Telecom complaints to Ofcom fell slightly during Q4 2021
Ofcom has today published the latest league tables reflecting complaints it receives 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.
Complaints figures overall decreased slightly over this period and remain at all-time low levels.
Nearly all providers across all sectors reduced or maintained the same level of complaints from the previous quarter.
In summary, its data shows that:
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- Shell Energy generated the most broadband complaints, mainly driven by faults and service issues;
- Alongside TalkTalk, Shell Energy was also the most complained-about landline provider;
- Sky and EE attracted the fewest complaints for broadband and landline services;
- EE, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile, iD Mobile and BT Mobile all generated the fewest pay-monthly mobile complaints;
- Virgin Mobile and Vodafone were the most complained-about mobile operators; and
- Sky also had the fewest complaints about pay-TV, with Virgin Media attracting the most
Says Fergal Farragher, Ofcom’s Consumer Protection Director:
“It’s encouraging that overall complaints remain at record lows, but that doesn’t mean customer service is where it should be across the board.
“There are still big differences in performance between some providers. So it’s definitely worth shopping around and voting with your feet, if you’re not happy with the service you’re getting.”
Adds Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com :
“Today’s figures show an overall decline in the number of complaints made to telecom providers in the last quarter of 2021, which is welcome news. Yet since then, prices have increased significantly across broadband, mobile and pay-TV services, so it’s likely that this trend could change in the coming months, with many consumers unhappy with recent bill hikes.
“Shell Energy continues to be the worst performer on customer service, with complaints for its broadband offering well above the national average. Among the largest providers on the market, TalkTalk and Vodafone in particular have their work cut out to reduce their share of dissatisfied customers.
“When it comes to mobile services it is disappointing to see Virgin Mobile customers are experiencing the most problems, especially as Virgin Media is also above the industry average for broadband complaints.
“With budgets being squeezed more than ever before, providers need to not only offer products which are good value for money, but prove that they are genuinely focussed on delivering customer satisfaction.”
