John Linton .....but getting the Australian legal system to come to the same conclusion is fraught with all the problems of that deeply flawed process.
I attempted to 'publish' the full contents of an email yesterday from the research team at UTS who are investigating what the TIO is achieving. I will attempt to reproduce the main elements of the email below but somehow it drags along with it over ten pages of embedded formatting which I don't have the patience to fully remove and it strung the content out yesterday to almost a meter of 'page space' with massive blocks of 'empty space' between half sentences - I'll lower my ambitions and try again:
1. Approximately 2.5 million Australian telecommunications users are represented by the CSPs who responded.
2. Approximately 85% of CSPs have indicated that they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the alternate dispute resolution services the TIO provides.
3. Approximately 80% of CSPs have indicated that they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the technical industry knowledge the TIO possesses.
4. Approximately 90% of CSPs have indicated that they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the fairness of TIO decisions and procedures.
5. Approximately 70% of CSPs have indicated that they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the escalation policies of the TIO.
6. Approximately 80% of CSPs have indicated that they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the regulatory functions performed by the TIO.
This is a preliminary/check point finding with the survey now continuing to two more stages. The ISP's/service providers responding clearly don't include Telstra or Optus who conspired to set up the TIO originally but it does represent ISPs/Service providers who between them have 2.5 million customers - so could be regarded as representative. What the 'research' so far clearly indicates is that Exetel is by no means the only ISP/Service Provider that regards the TIO as totally useless. Point 4. above would spell the immediate end of any commercial entity that was judged that way. Exetel is proceeding with its law suit against the TIO which will meander on for the best part of 2011 having taken the whole of 2010 to achieve a set of court dates. Let's hope the barrister our solicitor has selected proves to be more competent than the ones selected by AFACT.
I have noticed over 2010 that the number of TIO complaints levied against Exetel by the TIO has continued to drop quarter by quarter and in the December quarter were at their lowest level ever. In fact the level 2 TIO complaints for that quarter were the lowest recorded against any other TIO participant irrespective of size. I am not sure what that actually means but I would hazard a guess that it has something to do with our actions and our extensive correspondence with that organisation from our principal TIO liaison 'officer' who knows more about the hows and whys of the TIO than any of their own employees. My personal problem with the TIO is that they are an out of control rogue organisation that operates illegally and costs the industry a great deal of unnecessary money that is passed on to the end users.
On a brighter note, the change to our billing procedures went very smoothly from our viewpoint early this morning but we will have to wait and see what the customers whose billing date has been changed to the 28th of each month see from 'their end' which will filter through over the coming few days. I am always impressed with how our programmers deal with the changes and modifications we make to our internal systems each month and that is, at least partially, due to how well the original data base was set up over seven years ago and how well it has been maintained since those early days. Something that none of our major suppliers have done or can do based on our experience over the years. One less thing to worry about - at least
for the time being.
Copyright © Exetel Pty Ltd 2011
ABN 350 979 865 46