By Lucy Caulkett-
TalkTalk has generated the most complaints for broadband and landline, due to faults and service issues, new research has revealed.
Virgin Mobile customers were the least satisfied for their mobile contracts, along with Three and Vodafone, according to data from Ofcom.
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Its sister company, Virgin Media, was also the most complained about pay-TV provider.
The findings published today by regulator Ofcom as part of its quarterly report, reveals the number of complaints made by customers between April and June this year, when the UK’s lockdown restrictions began to ease.
It found complaints during this period fell across the board to levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Virgin Media in particular saw its complaint volumes reduce significantly across all four sectors, after Ofcom raised concerns with the provider about its customer service in the previous quarter.
However, the findings present a shift in overall complaints, which normally has Vodaphone leading the rest.
The quarterly report reveals the number of complaints made to Ofcom between April and June this year, when the UK’s lockdown restrictions began to ease.
Ofcom said it found complaints in this time fell across the board to levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Virgin Media in particular saw its complaint volumes reduce significantly across all four sectors, after Ofcom raised concerns with the provider about its customer service in the previous quarter.
Despite complaints going down, Virgin Media was still the most complained-about pay-TV provider with customers citing how the company handled their complaints the most common reason for raising concerns to Ofcom.
It received an average of nine complaints out of 100,000 whilst the industry average is just four.
Sky had the least complaints at just one in 100,000 whilst TalkTalk and BT came next with an average of five and six, respectively.
Broadband
TalkTalk generated the most complaints for broadband, primarily due to faults and service issues, shamefully repeating the cycle of previous findings by Ofcom’s research.
as rolling out major service improvements.
Virgin Media had the most satisfied customers for broadband speeds.
TalkTalk promised to improvc its poor services in 2018 when it was also found to be the most complained about broadband. said they had closed down all their call centres in India and introduced new online tools to help customers resolve issues quickly and conveniently. They also said they were launching new Wi-Fi routers to strengthen network reliability, yet 3 years later, they are still the most complained about broadband in the Uk.
Virgin Media had 17, Plusnet had 15 whilst Shell Energy and Vodafone both had 13 out of 100,000.
EE was named as the best with just four out of 100,000 complaints, followed by Sky and BT with five and 10, respectively.
Mobile
Virgin Mobile was the most complained-about mobile operator with an average of four complaints in every 100,000 along with Three and Vodafone with an average of three each.
Tesco Mobile, BT Mobile, Sky Mobile and EE were all tied as least complained-about operators with just one complaint, on average
The industry average was recorded as just two in every 100,000.
Landline
TalkTalk was also the most complained about with an average of 13 out of 100,000 complaints.
This was followed by Shell Energy and Virgin Media at 10 where the industry average was at seven.
By comparison, EE and Sky received the least complaints at two and three, respectively.
How did the firms react?
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: ‘We’re pleased to see improving trends in complaint levels across the board but recognise that we still have more work to do.
‘We are continuing to invest in new customer service roles and digital tools and are reviewing our processes and policies to deliver the service and experience that our customers rightly expect from us.’
An EE spokesperson said: ‘Our customers already know we provide the best customer service across the industry, and these results reflect the hard work of our teams in UK and Ireland contact centres and retail stores providing the best personal and local service.’
A BT spokesperson said: ‘BT is seeing fewer complaints than ever before and we’re dedicated to keeping our customers connected and providing great service with 100 per cent of calls being answered in the UK and Ireland.’
Fergal Farragher, Ofcom’s consumer protection director, added: ‘It’s encouraging to see complaints figures falling across the board to pre-pandemic levels, but providers cannot be complacent about their customer service.
‘Those with a consistently high number of complaints still have a lot of work to do to ensure they meet the expectations of their customers.’
Ofcom said it hopes the information it publishes about complaints will help people compare firms when shopping around for a new provider and encourages firms to improve their performance.
Although it cannot resolve individual complaints, it can offer consumers advice, and the information it receives can lead to it launching investigations.
Anyone experiencing problems should complain to their provider first.
If they are unhappy with the outcome, people can take the complaint to an independent ombudsman, who will look at the case and make a judgment on it.
The complaints are taken from April to June this year, when the UK’s lockdown restrictions began to ease.
Virgin Media saw its complaint volumes reduce significantly after Ofcom raised concerns about its customer service in the previous quarter.
However, it was still ranked the highest, with the company’s handling of complaints being the main reason customers were unsatisfied.
EE and Sky were the least complained-about broadband and landline providers, and Sky attracted the fewest complaints for pay TV.
Fergal Farragher, Ofcom’s Consumer Protection Director, said: “It’s encouraging to see complaints figures falling across the board to pre-pandemic levels, but providers cannot be complacent about their customer service.”
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