Becoming a Scheme Member
If you are interested in joining the Telecommunication Dispute Resolution (TDR) Scheme, please feel free to contact TDR directly. Alternatively you may find the information on this page helpful. This information is also available to download, at the bottom of the page.
Membership of the Telecommunication Dispute Resolution Scheme
Introduction
Telecommunication Dispute Resolution (TDR) is a service for customers to use if they are unhappy with how a complaint has been handled by their telecommunications company.
Benefits of the Scheme
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The TDR Scheme is seen as industry standard. The major New Zealand telecommunication carriers are all members
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Scheme members are able to display a TDR ‘Quality Mark’ on their collateral, highlighting to customers that there is a commitment to customer service
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The Scheme is viewed favourably by the Government
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TDR is a user-pays system , so no complaints = no charges
Complaints
All customer complaints must be made with the Scheme Member before coming to TDR. TDR will refer any complaints back to the Scheme Member if the customer has not raised it with the member company first.
Complaints TDR can and can’t consider:
Yes:
- any service or product, including pre-pay mobile phones, from telecommunications companies that are part of the Scheme.
- charging for products and services (but not the pricing).
- complaints from residential and small business customers and organisations – those with 20 people or less
- complaints that have already been made to a telecommunication company, as long as it is within 12 months of the complaint first being made
- complaints that involve $12,000 or less in compensation
No:
- pricing
- equipment or software that is not supported by the telecommunications company
- network coverage
- 111 calls
- Yellow Pages advertising content
- a complaint that is subject to legal action and/or is being made somewhere else, such as through the Courts
- an issue that is covered by the Privacy Act
- domain names
Independence
All of the Scheme Members have signed the Customer Complaints Code. This means the service is independent of any one particular company, because it is equally binding on all the companies involved.
Costs
There is no cost to join the Scheme. There are ongoing fees to Members, which are charged in two ways; per dispute, and as a percentage of the overhead costs.
The per-dispute fees are charged based on the level the dispute reaches and the time it takes to resolve. The overhead fees are charged to each Member quarterly, and are based on your company’s portion of the total invoiced amount for the period. So if your company’s invoices for the quarter represent 10% of the total invoiced amounts for the same period, you will be billed for 10% of the overhead cost for that quarter.
Conversely, if there are no complaints about your company you won’t be billed for any calls or overhead costs, but you will still get the full benefit of being able to promote your membership to the Scheme.
The current overhead cost is fixed until December 31, 2008. It will be reviewed for the 2009 year.
Compliance
There are no set compliance costs. Your own complaint handling system needs to meet the standards of the TDR Customer Complaints Code, but if you already have a robust complaint process in place there may be very little – if anything – you will have to change. You will have up to three months from signing up to the Scheme to reach Code compliance.
TDR handles all communication with customers that come to the service. All that is needed from your company is a contact person to provide the complaint history, and someone to negotiate a settlement with the complainant if required.
About TCF
The TDR Scheme governs the TDR service. The TDR Scheme was set up by the Telecommunication Carriers Forum (TCF), a collective of telecommunication companies that operate in New Zealand. The Forum developed the Customer Complaints Code and the Terms of Reference that are the basis of the TDR Scheme, and set up the TDR service as an independent body for the prompt, unbiased resolution of disputes.
You do not need to be a member of the Forum in order to join the TDR Scheme, but only customers of Scheme Members can use the TDR service.
The Council
The Scheme reports to a governing Council. The Council is made up of half Scheme Members and half consumer representatives. The current members of the Council are listed on the TCF website.
About Dispute Resolution Services Ltd.
www.drsl.co.nz
Dispute Resolution Services Ltd. (DRS) is the company implementing the TDR Scheme.
DRSL is an award-winning, nationwide company with extensive Government experience. It has been operating since 1999, and provides dispute resolution services to government agencies, health system providers and large employers. It covers a range of complex medical, disability, employment and commercial issues, and is also ISO 9001 compliant.
DRS has offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The TDR service is based in Wellington.
More Information
www.tdr.org.nz
The TDR website has more information, and will provide more free information brochures for organisations if they are needed.
There is also information about TDR on the Telecommunication Carriers' Forum website.