Customer Service Guarantee Standard 2000 (No.2) fact sheet

This fact sheet outlines key features of the Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) Standard and the safeguards it provides for telephone service customers. The CSG performance requirements (as amended) apply to carriage service provider performance from 31 October 2006.

The Customer Service Guarantee

The object of the CSG Standard is to encourage improvements in service and guard against poor service. It requires telephone companies to meet minimum performance requirements and to provide customers with financial compensation when these are not met.

Services covered by the CSG

The CSG Standard covers the supply of standard fixed line telephone services, including voice grade services and services used to access the Internet or for facsimile machines.

Certain special call-handling features, when activated by a telephone company, are also covered by the CSG, including call waiting, call forwarding, call barring, calling number display and calling number display blocking.

The CSG Standard does not apply to customers who have more than five lines or customer equipment with more than five telephone lines. Mobile phone services are not covered by the CSG.

Maximum timeframes for connecting services readily available to cabling

The maximum timeframe under the CSG for connecting a new service depends on whether the service is 'in-place' or not. Maximum timeframes also depend on whether the premises are close to existing telecommunications cabling and the size of the population of the community where the service is located. Table 1 outlines the maximum timeframes for connections at premises that are readily accessible to cabling.

Table 1

⁺ If a customer's phone company makes a commitment to connect in less time than outlined in the above table, the reduced period becomes the connection time.

Maximum timeframes for connecting services not readily accessible to cabling

The maximum timeframe for connecting new services where the premises are not readily accessible to cabling is set out in the ACMA-approved standard marketing plan for the primary universal service provider, which is currently Telstra.

Telstra's standard marketing plan states that:

If Telstra cannot supply the standard telephone service on the date the customer requires it to be connected, Telstra will aim to supply the standard telephone service within one month (equivalent to 20 working days) from the date of the customer's request, or on a later date if requested or agreed to by the customer.

This timeframe applies to all locations, regardless of the size of the community.

Maximum timeframes for repairing faults

Once reported, faults must be repaired within the timeframes in Table 2.

Table 2

^* In certain circumstances (for example, where the fault can be repaired by the phone company without attending the customer's premises), the fault repair period is the end of the next working day after report.

Maximum timeframes for appointments

If a phone company gives a customer an appointment for connecting or repairing a service then the appointment period must be no longer than five hours. The phone company must keep this appointment unless it gives the customer reasonable notice. Table 3 outlines when appointments are officially missed.

Table 3

^# An extra 45 minutes is allowed where the phone company must travel long distances for an appointment at a premises in a community of under 2,500 people.

Situations where CSG timeframes do not apply

In certain circumstances the CSG performance requirements do not apply to phone companies. These include situations where a customer accepts a phone company's offer to supply an interim or an alternative phone service or a customer refuses a reasonable offer of an interim or an alternative service.

Phone companies are not required to meet CSG timeframes where there are circumstances beyond their control, such as when natural disasters or extreme weather conditions cause mass disruptions of services.

Examples of extreme weather conditions defined under Schedule 3 of the CSG Standard include: large hail, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, hazardous winds, lightening, blizzards, tornadoes, large waves and storm tides.

Compensation

A phone company must automatically pay the customer compensation for each working day that connections or repairs are delayed beyond maximum CSG timeframes or if it fails to keep an appointment. Table 4 outlines the compensation for each situation:

Table 4

Claiming compensation

If the phone company fails to pay compensation or there is a dispute as to the amount of compensation paid, the customer should contact the company and seek to resolve the issue directly.

If the issue is not resolved with the phone company, the customer may raise the matter with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). The TIO is able to investigate complaints and, if necessary, determine an outcome.

The TIO can be contacted as follows:
Telephone: 03 8600 8700
Fax: 03 8600 8797
Free call: 1800 062 058
Free fax: 1800 630 614
TTY: 1800 675 692
Website: www.tio.com.au
Email: tio@tio.com.au
Mail: PO Box 276, Collins Street West, Melbourne VIC 8007

More information

For more information about the CSG Standard, customers should first contact their phone company.

Full details are contained in the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2000 (No. 2).

ACMA has fact sheets on a range of topics.

Please note: this document is intended as a guide only and should not be relied on as legal advice or regarded as a substitute for legal advice in individual cases.

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