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maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 OCTOBER 2018 11 BUSINESS www.creditinfo.com.mt info@creditinfo.com.mt Tel: 2131 2344 Your Local Partner for Credit Risk Management Solutions Supporting you all the way THE Malta Communications Authority (MCA) has report- ed an increase of 4% in the complaints received during the first six months of 2018. During the first half of 2018 the complaints received by the Malta Communications Au- thority increased by 4% when compared to the second half of 2017. In total the MCA received 117 complaints from subscrib- ers of telephony, internet, tel- evision and postal services, 95% of which were closed within 20 working days. The Authority also received 328 enquiries. As part of its end-user pro- tection function, the MCA manages a complaints-han- dling mechanism which end- users can resort to in the event that they are unsatisfied with the redress provided by their respective service provider. The nature of the complaint and the MCA's relevant legal powers determine the extent of the action the MCA can take in relation to a complaint. Although the complaints received relate to communi- cation services, there are in- stances where the Authority is not empowered by law to in- tervene and would thus refer the end-users to other compe- tent entities. Quality of Service (QoS) is- sues topped the list of com- plaints received with faults be- ing the most common type of QoS complaint received with 34 cases reported. Faults are generally caused by damages to the operator's external net- work, damages to subscribers' equipment (e.g. Internet mo- dem or TV set-top box), or damages to the subscribers' in-house wiring. A number of factors could cause faults including weather conditions, damages caused by third par- ties and/or by end-users. In the cases reported to the Au- thority, the MCA monitored the actions undertaken by the service providers to ensure that faults were repaired with- in the shortest time possible. The second common type of complaint received related to billing issues, namely incor- rect billing with 21 complaints reported to the MCA. In 7 of these cases, following the necessary investigations, the MCA determined that the ser- vice providers were required to take necessary remedial ac- tion to address the issues re- ported. The MCA also received 20 complaints related to postal services during the first half of 2018. The MCA brought these cases to the attention of the service provider so that it could further investigate the matters raised and address any ensuing issues accord- ingly. Customer support is a key aspect of the service and cus- tomers expect immediate as- sistance when encountering any issues. To this effect, the MCA monitors the customer care response time provided in the industry. The infor- mation gathered through a series of mystery shopping calls made to GO plc's, Mel- ita Ltd's and Vodafone Malta Ltd's customer care indicated that the average time taken for a call to be answered by a call agent was 1 minute 5 seconds. In 95% of cases, calls were an- swered by a call agent within 5 minutues. The MCA encourages those end-users who encounter any difficulties with respect to the services regulated by the MCA to contact the Author- ity in the event that they are unsatisfied with the way their service provider handled their complaint. 4% rise in complaints to MCA in the first six months of 2018 The table below provides statistical information on the electronic communications complaints dealt with by the MCA segmented by service provider. MCA also presents the ratio of complaints per 100,000 subscribers