Telekom Malaysia (TM) has recorded the highest number of complaints compared to other telecommunication service providers based on the average number of complaints for every 1,000 subscribers. 

According to the Communications and Multimedia Commission, these complaints centred around consumer dissatisfaction on pricing (21 percent), the lack of Unifi coverage (16 percent), Unifi service disruption (13 percent), billing disputes (14 percent), service delivery (14 percent) and other categories (22 percent), it said.

“The government views this alarming decline in TM’s services delivery very seriously,” the commission said in a statement today.

MCMC said that to date, it has received 7,949 complaints about TM services, an increase of 43 percent from 4,528 complaints in 2017.

TM’s repeated complaint-handling approach of citing technical limitations and requesting customers to exercise patience was not an acceptable course of action, it said.

“Leaving customers in the dark is not the way a company of TM’s stature should operate,” said the commission, citing an example yesterday where TM informed its customers of Unifi services disruption without stating the reasons. 

MCMC said TM must also rationalise the disparity between Unifi and Streamyx pricing per megabits per second so that consumers are charged fairly for the speed that they enjoyed without technology discrimination.

“TM needs to be transparent in dealing with the consumers by offering packages that are of great value and not take advantage of the consumer’s lack of options,” it said.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo on Saturday called on TM to explain its high charges for the digital subscriber line-based broadband service Streamyx and address customers' grouses with the service.

Gobind said he had directed the MCMC to contact TM and seek clarification over the matter, and a report would be released by this week.

The MCMC said as the largest fixed broadband provider in the country, with an 85.97 percent market share, TM’s inaction affected many Malaysians who depend on its network in their daily professional and personal activities.

“Consumers are demanding better services for the money they are paying TM,” it said.

MCMC said it would not hesitate to take any regulatory actions against TM or any broadband service provider licensee found to be in breach.

- Bernama