Ofcom has today published the latest league tables on the complaints we receive about the UK’s major home phone, broadband, mobile and pay TV firms.
The quarterly report reveals the number of complaints made to Ofcom between October and December last year, about firms in the home broadband, landline telephone, pay-monthly mobile and pay TV markets. All providers with a market share over 1.5% are included.
For the first time, Sky was included in the mobile market and entered the league table with the fewest complaints. This means Sky is the least-complained-about provider across all four services.[1]
Complaints from Plusnet’s broadband customers more than doubled in the last quarter of 2018. In that period, the company experienced issues with a new billing system it launched.
BT has replaced Virgin Media as the most complained-about pay TV provider, while both companies drew the highest complaints figures for mobile, along with Vodafone. The main reasons for complaints about all three providers were issues around billing, pricing and complaints handling.
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.
Fergal Farragher, Ofcom’s Director of Consumer Policy, said: “There’s never been more choice in phone and broadband services. We’re glad to see this fierce competition is driving some companies to push themselves to deliver better customer service. Unfortunately, some firms are lagging behind or struggling with consistency. It’s important they remember customers who aren’t happy can shop around and vote with their feet.”
Although Ofcom cannot resolve individual complaints, they offer consumers advice, and the information they receive can lead to us 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.