Consumers find it difficult to change phone and internet providers, which makes it harder than it needs to be to change providers and get better deals, advocates say. Photo: Unsplash/ Benjamin Hershey
A Wellington woman charged for broadband internet she was not signed up to for two-and-a -half years says telecommunications systems need to be changed to make them fairer for customers.
A new study by the Commerce Commission has found about half of consumers trying to change mobile phone or broadband providers ran into difficulty switching, and almost one-in-three people believe it is too difficult to even try changing plans.
Instead, telecommunications companies need to make it simple and quick to change their plans, the commission said, and has suggested a range of improvements, including a one-stop, one-button switching facility.
Bron Eichbaum recently found she was being billed $60 a month extra by Vodafone - now One NZ, despite her signing up with Contact in August 2022, and Contact promising to take care of switching her over from Vodafone.
"It was established that the switch was never made from Vodafone, and we've been using Vodafone broadband for that entire time, so Contact have been billing us, but we've never been using the Contact broadband," she told Nine to Noon.
"It was quite shocking to find out."
"I would have just switched providers and bundled it in with our power with Contact, and at the time would have presumed as they do, that the Vodafone would have been connected. And it was only just recently that we changed provider again, and that's when we became aware ... that we were paying for two broadband connections."
Contact acting chief retail officer Michael Robertson said the company made a mistake when transferring this customer to our broadband service from another provider.
"We have apologised and worked quickly to rectify the situation to ensure she is refunded and compensated for our error," Robertson said.
"We are investigating how this incident occurred and will work hard to ensure a more seamless experience for customers when they switch to us."
Eichbaum then found herself dealing with three providers: "At one stage for two weeks we were paying three times, and then I still had to go back and disconnect the Vodafone connection."
Contact has since acknowledged the error and refunded the more than $2100 extra Eichbaum paid to them during that time - but she said customers need a more transparent and straightforward way to make changes to their phone and internet plans and be able to see the status of their plans.
"It should just be handled ... it's on your new provider to go to your existing provider and disconnect and change it over, and because it's bundled on your account [with other services], you trust that it's happening really.
"It's just really confusing I think ... and think how many times people change over their lifetime ... who really delves into their power bill each month. It's certainly made us more aware to delve into our accounts a little bit more."
"It's time for action" - consumer group says
The Telecommunications Users Association says mobile phone consumers need concrete action over the difficulties in switching between mobile or broadband suppliers.
Association chief executive Craig Young told Nine to Noon that consumers are being given a rough ride by difficult to navigate systems, and it ends up costing them more. He wants to see the communication process made more user-friendly and accessible.
Suggestions from the Commerce Commission that should be considered include a dedicated place customers can find out what is happening during a switch, which becomes a single contact point, Young said.
"Because, again, it comes back to the consumer is concerned that they'll lose service, and we're so connected these days that even a short outage can cause issues… so those sorts of things are causing that inertia.
"We have a very low switching number in New Zealand, around 6 percent of mobile consumers have moved in the last year, and while it's fair sometimes for the industry to say, 'it's because everyone is happy', it's actually quite not true, is it?
"Because we've seen in the last two reports that people are not happy with their services. And therefore, obviously, there's something stopping them from moving."
Notice periods were often buried inside of terms and conditions, Young said, and were another barrier keeping people locked in to plans as waiting periods, such as 30 days, could put people off switching.
"What happens the first time they see it is when they get a double bill, for example," he said. "They get billed twice by two different providers, and they're quite within their rights of doing that, but it just is not a good process.
"It makes it complicated, but it's also obviously costing money and is another barrier to switching."
Young said their research showed a variety of improvements are possible,
One option, "automated switching", is currently being considered in the UK, although the association had some reservations about the complexity if it involved empowering someone to make the changeover on your behalf.
"But we really would like to get to this one-touch switching process where you make a request to a new provider, and then it's all done for you. You get messages on the way.
"You're able to understand what's going on, clear communication, maybe a consumer portal, somewhere where you can check and see what's happening. Just like with your courier, you know exactly what's happening with courier packages - something like that.
"And most importantly, the losing provider should never be allowed to contact the end user. It should always be handled by the gaining retail service provider."
Contact said it believes changing to a new mobile or broadband provider should be an easy and seamless process and supports any measure that helps make this happen.
