RECORD numbers of consumers have been complaining about their telephone and internet services, according to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Simon Cohen.

Mr Cohen will launch his annual report launch in Melbourne tomorrow, which will show that his office received almost 198,000 complaints in the 2011 financial year.



Mobile phone complaints in regard to telco Vodafone and the rise in the use of smart phones generally were the main drivers of the 18 per cent increase in complaints, Mr Cohen said.



There was no one brand of phone that was problematic, however, the general issue of convergence was what lead to record number of people complaining with so many services now being accessed via smartphones, his office said.



Vodafone acknowledged the number of complaints related to service issues experienced by the carrier in late 2010 and early 2011.



"We had a number of network and service challenges at the end of 2010 and early 2011 and we are now making significant investment and improvements in the Vodafone network", Vodafone director of Customer Service and Experience Cormac Hodgkinson said.



"Some of the network issues at the start of the year, and the ensuing rise in the number of complaints we received impacted customer service."



"This was difficult for our customers to endure, so we changed the way we operate to make things easier for our customers," Mr Hodgkinson said.



"We added 300 staff in our contact centres, and we have placed a high priority on addressing the rules and processes that cause customer frustration.''





Originally published as All the rage - Australians hate their telcos