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TalkTalk named as most complained-about broadband and landline provider

Virgin attracted the most complaints among mobile providers

Josie Clarke
Wednesday 18 July 2018 16:34 BST
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TalkTalk attracted 29 complaints per 100,000 customers for its broadband offer, ahead of BT on 23 and Plusnet on 20
TalkTalk attracted 29 complaints per 100,000 customers for its broadband offer, ahead of BT on 23 and Plusnet on 20

TalkTalk is the most complained-about home broadband and landline provider, while BT tops the table for complaints about pay TV, latest figures show.

Virgin attracted the most complaints among mobile providers at 11 per 100,000 customers, but only just ahead of newcomer iD Mobile at 10 per 100,000, according to industry regulator Ofcom's quarterly league tables.

TalkTalk attracted 29 complaints per 100,000 customers for its broadband offer, ahead of BT on 23 and Plusnet on 20 - with all three exceeding the industry average of 16.

Read More: Virgin Media broadband deals and offers

The same three companies also garnered the most complaints among landline providers, with TalkTalk on 20, Plusnet following with 15 and BT attracting 14 - with all three again exceeding the industry average of 12.

Among pay TV providers, BT exceeded its competitors for complaints with 16 per 100,000 customers, followed by Virgin Media with nine and TalkTalk on eight.

Sky received the lowest number of complaints for broadband, landline and pay TV services, while Tesco Mobile was the best performer for pay-monthly mobile.

Ofcom said both companies had performed “consistently well” for several years compared with the industry average.

The report reveals the number of complaints made to Ofcom about the UK's largest providers of home broadband, landline telephone, pay-monthly mobile and pay-TV services, between January and March.

Overall complaints about broadband and landline services have decreased, and there was no change in the total number of complaints received about mobile and pay TV.

Ofcom's director of consumer policy, Jane Rumble, said: “It's frustrating enough when things go wrong, without having to put up with poor customer service as well.

“So it's encouraging to see complaint numbers falling in some areas, and we want to see this continue. Anyone fed up with their provider can easily shop around and see if there's a better service out there for them.”

Ofcom said it received nearly 300 complaints a day from consumers.

A TalkTalk spokeswoman said: “While these historical numbers by Ofcom are disappointing, it doesn't reflect the current customer experience.

“The most recent data shows a significant reduction in complaint numbers, customer satisfaction is on the rise and we've seen more customers than ever staying with us this year.”

A BT spokesman said: “We know we can do better for our customers and we've made a commitment to answer all our customer calls in the UK and Ireland by 2020, we've brought BT back to the high street in over 600 stores across the UK, and we've launched a completely redesigned, personalised customer experience for 24/7 help and advice on BT.com.”

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