Latest figures for complaints about broadband and mobile – Ofcom

Regulator provides quarterly update on complaints about providers of landline, mobile, broadband and pay-TV services in the UK.  

The latest figures for complaints made to broadcast regulator Ofcom about broadband, landline and mobile services have been made available, covering April to June of this year.  

Photo by Alejandro Escamilla

As the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom receives complaints from customers about their landline, fixed broadband, pay-monthly mobile and pay-TV services. Compiling figures relating to complaints helps to identify areas for dissatisfaction. While the regulator does not deal with individual complaints, it publishes the figures to helps consumers identify the best provider for their needs. 

To compare the performance of providers, Ofcom publishes the number of complaints received relative to the size of an organisation, based on its customer base – that is, per 100,000 customers. 

So what do the new quarterly figures show? Overall, the volume of complaints is on a similar level to the previous quarter; while complaints about pay-TV services stayed pretty much the same, complaints broadband, landline and mobile services all fell slightly.   

NOW Broadband generated the most complaints about broadband services – with 18 complaints per 100,000 customers. Even so, there were fewer complaints about it than in the previous quarter. Complaints to the regulator were mostly about how NOW Broadband itself handled customers’ complaints.  

Sky was the least complained-about broadband provider, with just five complaints per 100,000 customers. The average was 10. 

EE was the most complained-about landline provider with 15 complaints per 100,000 customers – an increase in complaints from the previous quarter. With EE, customers complained to Ofcom about faults, services and getting their connections set up. The fewest landline complaints were received about Utility Warehouse with no complaints at all. The industry average is five. 

O2 was the most complained-about mobile provider with eight complaints per 100,000 customers, again largely to do with how the company itself handled complaints. Tesco Mobile was the least complained-about mobile providers with a single complaint per 100,000 customers.  

EE and Virgin Media were the most complained-about pay-TV providers, each with nine complaints per 100,000 customers. Sky and TalkTalk generated the fewest complaints, with one and two complaints respectively.  

Fergal Farragher, Policy Director at Ofcom, says: ‘While complaints numbers remained broadly the same during this quarter, we’re pleased to see slight falls in complaints across some of the services covered by these figures. Communications services are now essential to our daily lives and customers deserve a high level of service. We call on providers to improve their performance in areas in which they are currently falling short.’  

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