Mobile operator Three fined over complaint handling

8/10/2014 Three faces £250k charge as Ofcom says it’s failed to handle consumer issues effectively

Mobile phone operator Three has been hit with a fine of a quarter of a million pounds by industry regulator Ofcom for failing to effectively deal with complaints.

Ofcom concluded that Three had failed to handle customer complaints in a “fair and timely manner”, that it didn’t log complaints correctly, and that it failed to inform dissatisfied customers of their right to raise a case with an ombudsman. 

Worse still, Ofcom found that some cases were closed by Three before they had established that the issue had been satisfactorily resolved.

Claudio Pollack, from Ofcom, said: “When things go wrong, customers are not only entitled to complain to their provider, but must have confidence that their complaint will be dealt with fairly. That’s why we impose strict rules on providers on how they must handle complaints.

“We treat any failure to follow these rules very seriously. The fine imposed on Three takes account of the shortcomings in its complaints handling, but reflects that the harm to consumers in this case was limited.”

In fairness to Three, they have now reviewed and updated their complaints handling system, so any customers of three should find a swifter, more effective resolution than has been the case in the past…

…so if you are a Three customer and you have a complaint to make, why not raise it via Resolver here? We make the process of complaining as simple as possible, even if the companies don’t!

Raise an issue about other telecoms services here

Start more general complaints here

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