Moving home brings broadband sting

Changing to a faster broadband connection has landed one Kiwi internet user with a $1284 bill.

The case is one of almost 2000 dealt with by the Telecommunications Dispute Resolution (TDR) scheme in the past year and outlined in its latest annual report.

The arbitration scheme is available to telecommunications customers whose providers have not been able to resolve their complaint.

TDR received a number of calls from people who moved but found they could not get broadband services in their new locations because of a lack of available ports in roadside cabinets.

‘‘People were initially told that broadband was available in the area, but were not told that this depended on the availability of a port in the cabinet.

‘‘They therefore made the decision to move ... fully expecting to receive broadband services and altogether unaware that broadband or other phone services might not be available.

‘‘Because broadband is sometimes critical to their businesses or private lives, they say that had they known the situation, they would not have chosen to move. Some reported having to contract satellite broadband services, which they were unhappy with.’’

TDR said the issue had been raised with industry players who gave assurances that it would be dealt with.

The report confirmed an increase in complaints received by the scheme during the year. The volume of inquiries was 18 per cent up on the year before, at 1938. That is the highest number since 2010 and the second-highest since the scheme’s inception. Billing and credit issues were responsible for a third of complaints, the largest category.

In one case, a customer complained he had been charged excessively for data after his provider installed VDSL, which is faster than an ADSL connection.

Before the VDSL installation he had used 10Gb to 15Gb a month. After it, that increased to 200Gb although his usage patterns remained the same.

He sought a credit of the difference between his normal bills and the new bigger bill of $1284. In mediation, the parties negotiated an agreement in which the customer paid $752 and the company credited him $532.

Industry body the New Zealand Telecommunications Forum thought a greater awareness of the scheme was behind the rise in complaints.

TCF chief executive Geoff Thorn said: ‘‘In New Zealand, we have approximately 5 million telecommunications connections which require almost constant connectivity for purposes such as banking, communication, education, social media and more.

‘‘It’s no surprise that some users require ‘ high touch’ customer service; the services our industry provides are far reaching.’’

Many of the cases put forward to the TDR are on the recommendation of member companies.