Telco ombudsman a possibility says Swain

By PAUL BRISLEN

Communications Minister Paul Swain has promised to review the Telecommunications Act by year's end, raising the prospect of an ombudsman to hear customer complaints.

"We looked at an ombudsman in the initial ministerial inquiry but decided not to add in another layer of cost and regulation, but I'm open to any suggestions on that matter."

Swain said his office received complaints from individuals about telecommunications services and he referred people to the Commerce Commission. He acknowledged that usually their issues were too small to be dealt with by the commission.

This country has ombudsman's offices to oversee consumer rights in markets such as banking, electricity and health, not telecommunications.

Currently, customer complaints are handled by the provider involved or end up in the disputes tribunal.

Overall, Swain said the act was working well but needed fine-tuning.

"I don't want to go over the decisions made by the telecommunications commissioner again but I do want to look at the process."

Swain said he would draft an amendment bill if it was required.

He also responded to moves by Telecom's competitors to avoid paying their share of the telecommunications share obligation. CallPlus and Compass Communications have argued with the commission's draft determination over the amount they will pay Telecom to keep "commercially non-viable customers" connected to the network. Swain described the issue as the most important one facing the industry.

"We wanted the contributions to be transparent rather than hidden in interconnection agreements and I am concerned as to where all this is heading." He is seeking advice.