The telecommunications industry has put forward a draft of a new code of conduct designed to make advertising and products less confusing for customers, after the industry watchdog threatened to regulate the industry harshly if providers didn’t take action.
The new code includes a number of guidelines to make pricing clearer, including the introduction of unit pricing, which is to be included in all print advertisements for value mobile plans.
The Communications Alliance, which is made up of several of the company’s largest providers including Telstra, Vodafone, iiNet, Optus and M2, is putting the code out for public comment before it is sent to the Australian Communications and Media Authority for approval.
“We are in continuing and constructive dialogue with the ACMA and other players, including the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) on a range of code issues, and will further refine the code in the light of inputs received during the public comment period,” chief executive John Stanton said in a statement.
The new code includes a requirement for telcos to use unit prices to be included in advertisements. Recently ACMA complained that using a “value statistic” can confuse users because different telcos price calls at different rates.
Having a unit price will allow customers to compare plans from different telcos.
Other provisions include tighter deadlines to fix customer complaints, including having each company give a customer a number to track their particular complaint.
Complaints have been one of the industry’s biggest burdens. Both ACMA and the industry ombudsman say complaint levels are too high, and take too long to fix – many customers have to call companies several times in order to fix disputes.
Other new regulations include stronger conditions on advertising content to make sure they are clearer, better information given before customers sign up to a deal, and better management tools to help users track their spending.
“This includes notifications to tell customers where they stand in comparison to any data usage limits each month and help them avoid any excess charges,” the Alliance notes.
As smartphones with better capacity to download data become popular, more customers are suffering “bill shock” and end up racking up huge debts without realising what they are paying for.
Along with the new code, the industry will also set up an independent body called Communications Compliance to monitor the performance of all telcos with regard to the code.
Stanton said the new code includes a number of direct recommendations from ACMA, and that it “had already benefited greatly from direct recommendations from consumer representatives”.
Last month ACMA told telcos they had five months, or the body would impose harsh regulations.
“The ACMA is giving industry five months in which to develop a revised code dealing with the matters that it considers must be changed,” it said.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
