More mobile users are complaining of being hit with up to thousands of dollars in fees for exceeding data limits.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman says overall mobile and network complaints dropped by almost a fifth in the first three months of the year, compared to early 2013.
But while complaints about faults such as slow data speeds dropped 67 per cent, disputes over excess data charges rose by nearly a third.
Ombudsman Simon Cohen says mobile plan customers have been shocked to discover huge charges for exceeding their data cap.
"Commonly we are seeing consumers come to us with complaints in the hundreds to thousands of dollars," he told AAP.
"It might be the case where the consumer has a low cost service but the amount charged for excessive data use is at a very high rate, and as a result the charge they received is many times the regular monthly bill they were expecting."
Many consumers felt the charges weren't properly explained to them from the beginning, and that they couldn't get the telecommunications provider to properly hear their complaint.
"A great deal of clarity of how customers are being charged is critical to reducing problems down the track," Mr Cohen said.
"Many Australians have finely balanced budgets and they don't have the flexibility to have significant variations in charges for basic utilities like mobile phones."
One in three internet disputes were over billing issues, with many complaints related to faulty services or late connections.
The ombudsman received 36,256 new complaints in the three months to the end of March.
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