FCC Consumer Complaints – May 2019

Introduction

In May 2019, 29904 consumer complaints relating to telecommunications services were recorded in the Federal Communications Commission system, complaint volume increased from 26386 complaints the month before. Reports were received from 56 states and territories, with California recording slightly more complaints than other locations. The largest number of complaints related to Unwanted Calls, with 21442 complaints.

Key statistics

Total complaints

29904

Days with complaint data

31

Days with complaints

31

States & territories reporting

56

Most common issue

Unwanted Calls (21442)

Most reported state/territory

California (3482)

Daily complaint activity

Across the month, the FCC recorded an average of 964.6 complaints per day. The highest daily total was 2362 complaints on 7 May 2019, while 20 days recorded more complaints than the monthly daily average. The lowest daily total was 197 complaints on 19 May 2019, well below the monthly average.

Each bar represents one day of the month. Taller bars indicate more complaints.

Where the complaints came from

In May 2019, the 29904 complaints recorded by the Federal Communications Commission were reported from 6137 cities across 56 states and territories. Complaints were distributed across states and territories in a broadly even manner, with no individual location standing out significantly. A notable concentration at the city level was observed in District of Columbia, where Washington accounted for 122 of the 126 complaints recorded in the state.

The table below shows the distribution of complaints by state and territory for this month, highlighting the locations with the highest number of reports.

Location highlight

Washington accounted for nearly all complaints recorded in District of Columbia.

What the complaints were about

The complaints recorded during the month fell into 7 different complaint categories. Phone was the most reported category, with 24907 complaints. Complaint activity was strongly concentrated in this category, with other categories contributing comparatively fewer reports.

Phone complaints

24907 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 83.3% of the total.

Unwanted calls again accounted for the largest share of complaints in this category. These reports are examined in more detail in the section below. Complaints in this category covered a range of issues, including Billing, Equipment and Availability (including rural call completion).

Internet complaints

2417 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 8.1% of the total.

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

TV complaints

2142 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 7.2% of the total.

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

Radio complaints

354 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 1.2% of the total.

Complaints in this category covered a range of issues, including Availability, Interference and Pirate Radio.

Emergency complaints

38 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 0.1% of the total.

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

Unwanted calls

21442 complaints relating to unwanted calls were recorded on this date, accounting for 71.7% of all complaints. Reports referenced both caller ID numbers and business contact numbers, with number tables shown where meaningful patterns are present.

Key patterns

• Abandoned Calls was reported slightly more often than other call types.
• (555) 555-5555 stood out as the most frequently reported business contact number.
• (800) 945-2000 was reported slightly more often than other caller ID numbers.