ACCAN Customer Service Project (25 August 2009)

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4.2. Common content

The service charters reviewed in this study were generally written in plain language and were very easy to understand. Some service charters provided a useful ‘one-stop’ source of relevant information about consumer rights, which were otherwise scattered across several websites – for example all of the service charters reviewed in this study contained clear contact information and useful information about how to complain.

There is no common template or guideline for service charters in Australia. This has resulted in a significant amount of inconsistency in the content of service charters – no particular consumer promise appears in more than 60% of charters. The following table summarises the most common elements included in Australian customer service charters:

 

The following table notes some provisions in service charters that only appear in a minority of charters. However these provisions are likely to be of considerable interest to consumers:

It is important to note that the content of typical service charters might not be sufficient to address the types of complaints that are currently occurring in the communications sector. During the study the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) noted that they do not receive complaints from consumers regarding breaches of a customer service charter (despite five TIO members having service charters in place).

Instead, the TIO received complaints in the following categories:

  

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