8 February 2022

Latest telecoms and pay-TV complaints revealed

Ofcom has today published the latest league tables on the complaints we receive about the UK’s major home phone, broadband, mobile and pay-TV firms.

The quarterly report reveals the number of complaints made to Ofcom between July and September last year and shows that complaints across the board are at all-time low levels.

Three of the four sectors – broadband, landline and pay TV – all saw reductions in complaints this quarter, with nearly all providers seeing an improvement in their figures. For pay-monthly mobile, complaints were at the same historically low level as the last quarter.

TalkTalk and Shell Energy generated the most broadband complaints, primarily due to faults and service issues.

TalkTalk was also the most complained-about landline provider, while EE and Sky attracted the fewest broadband and landline complaints.

iD Mobile, Vodafone and Virgin Mobile were the most complained-about mobile operators, and Virgin Media generated the highest volume of pay-TV complaints. The main reason customers complained to Ofcom was related to how these companies handled their complaints.

EE, Tesco Mobile and Sky attracted the fewest complaints in the mobile sector, and Sky was the least complained-about pay-TV provider.

Complaints have fallen to a record low, and we expect providers to keep working to achieve the highest standards.

If you’re unhappy with your provider, it’s worth shopping around. We’ve made it easier than ever to switch, and you could end up with better customer service as well saving money.

Fergal Farragher, Ofcom’s Consumer Protection Director

The information we publish about complaints helps people compare companies when shopping around for a new provider and encourages firms to improve their performance. Our service quality hub offers further information on how people can choose the best provider for them.

Although Ofcom cannot resolve individual complaints, we offer consumers advice, and the information we receive can lead to us launching investigations.

Anyone experiencing problems should complain to their provider first. If they are unhappy with the outcome, people can take the complaint to an independent ombudsman, who will look at the case and make a judgment on it.

Home broadband complaints per 100,000 customers

Table showing broadband complaints per 100,000 subscribers. It illustrates the providers receiving the fewest complaints at the top of the table and those receiving the most complaints are placed at the bottom of the table. The results are as follows: EE 4, Sky 5, BT 9, Industry average 10, Vodafone 12, Plusnet 13, Virgin Media 15, Shell Energy, and TalkTalk 17.

Graph showing trend data on residential consumer complaints received by Ofcom across fixed broadband by communications provider.   It shows the fixed broadband complaints per 100,000 subscribers for the Q4 2019 – Q3 2021 period.   TalkTalk and Shell Energy generated the highest volume of fixed broadband complaints (at 17) in Q3 2021 followed by Virgin Media at 15.    EE and Sky generated the lowest volume of fixed broadband complaints at 4 and 5 respectively.

Landline complaints per 100,000 customers

Table showing landline complaints per 100,000 subscribers. It illustrates the providers receiving the fewest complaints at the top of the table and those receiving the most complaints are placed at the bottom of the table. The results are as follows: EE 3, Sky 3, Vodafone 4, industry average 6, BT 6, Plusnet 8, Virgin Media 8, Shell Energy 9, TalkTalk 11.
Graph showing trend data on residential consumer complaints received by Ofcom across landline by communications provider.   It shows the landline complaints per 100,000 subscribers for the Q4 2019 – Q3 2021 period.   TalkTalk generated the highest volume of landline complaints (at 11) in Q3 2021 followed by Shell Energy at 9.    EE and Sky generated the lowest volume of landline complaints at 3.

Pay-monthly mobile complaints per 100,000 customers

Table showing mobile complaints per 100,000 subscribers. It illustrates the providers receiving the fewest complaints at the top of the table and those receiving the most complaints are placed at the bottom of the table. The results are as follows: EE 1, Tesco Mobile 1, Sky Mobile 2, industry average 2, O2 2, BT Mobile 2, Three 3, Virgin Media 3, Vodafone 3, and iD Mobile 4.
Graph showing trend data on residential consumer complaints received by Ofcom across pay-monthly mobile by communications provider.   It shows the pay-monthly mobile complaints per 100,000 subscribers for the Q4 2019 – Q3 2021 period.   iD Mobile generated the highest volume of pay-monthly mobile complaints (at 4) in Q3 2021 followed by Vodafone and Virgin Mobile at 3.    EE and Tesco Mobile generated the lowest volume of complaints at 1..

Pay-TV complaints per 100,000 customers

Table showing pay-TV complaints per 100,000 subscribers. It illustrates the providers receiving the fewest complaints at the top of the table and those receiving the most complaints are placed at the bottom of the table. The results are as follows: Sky 1, TalkTalk 2, industry average 3, BT 6, and Virgin Media 8.
Graph showing trend data on residential consumer complaints received by Ofcom across pay tv by communications provider.   It shows the pay tv complaints per 100,000 subscribers for the Q4 2019 – Q3 2021 period.   Virgin Media generated the highest volume of pay-tv complaints (at 8) in Q3 2021 followed by TalkTalk at 6.  Sky generated the lowest volume of complaints at 1.

Relative volume of complaints per service per 100,000 subscribers

Graph showing trend data on residential consumer complaints received by Ofcom across landline, fixed broadband, pay-monthly mobile and pay TV services, by communications provider. It shows the relative volume of complaints per sector per 100,000 subscribers for the Q1 2011 – Q3 2021 period. The relative volume of complaints per 100,000 subscribers decreased for fixed broadband from 12 to 10, landline from 7 to 6, and pay TV from 4 to 3. Mobile pay monthly remained the same at 2.

Contact the media team

If you are a journalist wishing to contact Ofcom's media team:

Call: +44 (0) 300 123 1795 (journalists only)

Send us your enquiry (journalists only)

If you are a member of the public wanting advice or to complain to Ofcom:

Rate this page

Was this page helpful?

Contact the media team

If you are a journalist wishing to contact Ofcom's media team:

Call: +44 (0) 300 123 1795 (journalists only)

Send us your enquiry (journalists only)

If you are a member of the public wanting advice or to complain to Ofcom:

Related content