FCC Consumer Complaints – July 2015
Introduction
In July 2015, 32075 consumer complaints relating to telecommunications services were recorded in the Federal Communications Commission system, this represented an increase from the 29751 complaints recorded the previous month. Reports were received from 56 states and territories, with California recording slightly more complaints than other locations. Complaints were most commonly associated with Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing), accounting for 11370 complaints.
Key statistics
- Total complaints
- 32075
- Days with complaint data
- 31
- Days with complaints
- 31
- States & territories reporting
- 56
- Most common issue
- Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) (11370)
- Most reported state/territory
- California (3932)
Daily complaint activity
The month averaged 1034.7 complaints per day. The highest daily count was 1600 complaints on 30 July 2015, with 22 days recording more complaints than the monthly daily average. The lowest daily total was 269 complaints on 5 July 2015, well below the monthly average.
Each bar represents one day of the month. Taller bars indicate more complaints.
Where the complaints came from
Reports recorded in July 2015 show 32075 complaints originating from 6360 cities across 56 states and territories. Overall, complaint activity was broadly distributed, with no single state or territory representing a significant proportion of the total. At the city level, a significant concentration was observed in District of Columbia, where Washington accounted for 156 of the 173 complaints recorded.
The monthly distribution of complaints by state and territory is shown below, with locations ranked by the number of reports recorded.
| State/Territory | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| California | 3932 | 12.3% |
| Florida | 2661 | 8.3% |
| Texas | 2285 | 7.1% |
| New York | 1770 | 5.5% |
| Georgia | 1431 | 4.5% |
| Pennsylvania | 1292 | 4.0% |
| Maryland | 1242 | 3.9% |
| Illinois | 1205 | 3.8% |
| New Jersey | 1097 | 3.4% |
| Virginia | 1014 | 3.2% |
| Other states and territories | 14053 | 43.8% |
Location highlight
Washington accounted for nearly all complaints recorded in District of Columbia.
What the complaints were about
The complaints recorded during the month were spread across 7 complaint categories. The largest number of complaints fell within Phone, which accounted for 22916 reports. Complaint activity was strongly concentrated in this category, with other categories contributing comparatively fewer reports.
| Complaint category | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | 22916 | 71.4% |
| Internet | 5142 | 16.0% |
| TV | 2977 | 9.3% |
| Radio | 824 | 2.6% |
| Emergency | 110 | 0.3% |
| Accessibility | 88 | 0.3% |
| Request for Dispute Assistance | 18 | 0.1% |
Phone complaints
22916 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 71.4% of the total.
| Issue | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) | 11370 | 49.6% |
| Robocalls | 5279 | 23.0% |
| Billing | 2075 | 9.1% |
| Availability (including rural call completion) | 928 | 4.0% |
| Equipment | 738 | 3.2% |
| Number Portability (keeping your number if you change providers) | 677 | 3.0% |
| Privacy | 604 | 2.6% |
| Junk Faxes | 360 | 1.6% |
| Cramming (unauthorized charges on your phone bill) | 336 | 1.5% |
| Open Internet/Net Neutrality | 258 | 1.1% |
| Interference (including signal jammers) | 196 | 0.9% |
| Slamming (change of your carrier without permission) | 41 | 0.2% |
Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) and Robocalls were the main issues reported in this category, while other issues were less common.
Internet complaints
5142 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 16.0% of the total.
| Issue | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Billing | 1450 | 28.2% |
| Speed | 1031 | 20.1% |
| Availability | 999 | 19.4% |
| Open Internet/Net Neutrality | 544 | 10.6% |
| Privacy | 489 | 9.5% |
| Interference | 334 | 6.5% |
| Equipment | 281 | 5.5% |
The remaining complaints in this category were spread across several issues, including Billing, Speed and Availability.
TV complaints
2977 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 9.3% of the total.
| Issue | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Billing | 1140 | 38.3% |
| Loud Commercials | 488 | 16.4% |
| Availability | 472 | 15.9% |
| Equipment | 343 | 11.5% |
| Indecency | 300 | 10.1% |
| Interference | 147 | 4.9% |
| Privacy | 62 | 2.1% |
| Open Internet/Net Neutrality | 16 | 0.5% |
The remaining complaints in this category were spread across several issues, including Billing, Loud Commercials and Availability.
Radio complaints
824 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 2.6% of the total.
| Issue | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Interference | 604 | 73.3% |
| Indecency | 83 | 10.1% |
| Commercials/Promotions | 40 | 4.9% |
| Pirate Radio | 35 | 4.2% |
| Equipment | 26 | 3.2% |
| Availability | 25 | 3.0% |
| Billing | 10 | 1.2% |
Interference and Indecency were the main issues reported in this category, while other issues were less common.
Emergency complaints
110 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 0.3% of the total.
| Issue | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Other | 60 | 54.5% |
| Interference | 27 | 24.5% |
| Phone | 19 | 17.3% |
| Tower | 4 | 3.6% |
Other and Interference were the main issues reported in this category, while other issues were less common.
Accessibility complaints
88 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 0.3% of the total.
| Issue | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Closed Captioning on TV | 39 | 44.3% |
| Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) | 32 | 36.4% |
| Closed Captioning over the Internet | 7 | 8.0% |
| Hearing Aid Compatibility of Wireless Phones | 4 | 4.5% |
| Video Description | 3 | 3.4% |
| Emergency Information on TV | 1 | 1.1% |
Closed Captioning on TV and Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) were the main issues reported in this category, while other issues were less common.
The information presented on this page is based on consumer complaint data submitted to regulatory authorities. References to telephone numbers reflect reports made by consumers and do not confirm ownership, authenticity, or that the number was genuinely associated with the call. Caller ID information may be inaccurate or subject to spoofing.
Complaint categories, dates and complainant locations are based on the source records and may contain incomplete, approximate or user-entered information. Location details refer to the complainant’s reported location, not the location of the caller or telephone number. This content is provided for informational purposes only.