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11.04.19 17 FINANCIAL SERVICES DURING the second half of 2018 the complaints received by the MCA increased by 13% when compared to the first half of 2018. In total the MCA received 132 complaints from subscribers of telephony, in- ternet, television and postal services, 95% of which were closed within 20 working days. The Authority also re- ceived 354 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 pro- vider. The nature of the com- plaint and the MCA's relevant legal powers determine the extent of the action the MCA can take in relation to a com- plaint. Although the complaints received relate to commu- nication services, there are instances where the Author- ity is not empowered by law to intervene and would thus refer the end-users to other competent entities. Quality of Service (QoS) is- sues topped the list of com- plaints received, with faults being the most common type of complaint received with a total of 45 cases reported. From information gathered regarding complaints re- ceived in Q1 2019, the MCA notes that such complaints have significantly decreased. The MCA will keep monitor- ing trends in this respect to ensure that such complaints continue to decrease. The second common type of complaint received was relat- ed to billing issues, namely in- correct billing, with 19 com- plaints reported to the MCA. In 9 of these cases, following the necessary investigations, the MCA determined that the service providers were required to take necessary re- medial action to address the issues reported. The MCA recorded a slight decrease of 10% in complaints related to postal services dur- ing the second half of 2018. The MCA brought these cas- es to the attention of the ser- vice provider so that it could further investigate the mat- ters raised and address any ensuing issues accordingly. Customer support is a key aspect of the service and customers expect timely and effective assistance when en- countering any issues. The MCA monitors the customer care response time provided in the industry. The information gathered through a series of mystery shopping calls made to GO PLC, Melita Ltd, and Voda- fone Malta Ltd customer cares indicated that the aver- age time taken for a call to be answered by a call agent was 54 seconds. In 95% of cases, calls were answered by a call agent within 5 minutues. The MCA encourages end-users who encounter any difficulties with respect to the services regulated by the MCA to contact the Authori- ty if they are unsatisfied with the way their service provider handled their complaint. The public can contact the MCA on 21336840 or by email at customercare@mca. org.mt. The MCA regularly publish- es information of interest to the general public on its Face- book page and on its website. MCA reports a 13% rise in complaints received during H2 2018 P a g e | 4 3 Electronic Communications The vast majority of complaints received by the MCA during the second half of 2018, totalling 114 of 132 (or 86%) relate to electronic communication services, i.e. fixed telephony, mobile telephony, pay TV and internet services. The total number of ECS complaints per 100,000 subscriptions classified by the main electronic service providers were 22, 11 and 4 for GO, Melita and Vodafone respectively. Although no harmonised international benchmarks exist, from independent research undertaken by the MCA, these are considered to be within the norm of those recorded in some other international jurisdictions such as the UK. 62% of the ECS complaints received during the second half of 2018, related to quality of service (QoS) followed by billing issues (22%). Other complaints received by the Authority related to termination and switching of services (12%), contractual issues (3%) and a few complaints on other matters (1%). Figure 3 presents more details on complaints classified by issue and compares the number of complaints received by MCA between January and June to those received between July and December 2018. These increased by 17% in the last six months with the main increases recorded in relation to two categories (Termination and Switching and QoS). Figure 3 Electronic Communications Complaints by Issue 8 52 2 31 4 14 71 3 25 1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Termination & Switching QoS Contractual Bill, Charges & Tariffs Others Number of complaints Issue Q1 & Q2 Q3 & Q4 Electronic communications complaints by issue Complaints and enquiries by quarter 2016 - 2018 2 Statistical Overview of Complaints and Enquiries received Between the 1 st of July and the 31 st December 2018, the MCA received 132 complaints, an increase of 13% when compared to the complaints received during the first half of 2018. During the period under review, the MCA also received 354 requests for information on different matters it regulates. The total number of queries and complaints for 2018 when compared to the previous year increased by 35%. Figure 1 provides further details for the period 2016-2018. Figure 1 Complaints and Enquiries by Quarter 2016 - 2018 The MCA receives complaints from customers about their landline, mobile, internet, TV and postal services. These complaints tend to be more complex in nature due to the fact that the MCA requires that customers seek its intervention only after they have lodged a complaint with their service provider and should they still not be satisfied with the outcome of their claim. 126 119 102 113 117 132 305 228 235 238 328 354 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Q1 & Q2 2016 Q3 & Q4 2016 Q1 & Q2 2017 Q3 & Q4 2017 Q1 & Q2 2018 Q3 & Q4 2018 Number of complaints or enquiries Period Complaint Enquiry

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