FCC Consumer Complaints – 9 June 2016

Introduction

On 9 June 2016, the Federal Communications Commission recorded 1290 consumer complaints relating to telecommunications services, this represented a decline from the 1296 complaints recorded the previous day. Complaints were reported across 51 states and territories, with California slightly ahead of the other locations. Complaints relating to Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) were marginally higher than for other issue types.

Key statistics

Total complaints
1290
States & territories reporting
51
Most common issue
Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) (410)
Most reported state/territory
California (157)

Where the complaints came from

Across 812 cities in 51 states and territories, a total of 1290 complaints were recorded on 9 June 2016. Complaints were relatively evenly spread across states and territories, with no individual location contributing a dominant share. This pattern continues at the city level, where complaints were distributed across multiple locations without a single city standing out.

The distribution of complaints by state and territory is shown below, with locations ranked by the number of reports recorded.

State/Territory Complaints
California 157 12.2%
Florida 122 9.5%
Texas 94 7.3%
New York 80 6.2%
Illinois 58 4.5%
Maryland 52 4.0%
Pennsylvania 51 4.0%
Georgia 50 3.9%
New Jersey 48 3.7%
North Carolina 40 3.1%
Other states and territories 537 41.6%

What the complaints were about

The complaints recorded on this date fell into 5 different complaint categories. The largest number of complaints fell within Phone, which accounted for 881 reports. Complaint activity was strongly concentrated in this category, with other categories contributing comparatively fewer reports.

Complaint category Complaints Share
Phone 881 68.3%
Internet 267 20.7%
TV 108 8.4%
Radio 33 2.6%
Emergency 1 0.1%

Phone complaints

881 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 68.3% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) 410 46.5%
Robocalls 218 24.7%
Billing 72 8.2%
Equipment 34 3.9%
Privacy 34 3.9%
Availability (including rural call completion) 33 3.7%
Number Portability (keeping your number if you change providers) 32 3.6%
Junk Faxes 31 3.5%
Cramming (unauthorized charges on your phone bill) 7 0.8%
Interference (including signal jammers) 7 0.8%
Open Internet/Net Neutrality 2 0.2%
Slamming (change of your carrier without permission) 1 0.1%

The largest share of complaints in this category related to Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) and Robocalls, with fewer reports falling into other issue types.

Internet complaints

267 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 20.7% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Open Internet/Net Neutrality 77 28.8%
Availability 54 20.2%
Billing 51 19.1%
Interference 26 9.7%
Speed 24 9.0%
Equipment 19 7.1%
Privacy 16 6.0%

The remaining complaints in this category were spread across several issues, including Open Internet/Net Neutrality, Availability and Billing.

TV complaints

108 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 8.4% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Billing 42 38.9%
Availability 23 21.3%
Equipment 16 14.8%
Indecency 12 11.1%
Interference 8 7.4%
Loud Commercials 5 4.6%
Open Internet/Net Neutrality 1 0.9%
Privacy 1 0.9%

The largest share of complaints in this category related to Billing and Availability, with fewer reports falling into other issue types.

Radio complaints

33 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 2.6% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Interference 22 66.7%
Indecency 3 9.1%
Availability 2 6.1%
Commercials/Promotions 2 6.1%
Pirate Radio 2 6.1%
Billing 1 3.0%
Equipment 1 3.0%

The largest share of complaints in this category related to Interference and Indecency, with fewer reports falling into other issue types.

Page last updated: 10 December 2018 with FCC complaints data from 9 June 2016.

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.