ComReg revises telecoms rules on reporting complaints due to 'inadequacies'

Under ComReg rules, every telecoms provider in Ireland is required to report every six months on the end-user complaints received by them.

Telecom operators, including Sky and Eir, have criticised new rules requiring them to update the regulator on customer complaints they have received.

In order to address the “inadequacies, inconsistencies and variances” in complaints data submitted by providers operating, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has published new requirements for companies operating in the sector.

Under ComReg rules, every telecoms provider in Ireland is required to report every six months on the end-user complaints received by them. ComReg said that while providers have been “obliged” to report this information to it, the “complaints data reported by some providers to date has been incomplete, inconsistent and unreliable for the purposes of comparability”.

To address these “inadequacies, inconsistencies and variances” in the complaints data provided by these companies, ComReg has revised the requirements for providers’ codes of practice for complaint handling related to complaints.

To make the complaints reporting standardised, ComReg has also published a workbook for providers to use to properly document and report complaints. The new requirements are due to come into effect on March 2, 2026. As part of this process, ComReg opened a consultation with the major providers.

An Post Mobile said that the changes appear to be “workable”, ComReg should ensure that a “balance is struck” between consumer protection and “not disproportionately increasing the regulatory reporting burden” on smaller providers such as itself.

In its submission, Eir had issues with how ComReg sought the dates of when a complaint responses were issued and requested explanations and/or changes to the workbook.

It also had problems with complaints - such as “unable to provide service to address or premises”, “customer education no refund due”, and “customer education on contract” - being categorised as complaints and not “customer service queries”. Eir asked these categories to be removed from the workbook.

Sky said their system does not split complaints on their Fixed Voice and Broadband services, as required by the workbook, which “means we would need to redesign our systems to accommodate this separation”.

In a case where a complaint may relate to both Fixed Voice and Broadband services, Sky argued that it would need to report it on a new sheet rather than duplicating the complaint across two other sheets in the workbook.

“For this reason, we believe ComReg should allow flexibility in reporting complaints that span multiple services to avoid inflating complaint numbers,” Sky said.

Three Ireland complained that the prescribed date format of the workbook template was DDMMYYYY and asked if it could be updated to DD/MM/YYYY.

“If not, this will necessitate considerable system modifications for Three,” the company said.

Virgin Media had issues with timeframes for implementation of the new system but it also said their overall view is that the “current guidance-based framework is fit for purpose and could be amended to address ComReg’s concerns quite quickly and easily, such that switching to a new decision-based framework would be unnecessary, excessive and overly burdensome”.

Vodafone raised some process issues with ComReg over the implementation of this new system but also added that its assessment does not “set out the impact on operators to get this data in the format that ComReg requires”.

“There is significant additional administrative burden arising for operators, especially now screening is required in the context of free text information up to 200 characters that we are being requested to include for each line item provided,” Vodafone said.

However, ComReg argued that the resolution of a complaint may be “bespoke or require multiple remedial actions” and that free text field gives “providers complete flexibility to enter the remedial actions taken and recorded by their agents”.