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Vodafone Is the Most Complained About Telecoms Provider

telecoms-complaints

Vodafone annoyed customers of its home broadband, landline phone and mobile services last year, becoming the most griped-about telecoms provider, according to Ofcom figures.

The regulator regularly tallies the volume of complaints it receives from consumers and releases quarterly league tables of the best and worst performing telecoms providers.

In the third quarter of 2019, Vodafone hit a triple whammy, topping the rankings of most-complained about providers of broadband, home phone and mobile services. Virgin Media drew the most complaints for its pay TV services.

During that quarter, between July and September, Vodafone drew headlines after its home broadband speeds crashed two weekends in a row and mobile customers were incorrectly charged thousands for using their phones abroad.

Complaints about Vodafone’s broadband were mostly about faults, service and provisioning issues (38%), complaints handling (26%) and issues related to switching provider (15%). 

However, the volume of complaints about Vodafone’s broadband services actually dropped since the mobile giant topped the complaints league table in the second quarter: from 30 per 100,000 customers to 26.

A Vodafone spokesperson said: “The long-term trends in complaint numbers are improving and we are giving home broadband customer service our full attention.

“This includes our technical teams working closely with our infrastructure partner to fix any faults at the broadband street cabinet as quickly as possible.”

Plusnet and TalkTalk also drew gripes for their broadband services, while complaints about Virgin’s broadband packages have been surging since the start of last year, as the cable ISP has hiked prices. EE and Sky Broadband were the least moaned-about ISPs.

Vodafone’s mobile services fared little better, with customers complaining about complaints handling (35% of complaints); billing, pricing and charges (26%); and problems with switching (20%). Virgin Mobile and Three all performed badly, prompting customers to file complaints with Ofcom. 

Tesco Mobile retained its long-held position as the UK’s least complained about mobile provider, with Ofcom receiving just one complaint for the service per 100,000 subscribers.

Meanwhile, Virgin’s TV service annoyed 14 customers per 100,000, while BT’s irked 12. Sky TV continues to attract the lowest volume of complaints from subscribers.

Ofcom urged customers to switch provider if they found their service lacking.

Fergal Farragher, director of consumer policy at the regulator, said: “People have never had more choice in the phone and broadband markets. It’s also never been easier to switch your service. So companies that don’t prioritise great service could see customers leaving them for ones that do.”

Lauren Smith
Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith has worked as a journalist and copywriter for most of the last decade, covering technology, energy, and consumer rights, in the US and UK.

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