FCC Consumer Complaints – 17 June 2016

Introduction

A total of 1062 consumer complaints relating to telecommunications services were recorded by the Federal Communications Commission on 17 June 2016, this represented a decline from the 1257 complaints recorded the previous day. Reports were received from 51 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 354 complaints.

Key statistics

Total complaints
1062
States & territories reporting
51
Most common issue
Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) (354)
Most reported state/territory
California (163)

Where the complaints came from

The 1062 complaints recorded on 17 June 2016 were submitted from 677 cities across 51 states and territories. Complaint activity was fairly evenly distributed, with no single state or territory accounting for a large share of reports. A similar pattern is observed at the city level, with complaints spread across locations rather than concentrated in a single area.

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

State/Territory Complaints
California 163 15.3%
Texas 84 7.9%
Florida 82 7.7%
New York 73 6.9%
Maryland 61 5.7%
Georgia 49 4.6%
Ohio 38 3.6%
Pennsylvania 38 3.6%
Illinois 31 2.9%
North Carolina 31 2.9%
Other states and territories 412 38.8%

What the complaints were about

The complaints recorded on this date were spread across 6 complaint categories. Phone accounted for the largest share, with 722 complaints. Complaint activity was strongly concentrated in this category, with other categories contributing comparatively fewer reports.

Complaint category Complaints Share
Phone 722 68.0%
Internet 175 16.5%
TV 112 10.5%
Radio 47 4.4%
Accessibility 3 0.3%
Emergency 3 0.3%

Phone complaints

722 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 68.0% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) 354 49.0%
Robocalls 175 24.2%
Billing 67 9.3%
Equipment 39 5.4%
Privacy 27 3.7%
Availability (including rural call completion) 18 2.5%
Number Portability (keeping your number if you change providers) 17 2.4%
Junk Faxes 12 1.7%
Cramming (unauthorized charges on your phone bill) 7 1.0%
Interference (including signal jammers) 4 0.6%
Open Internet/Net Neutrality 2 0.3%

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

175 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 16.5% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Billing 45 25.7%
Availability 35 20.0%
Open Internet/Net Neutrality 31 17.7%
Speed 31 17.7%
Equipment 14 8.0%
Privacy 12 6.9%
Interference 7 4.0%

A broad mix of issues was reported in this category, with Billing, Availability and Open Internet/Net Neutrality among the most common.

TV complaints

112 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 10.5% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Billing 50 44.6%
Loud Commercials 22 19.6%
Availability 19 17.0%
Equipment 10 8.9%
Interference 6 5.4%
Indecency 5 4.5%

Billing and Loud Commercials were the main issues reported in this category, while other issues were less common.

Radio complaints

47 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 4.4% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Interference 41 87.2%
Indecency 3 6.4%
Pirate Radio 2 4.3%
Billing 1 2.1%

Interference and Indecency were the main issues reported in this category, while other issues were less common.

Page last updated: 10 December 2018 with FCC complaints data from 17 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.