Telecoms and pay-TV complaints from April to June 2017

Ofcom has set out the volume of recent consumer complaints it has received against major providers of telecoms and pay-TV services.

The latest report covers the three-month period from April to June 2017 (Q2), and includes complaints made about providers of landline telephone, home broadband, pay-monthly mobile and pay-TV services.

Total complaints for each of the four services decreased during the first half of 2017. BT Mobile’s pay-monthly service is included for the first time in Ofcom’s report, having achieved sufficient market share.

Together with Ofcom’s ‘Comparing Service Quality’ report, published earlier this year, today’s complaints data aims to give people who are looking for a new provider useful information for comparing companies' performance.

The reports also offer an incentive to providers to improve service quality and address recurring problems.

Jane Rumble, Ofcom’s Director of Consumer Policy, said: “Complaints about telecoms and pay-TV may be falling this year, but some providers are falling a long way short on customer service.”

“There can be no room for complacency. We expect providers, particularly those who have been consistently under-performing, to make service quality and complaints handling their number one priority.”

Landline telephone complaints per 100,000 customers

Landline complaints per 100,000*
TalkTalk^§	17
Post Office	17
BT^†	15
Plusnet	14
Industry average	12
Virgin Media	11
EE^‡	10
Sky	6

*All figures rounded to the nearest whole number.
Actual measurable difference may in some cases be less than one.
^†Due to the different methodologies used to compile subscriber figures, readers should note that BT's performance in Q2 2017 may be comparable to Talk Talk's and Post Office's.
^‡EE did not submit it's Q2 2017 subscriber figures for landline and fixed broadband services. Therefore, for this report only, we have used it's Q1 2017 subscriber numbers. We have carefully considered this and assessed the impact on EE's results. We are satisfied they are sufficiently accurately presented.
^§Talk Talk's landline results for Q2 2017 has been adjusted for 16 complaints per 100,000 subscribers in the September issue of this report to 17 in the December issue to rectify a discrepancy. It's performance remains comparable to BT's and Post Office's.
Note: Industry average is limited to those provider include in the report.
Source: Ofcom, CCT data

Overview of data on the volume of consumer complaints received against major landline providers.

Home broadband complaints per 100,000 customers

Fixed broadband complaints per 100,000
BT	28
TalkTalk	24
Plusnet	20
Industry average	18
EE^‡	15
Virgin Media	13
Sky	7

^‡EE did not submit it's Q2 2017 subscriber figures for fixed broadband services. Therefore, for this report only, we have used it's Q1 2017 subscriber numbers. We have carefully considered this and assessed the impact on EE's results. We are satisfied they are sufficiently accurately presented.
Note: Industry average is limited to those provider include in the report.
Source: Ofcom, CCT data

Overview of data on the volume of consumer complaints received against major broadband providers.

Pay-monthly mobile complaints per 100,000 customers

Pay-monthly mobile complaints per 100,000
Vodafone	11
BT	11
TalkTalk	9
Virgin Mobile	7
Industry average	5
Three	3
O2	3
EE	3
Tesco	1

Note: Industry average is limited to those provider include in the report.
Source: Ofcom, CCT data

Overview of data on the volume of consumer complaints received against major mobile providers.

Pay-TV complaints per 100,000 customers

Pay TV complaints per 100,000
BT	13
Virgin Media	8
TalkTalk	6
Industry average	4
Sky	1