The UK’s telecoms watchdog, Ofcom, recently made public its quarterly report on telecom customer complaints for the third quarter of 2023. Virgin Media finds itself at the top of the chart for the most complaints about broadband, landline, and pay-TV services, a significant increase from the previous quarter particularly after their cancellation policy came under scrutiny.
In the broadband sector, Virgin Media leads with 32 complaints per 100,000 respondents, followed by NOW Broadband at 18 complaints and TalkTalk with 15. Setting a notable standard, Sky received the fewest complaints, merely 2 per 100,000 customers.
Arguably, VMO2 challenges these numbers, suggesting the stats are disproportionately boosted due to adverse publicity following Ofcom’s ongoing investigation earlier that year.
Going back to July of last year, complaints against VMO2’s cancellation policy peeked, accusing the service provider of deliberately making service termination difficult for its customers. A probe was initiated by Ofcom, in accordance with the regulators’ mandate that cancellation policies “must not act as a disincentive for customers who wish to cancel their contract”.
“We are not only fully engaging with Ofcom’s ongoing investigation, but we are also investing across our business to offer our customers the best possible experience,” a VMO2 spokesperson stated.
In the category of pay-monthly mobile services, O2 tops the complaints list (6 per 100,000 customers), followed by BT Mobile and Three with 4 and 5 complaints respectively.
Virgin Media, with 19 complaints, leads the pack in the landline service category too, followed by NOW Broadband and TalkTalk. Once again, Sky shines with the lowest number of complaints – two.
In the pay-TV bracket, Virgin Media maintains the lead with 20 complaints per 100,000 customers, while TalkTalk receives the fewest complaints – a mere one complaint per 100,000 customers.
Devesh Raj, Sky’s Group Chief Operating Officer, expressed his satisfaction, stating, “I’m very pleased that we’ve maintained our position as the least complained about provider yet again.”
