The number of people complaining to Ofcom about their broadband, mobile, pay TV or fixed line phone service shows no sign of falling.
- Vodafone is the most complained about broadband provider
- TalkTalk, Shell Energy and Virgin Media triggered the most complaints about fixed line phone services
- BT and Virgin Media attracted the most complaints about pay TV services
- BT Mobile was most complained about mobile provider, alongside Virgin Mobile
Ofcom’s latest complaints data, which cover the three months to the end of June 2023 showed a slight increase in complaints compared to the same period last year.
- Vodafone was the most complained-about broadband provider, with a substantial rise in complaints from the previous quarter. Customers’ complaints were mainly driven by their experience with faults, service and getting services connected.
- TalkTalk, Shell Energy and Virgin Media were the most complained-about landline providers. TalkTalk saw a small decrease, Shell Energy remained static and Virgin Media saw a small increase in their complaints since the previous quarter. TalkTalk and Virgin’s complaints were mainly driven by how they handled customers’ complaints.
- BT Mobile was the most complained-about mobile operator, with customers primarily complaining about how their complaints were being handled and issues changing provider. BT Mobile has shut up shop to new customers as BT migrates customers to the EE brand. Virgin Mobile, in a similar situation to BT in terms of being wound down, came in second worst place.
- BT and Virgin Media attracted the most complaints among pay TV providers. BT’s complaints were mainly driven by customers’ experience with faults, service and getting services connected, while Virgin’s complaints were driven mainly by how customers’ complaints were handled.
What does Ofcom do with the complaints?
Ofcom won’t actually investigate individual complaints from customers. But it does use the complaints data to analyse trends.
Who is best at avoiding complaints?
According to Ofcom…
- Sky is the least complained about broadband, fixed and mobile phone and pay TV provider.
- EE also scores low on mobile phone complaints. It remains to be seen how this will change once BT’s consumer products complete their migration to the EE brand.
- Tesco Mobile and Vodafone also attracted relatively few complaints regarding their mobile service.
Commenting on the complaints data from this quarter, Fergal Farragher, Ofcom’s Consumer Protection Director, said:
“It is positive to see that overall, complaints volumes have remained consistent compared to the previous quarter. However, complaints are still slightly higher than they were in 2022, and this shows that providers still have work to do in improving customers’ experiences.
We work alongside providers to help make sure they improve their performance and acknowledge Vodafone is taking steps to identify and address the increased volume of complaints during this period.”
Marc Thornham