Mobile phone complaints rise linked to smartphones

The rapid uptake in smartphones has been blamed for a rise in bill shock after the number of mobile phone users complaining about excessively high bills doubled in early 2012 compared with the same time last year.

A rising number of mobile users are contacting the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman after receiving large bills they cannot afford to pay and they have been unable to negotiate acceptable solutions with their provider.

Australian Communications Consumer Action Network's spokeswoman Elise Davidson blames the huge growth in smartphone users spending more than their included value and getting stung with excess data charges.

"There has been a rapid uptake in the use of smartphones and with them consumers using the internet on their phones,'' she said.

"Unfortunately, a lot of people are getting caught out by using more than their "included value'' within the plan, which means they are stung with excess data charges, which are really expensive.''

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman's latest report found in the March quarter this year there were 4282 complaints about large bills, compared to 2181 in the same quarter in 2011.

The consumers said they were not warned by their provider that the costs were blowing out.

Ms Davidson blames the telecommunications companies for not offering customers better tools to monitor their spending when it comes to their phone bills.

Ombudsman Simon Cohen also blames the fast uptake in the use of smartphones for the increase in complaints.

"Smartphones which dominate the mobile market at present are bringing an added complexity to mobile services,'' he said.

"The ability to use the internet as well as making calls increases the potential for a consumer to overspend.''
The Australian Communication and Media Authority will introduce changes on September 1 this year which Mr Cohen said should help reduce the number of complaints relating to high bills.

"This new (Telecommunications Consumer Protections) Code has a number of measures around clearer advertising, unit pricing and timely usage alerts which should help reduce the incidence of these complaints,'' he said.

However he warns the changes come into effect on over a 12 month period and encourages consumers to ask lots of questions before taking out a new mobile phone service.

A Telstra spokeswoman said they last year introduced a text messaging system alerting customers on popular plans when customers reached 80 per cent and 100 per cent of the text or multimedia messaging allowance.

Source: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/national/smartphone-buyers-behind-doubling-of-mobile-phone-bill-complaints/story-fndo6ejf-1226444948216