StarHub received highest complaint rate among broadband service providers in August and September: IMDA

SINGAPORE: StarHub received the highest rate of complaints among broadband service providers in August and September 2022, according to an Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) report released on Monday (Nov 14).

StarHub received a complaint rate of 8.76 and 5.09 complaints per 10,000 subscribers in August and September 2022 respectively for its broadband services.

StarHub's complaint rate is considerably higher than other broadband service providers.

Singtel had 0.25 and 0.14 complaints per 10,000 subscribers in August and September this year. MyRepublic logged 0.31 and 0.20 and M1 had 0.20 and 0.10. ViewQwest recorded a rate of 0.70 complaints per 10,000 subscribers each month in the same period.

IMDA's report noted that a complaint is defined as "any expression of dissatisfaction with a telecom service that requires follow up by the service provider".

The authority also said it published the statistics on telecom service providers’ handling of consumer feedback to "provide consumers with information on service providers’ performance in handling complaints" and to encourage service providers to improve their customer service standards.

RESOLVING COMPLAINTS

Among the broadband service providers, StarHub had the highest percentage of complaints that were resolved within the first five days after they were lodged. It had a 94 per cent resolve rate in August and a 95 per cent resolve rate in September. 

For the same time period, Singtel resolved 86 and 75 per cent of broadband services related complaints respectively within the first five days after they were lodged.

M1, on the other hand, resolved only 25 per cent of such complaints during the first five days after they were lodged in August. It did not resolve any complaints during the same time frame in September. Instead, it took more than 14 days to resolve all the complaints lodged in the month.

ViewQwest took more than two weeks to resolve all complaints lodged in August and September.

WAITING TIME

When it came to the hotline and live chat waiting time for broadband services, StarHub logged the longest average wait time of 5.72 minutes to speak to a customer service officer in August.

The figure measures the time between the moment a consumer chooses to speak to a customer service officer and the moment the officer responds, said IMDA.

The average waiting time for September was eclipsed by M1, which made consumers wait an average of 6.50 minutes.

Singtel responded to consumers the quickest, only making them wait an average of 0.77 minutes in August and 0.33 minutes in September.

MOBILE SERVICES

VIVIFI recorded the highest complaint rate of 19 and 23 complaints per 10,000 customers for both August and September for mobile services.

Singtel had the lowest for both months, recording 0.01 and 0.03 complaints per 10,000 subscribers respectively.

Meanwhile, Zero1 resolved all of its mobile services-related complaints within the first five days after they were lodged in August and September. In the same time period, Singtel managed to resolve 40 per cent and 70 per cent of such complaints respectively within the first five days after they were lodged.

SIMBA kept consumers waiting the longest to speak to a customer service officer on a hotline or live chat in August and September for its mobile services. It kept consumers waiting for an average of 15 minutes in both months.

In comparison, Circles.Life managed to keep average waiting time to 0.08 minutes and 0.10 minutes in August and September respectively.

FIXED LINE SERVICES

For fixed line services, StarHub received the most complaints per 10,000 customers, with 0.33 and 0.14 complaints logged in August and September respectively.

But the telco also scored higher in resolving complaints relating to fixed line services. It resolved 92 and 94 per cent of customer complaints within the first five days after they were lodged in August and September respectively.

Singtel, meanwhile, did not resolve any fixed line services-related complaints within the first five days after they were lodged.

In terms of waiting time to speak to a customer service officer on a hotline or live chat, StarHub logged the longest average waiting time of 4.55 minutes in August and M1 made consumers wait an average of 6.50 minutes in September.

A Starhub spokesperson told CNA the company is committed to its subscribers’ interests and value their feedback.

"We thank our customers for their support and will continue dedicating efforts in delivering quality service experiences," said the spokesperson.