EE And Vodafone Head Ofcom’s Complaints Rankings

EE has retained its unenviable title as the UK’s most complained about broadband and landline provider, while Vodafone also maintained its position in the mobile category in Ofcom’s latest complaints figures.

The regulator says the total number of complaints it receives actually fell during the second quarter of 2015, with broadband still the service that attracts the most attention. Around 300 complaints are made each day and the data is used to help inform consumers and keep operators on their toes.

Landline and broadband

EE received 0.45 complaints per 1,000 customers during the three month period – down from 0.51 but still well ahead of the industry average of 0.16. Two fifths of issues were due to faults services and provision, another fifth were related to billing and another fifth were, ironically, due to complaints handling.

TalkTalk complaints increased to 0.27 to hand the former ‘winner’ second place, while BT also attracted above-average attention. Virgin Media received 0.07 and Sky 0.05 per 1,000.

In the landline sector, EE scored 0.34 thanks to complaints relating to issues changing provider, service faults and again, complaints handling. Post Office’s HomePhone, Plusnet and TalkTalk were also above the industry average of 0.13 per 1,000, but BT earned a par score and Sky and Virgin Media were again below average.

Mobile complaints

Vodafone usurped EE in the mobile category during the last quarter and cemented its position in the most recent period, with 0.14 complaints per 1,000. A third of these related to billing, 27 percent to complaints handling and faults 17 percent.

TalkTalk’s mobile service increased to 0.12, while Virgin Media’s also rose to 0.08. EE’s complaints were also above industry average at 0.08, but have come down significantly over the past two years.

O2 and Three were below the industry average of 0.07 while Tesco Mobile was the least complained about mobile network for the fifth consecutive quarter, generating just 0.01 complaints.

“Our complaints data allow consumers to make meaningful comparisons that can be useful when looking for a new provider,” said Claudio Pollack, director of Ofcom’s Content and Consumer Group. “While it’s encouraging to see a continued decrease in the total number of complaints, there is still room for improvement. We expect providers to make customer service and complaints handling top priorities.”

Earlier this year, Three was fined £250,000 for failing to comply with complaint handling rules and EE was handed a £1 million penalty. Vodafone is still under investigation for similar offences.

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