BT-owned* providers collect most customer complaints (again)
(*Including EE, who BT wants to buy for £12.5 billion)
Don’t want to spend your time making angry phone calls to customer service desks? Best avoid BT and its associated companies, according to the latest figures from regulator Ofcom.
For the fourth quarter running, EE – the company BT’s attempting to buy for £12.5 billion – was the most complained about fixed-line telephone provider, closely followed by BT-owned PlusNet. BT itself also generated more than the industry average level of complaints for fixed-line telephone providers, as did TalkTalk.
It’s a very similar story in fixed-line broadband, where EE is by far and away the most complained about company, generating in excess of 0.2 complaints per 1,000 customers. BT, PlusNet and TalkTalk once again surprass the industry average for complaints.
BT is the most complained about pay television provider for the ninth quarter in a row. “Complaints about BT mainly related to fault, service, or provision issues; issues around billing, pricing and charges; and complaints handling,” Ofcom’s research reveals. TalkTalk once again pushes BT close for disgruntled customers.
Vodafone takes some of the heat off BT and its potential purchases when it comes to customer satisfaction with mobile. Vodafone is the most complained about mobile network for the second successive quarter, with Talk Mobile and our old friends EE also racking up more complaints than the industry average.
In a joint press statement released earlier this month, the chief executives of BT and EE said the proposed merger betwen the two companies would create a “digital champion” with EE boss Olaf Swantee claiming that the two firms shared a “renewed commitment to network leadership, innovation and delivering the best for their customers”. Heaven help the companies’ customers if this is them doing their best…