Ofcom have named EE as the nation’s most complained about broadband provider – for the 5th time running.
The telecoms watchdog notes that complaints about EE continue exceed the industry average and since records began.
The ISP saw the number of complaints relating to its broadband service increase from 0.42 per 1,000 customers to 0.51 per 1,000; hitting the highest level since early 2013. That’s more than double the current industry average of 0.17 complaints per 1,000 punters.
Ofcom’s research found that the main causes of complaint for the operator were faults, service and provision, which equated for a fairly hefty 37 per cent of complaints about EE broadband, while billing, pricing and charge-related issues accounted for 20 per cent.
Ofcom routinely publishes data pertaining to customer complaints, as a way to shine a light on companies that aren’t meeting standards and those which excel.
The findings named Sky the least complained about ISP, with just 0.05 complaints per 1,000 punters, a whisker ahead of Virgin Media which managed just 0.09 complaints per 1,000.
EE also managed to rank top of the list for complaints relating to its landline telephone service too. The company notched-up a score of 0.36 complaints per 1,000 customers, and the lion’s share of those complaints involved issues with changing supplier.
Vodafone earned the most-moaned-about-mobile-pay-monthly-provider award, racking up 0.14 complaints per 1,000 customers, while both EE and Talk Mobile remained above average with 0.10 and 0.11 per 1,000 respectively. Tesco wiped the floor with other mobile carriers, generating just 0.1 complaints per 1,000 heads. Every little helps.
True to past form, BT topped the list of complaints relating to pay TV services with 0.15 per 1,000, with TalkTalk inching just ahead with 0.14 customer grumbles.
Pay TV veterans Virgin Media and Sky fared better, with the former equaling the industry average of 0.04 groans.
Sky ranked above all other premium TV providers, netting less than the industry average of 0.01 per 1,000, remained the best performing provider overall.
The big picture makes for more slightly more encouraging reading. Overall complaints were down in the first quarter of 2015, though that statistic is largely due to an overall decrease in complaints relating to landline and pay-monthly mobile services, as actual complaints relating to broadband and pay TV have risen overall.
Ofcom’s Claudio Pollack said of the findings: “Publishing provider-specific complaints data is one way we’re able to help consumers make informed choices about the services on offer to them.
“The reduction in the total volume of complaints is welcome, but there is still room for providers to improve their performance. This report is one of a number of ways we seek to give providers incentive to address areas of customer dissatisfaction.”
Leave a Reply