consumers, fewer are experiencing unexpectedly high bills, and they are making better use of spend management tools to monitor and track their expenditure,” said acting ACMA Chairman, Richard Bean. “They have a clearer understanding about the cost of their communications services, and are better able to plan and budget accordingly”.
Bean says some “perennial customer service issues” remain, however, and “service hotspots” are emerging as we engage with new technologies and services.
“For example,” Bean says, “consumers’ experience of complaint resolution rates and timeframes for resolving complaints remains largely unchanged over the past three years.”
The main issues are (in a huge surprise to no one) internet streaming due to slow or poor connections and being caught out using mobile data allowance when you think you’re using your home Wi-Fi connection.
In a separate study looking at consumer migration to new technologies, it was revealed 82 per cent of people find it “easy or not difficult” to connect to NBN. (assuming it is available in their area).
[ACMA]