Foreword

Foreword

In 2023, the Office of the Ombudsman for Telecommunications recorded a marked increase in disputes after 5 years of decline in the number of complaints lodged.

In 2023, 17,413 written requests for intervention were received by the Office of the Ombudsman, which is a 65% increase compared to 2022 and bringing us back to volumes equivalent to 2015. This increase is to be noted both for mediation complaints (from 8,605 in 2022 to 15,168) and for requests regarding malicious calls and electronic communications (from 1,969 in 2022 to 2,245).

The first chapter sets out the general statistics, makes it possible to draw up the yearly figures, and highlights the increase in the number of complaints lodged against many operators of electronic communications services. In this first chapter, we also discuss the five operators with the highest number of complaints recorded in 2023. With a notable change: for the first time in just over 30 years of the Office of the Ombudsman, Proximus cedes first place to Telenet following the sharp increase in complaints regarding the latter. They are followed, in descending order, by Orange, VOO and Unleashed. This ranking is highlighted by significant problems that occurred in 2023.

Considering the increasing trend in complaints against Telenet in 2023, Chapter 2 focuses on the analysis of this increase and on the typology of complaints lodged against the operator.

Various discussed subjects

In Chapter 3, the Office of the Ombudsman addresses the issue of termination of contracts for electronic communications services. Nearly 12 years after the entry into force of the Act of 10 July 2012, which allowed the limitation of the termination fee, the Office of the Ombudsman continues to regularly receive complaints regarding or following the termination of these contracts.

2023 was also marked by an increase in disputes involving the customer service of various operators. Chapter 4 addresses this issue from the perspective of the accessibility of these services and the ability to provide a front-line response to end-user problems.

Chapter 5 deals with the issues of disruptions, breakdowns and temporary unavailability of electronic communications services. In 2023, the Office of the Ombudsman noted more than double the number of complaints lodged for this category. We will analyse this issue both from the perspective of the operators and the end users.