Average of 25 communications complaints filed per month

Reason for complaints

Complaints raised by sector, mobile tops the list

The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) has recently published its report on the complaints received and related activities during the first six months of 2014. In total, the MCA received 155 complaints, an average of around 25 complaints per month.

Similar to the complaints received between January and June in 2013, the most common type of complaints received during the same period in 2014, related to service provision, in particular the repair of intermittent and temporary faults to TV, internet and fixed telephony services. Such faults are generally the result of damages, either to the service provider’s infrastructure to the residence’s internal

 wiring or to the physical equipment. In such cases, the MCA monitors the actions undertaken by the service provider to ensure that faults are repaired in the shortest time possible. In those cases investigated by the MCA, subscribers were offered compensation or refunds as stated in their service contract, particularly in those cases where the fault was not caused by force majeure.

The most common complaints of a contractual nature received by the Authority related to the termination of a service/s. In some of the cases reported to the MCA, such complaints were the result of lack of information by the subscriber with regard to the procedure to be undertaken in such cases (return of equipment or advance notification) or the implications of such action (early termination fees). On the other hand, in those cases where it appeared that the procedure for termination of service/s was not adhered to by the service provider, the Authority intervened and took the necessary regulatory action in order to ensure that the service/s was/were successfully terminated.

Billing, charges and tariffs were other causes for complaints during this period. The MCA monitored these cases closely and ensured that the operator in question provided the necessary clarifications to its subscribers when billing details were unclear. In those cases where a charge was not justified, the Authority took the necessary steps to ensure that such a charge was waived.

The MCA also received complaints related to alleged unfair practices adopted by service providers over which the Authority has no legal powers to intervene, such as in the case of unsolicited commercial calls. The Authority referred complainants to the competent Authorities.

A small number of cases received related to postal services. Most commonly, these complaints related to non-delivery of ordinary and registered mail. In such cases the MCA ensured that MaltaPost provided consumers eligible for compensation with the corresponding refunds. In addition, these cases are also monitored closely by MaltaPost to ensure that ensuing issues are addressed accordingly.

The report also highlights consumer related activities undertaken by the MCA during the period under review. These included the participation at the National Annual Trade fair which took place between the 26th of June and the 6th of July 2014, during which the MCA provided information on end-user related issues in the sectors it regulates. The MCA also launched an information campaign on the new roaming rates to promote awareness on the new tariff reductions introduced by means of the EU roaming regulations.

The full report is available on the MCA’ website at http://www.mca.org.mt/consumer/notices-and- announcements/end-user-half-yearly-report-jan-june-2014-0.