Latest ‘league tables’ of complaints about UK’s major home phone, broadband, mobile and pay-TV firms

News and Info from Deeside, Flintshire, North Wales

This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Feb 2nd, 2021

Ofcom has today published the latest league tables on the complaints we have received about the UK’s major home phone, broadband, mobile and pay-TV firms.

The quarterly report shows the number of complaints made to us between July and September last year. We include all providers with a market share over 1.5%.

Vodafone was the most complained-about broadband provider. Half of all these complaints were about faults, service and problems with connecting services. Sky attracted the fewest complaints among broadband providers.

Virgin Mobile was the most complained-about mobile provider – the main reasons being issues with switching and how complaints were handled. Tesco Mobile was the least complained-about mobile provider.

Virgin Media remained the most complained-about pay-TV provider, with handling of complaints being the main reason for complaints. Sky continued to attract the fewest complaints among pay-TV providers.

Plusnet was the most complained-about home phone provider, while Sky attracted the fewest complaints.

Fergal Farragher, Ofcom’s Consumer Protection Director, said: “Millions of people up and down the country are relying on their communications services to be able to work, learn and keep in touch with loved ones.

“So, it’s vital companies continue to do everything they can to give customers the support they need – particularly those who might be vulnerable – and tackle any problems customers are experiencing.”

Complaints information helps people to think about quality of service when they are shopping around for a new provider and encourages firms to improve their performance. Our service quality hub offers further information on how you can choose the best provider for your needs.

Although Ofcom cannot resolve individual complaints, we offer advice for consumers, and the information we receive can lead to us launching investigations.

If you’re experiencing problems with a telecoms service you should complain to your provider first. If you’re unhappy with the outcome, you can take your complaint to an independent ombudsman, who will look at the case and make a judgment on it.

Home broadband complaints per 100,000 customers

Table showing broadband complaints per 100,000 subscribers. It illustrates the providers receiving the fewest complaints at the top of the table and those receiving the most complaints are placed at the bottom of the table. The results are as follows: Sky – 6 EE – 7 Post Office – 13 Industry average – 15 BT – 16 TalkTalk – 18 Virgin Media – 20 Plusnet – 23 Vodafone - 26

Landline telephone complaints per 100,000 customers

Table showing landline complaints per 100,000 subscribers. It illustrates the providers receiving the fewest complaints at the top of the table and those receiving the most complaints are placed at the bottom of the table. The results are as follows: Sky – 4 EE – 5 Industry average – 9 Post Office – 9 BT – 10 Vodafone – 11 TalkTalk – 12 Virgin Media - 13 Plusnet – 14

Where the actual measurable difference between providers’ numbers of complaints per 100,000 customers is less than 1, we consider their results to be comparable. Here the following landline providers’ numbers of complaints per 100,000 customers should be considered comparable: 1. the industry average, Post Office and BT; 2. Vodafone and TalkTalk and 3. Virgin Media and Plusnet.

Pay-monthly mobile complaints per 100,000 customers

Table showing mobile complaints per 100,000 subscribers. It illustrates the providers receiving the fewest complaints at the top of the table and those receiving the most complaints are placed at the bottom of the table. The results are as follows: Tesco Mobile – 1 Sky Mobile – 1 EE – 2 O2 – 2 Industry average – 4 BT Mobile – 4 ID Mobile - 4 Vodafone - 5 Three – 7 Virgin Mobile – 9

The actual measurable difference between the following pay-monthly mobile providers’ numbers of complaints per 100,000 customers was less than one and so their results should be considered comparable: 1. Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile and EE; 2. Sky Mobile, EE and O2; 3. the industry average, BT Mobile and iD Mobile; 4. iD Mobile and Vodafone.

Pay TV complaints per 100,000 customers

Table showing Pay-tv complaints per 100,000 subscribers. It illustrates the providers receiving the fewest complaints at the top of the table and those receiving the most complaints are placed at the bottom of the table. The results are as follows: Sky – 1 TalkTalk - 3 Industry average – 5 BT – 10 Virgin Media – 11