FCC Consumer Complaints – 10 August 2018

Introduction

A total of 1069 consumer complaints relating to telecommunications services were recorded by the Federal Communications Commission on Friday, 10 August 2018, complaint volume fell from 1299 complaints the day before. Reports were received from 52 states and territories, with California recording slightly more complaints than other locations. The largest number of complaints related to Unwanted Calls, with 701 complaints.

Key statistics

Total complaints
1069
States & territories reporting
52
Most common issue
Unwanted Calls (701)
Most reported state/territory
California (132)

Where the complaints came from

The 1069 complaints recorded on 10 August 2018 were submitted from 701 cities across 52 states and territories. Complaints were distributed across states and territories in a broadly even manner, with no individual location standing out significantly. 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 132 12.3%
Florida 93 8.7%
Texas 69 6.5%
Ohio 60 5.6%
Pennsylvania 48 4.5%
New York 47 4.4%
Washington 41 3.8%
New Jersey 37 3.5%
Illinois 31 2.9%
Virginia 31 2.9%
Other states and territories 478 44.7%

What the complaints were about

The complaints recorded on this date fell into 7 different complaint categories. The largest number of complaints fell within Phone, which accounted for 831 reports. Complaint activity was strongly concentrated in this category, with other categories contributing comparatively fewer reports.

Complaint category Complaints Share
Phone 831 77.7%
Internet 126 11.8%
TV 96 9.0%
Radio 12 1.1%
Emergency 2 0.2%
Accessibility 1 0.1%
Request for Dispute Assistance 1 0.1%

Phone complaints

831 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 77.7% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Unwanted Calls 701 84.4%
Billing 53 6.4%
Availability (including rural call completion) 19 2.3%
Equipment 18 2.2%
Number Portability (keeping your number if you change providers) 10 1.2%
Junk Faxes 8 1.0%
Privacy 8 1.0%
Interference (including signal jammers) 6 0.7%
Cramming (unauthorized charges on your phone bill) 5 0.6%
Slamming (change of your carrier without permission) 2 0.2%
Rural Call Completion 1 0.1%

Unwanted calls again accounted for the largest share of complaints in this category. These reports are examined in more detail in the section below. A broad mix of issues was reported in this category, with Billing, Availability (including rural call completion) and Equipment among the most common.

Internet complaints

126 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 11.8% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Availability 39 31.0%
Billing 34 27.0%
Speed 21 16.7%
Interference 12 9.5%
Equipment 10 7.9%
Privacy 10 7.9%

A broad mix of issues was reported in this category, with Availability, Billing and Speed among the most common.

TV complaints

96 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 9.0% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Billing 43 44.8%
Availability 23 24.0%
Equipment 11 11.5%
Loud Commercials 9 9.4%
Indecency 6 6.3%
Interference 3 3.1%
Privacy 1 1.0%

Billing and Availability 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 10 August 2018.

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.