TalkTalk Most Complained About Fixed Broadband ISP, According to Ofcom

According to the latest report from Ofcom, TalkTalk received the highest number of complaints of any fixed broadband service provider.

The study released figures showing the overall customer satisfaction levels for each sector of telecommunications. Mobile was at 92%, landline services at 88% and bringing up the rear was broadband at 84%. Although the numbers might seem quite high the communications watchdog has said that on average approximately 250 complaints are lodged every single day

In order to give an accurate representation of the rate at which a provider is complained about (given the variety in the sizes of their customer bases), Ofcom provide a figure for the total number of quarterly complaints per 100,000 residential customers for each. Ofcom’s director of consumer policy Jane Rumble said:

“We’re shining a light on how different providers perform, and it’s clear many need to up their game on service quality and complaints handling.

People expect high standards from their providers, and companies must put their customers first.”

It is common that the third quarter of any year will generate the largest amount of complaints. One reason for this is that this is when most ISPs will generally start bringing out new price structures which generally means customers bills end up increasing. Another factor is that Q3 is when most students begin will begin university which puts a massive strain on services. TalkTalk‘s main problems, according to customers, were related to poor or intermittent service and faults as well as provision issues.

EE on the other hand found their complaint levels falling and are now beginning to compete with Sky Broadband as being the least complained about ISP. However, EE has not yet provided as much data on its customer base as other providers have, and so we may have to wait until future reports to get a more accurate picture of their satisfaction.

If a consumer finds that their complaint has not been satisfactorily dealt with they can, after 2 months escalate it to either Ombudsman services: Communications or CISAS who will investigate on behalf on the customer.

Michael Quinn

Michael is a dedicated author helping usave to write guides, blogs and news for the last four years. When not writing articles, you can usually find him at wine tasting events or having a political debate on the night tube.

Read all articles