Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018
15Complaint prioritisation, escalation and external dispute resolution
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15 Complaint prioritisation, escalation and external dispute resolution
Where a consumer communicates to a carriage service provider:
that they are dissatisfied with the response times that apply to the handling or management of their complaint; or that they reasonably want their complaint to be assessed and treated as an urgent complaint,
the carriage service provider must, within 24 hours after receiving that communication, provide the consumer with advice about: (c) its internal prioritisation process; (d) its internal escalation process; and (e) the information referred to in paragraph 10(d).
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Where a consumer:
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communicates to a carriage service provider that they are dissatisfied with the progress or resolution of a complaint; or
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enquires about their options to pursue a complaint further,
a carriage service provider must, within 24 hours after receiving that communication, advise the consumer about:
- its internal escalation process; and
- the information referred to in paragraph 10(d).
Where subsections (1) or (2) apply and a consumer indicates to the carriage service provider that they would like the complaint to be given priority or to be escalated, a carriage service provider must, within 5 working days of the consumer making that indication, assess the complaint in accordance with its internal prioritisation process or its internal escalation process, whichever is relevant, and prioritise or escalate the complaint where appropriate. A carriage service provider must not commence legal proceedings against a consumer that has the same subject matter as the complaint:
while a complaint is being handled internally and for 7 working days after a consumer is advised of the outcome of their complaint; or while a complaint is being investigated by the TIO.
(5) If a complaint is not resolved within 30 calendar days after it was received, a carriage service provider must, unless it has already been provided, provide the information referred to in paragraph 10(d) to the consumer on the next working day after the end of that period.