Virgin Media and O2 still top complaints report

Ofcom's quarterly complaints figures sees Virgin Media receive the most broadband complaints for the second quarter in a row, while O2 also performed badly in mobile.

Virgin Media received 20 complaints per 100,000 customers in Q4 2023, with NOW Broadband also continuing to attract complaints from the previous quarter.

Sky had the fewest complaints at just 5, while Plusnet and EE also performed well with 9 complaints per 100,000 customers.

Source: Ofcom

Virgin Media complaints

Virgin Media also had the most complaints in the previous quarter of Q3 2023, when they received 32 complaints per 100,000 customers for broadband, which was more than twice the industry average of 15.

In the latest quarter, Virgin Media's complaint levels have improved and reduced to 20 complaints, but are still substantially higher than the industry average of 12.

In January 2024, when the Q3 2023 results were released, Ofcom said the rise in the number of complaints against Virgin Media was in large part due to their announcement of an investigation into Virgin's complaints handling.

Ofcom have echoed this statement, saying the latest quarter results "were again mainly driven by how their complaints were being handled". Fergal Farragher, Ofcom's Policy Director, continued, "We can see from these latest figures that customer dissatisfaction remains at a similar level to the previous quarter. While there has been an improvement in Virgin Media's performance, its position at the bottom of our tables shows there is further room for improvement."

Virgin Media responded to the latest results, saying, "We're committed to providing an excellent service to our customers, and while overall these complaints represent a very small proportion of our customer base, we acknowledge there is a need for improvement, which is underway, and we're focused on getting this right.

"We are investing heavily and making changes across our business to deliver tangible improvements - for example through multi-skilling our teams and rolling out new IT platforms that will make it easier for customers to get support when they need it, and empowering our people to resolve any issues quickly and effectively first time."

Complaint trends

Complaints across broadband, landline, pay TV and mobile have remained at similar levels, although decreases were seen in the broadband, landline and pay TV sectors.

Sky remained the least complained about provider, and had the fewest complaints in fixed-line broadband, landline, pay TV and mobile sectors.

Plusnet, EE and BT also all performed well in broadband and landline sectors, with BT and EE also having average or lower complaints for mobile services as well.

NOW Broadband complaints spiked in Q3 2023 and have remained high, with 18 complaints per 100,000 customers reported in the latest quarter.

Lastly, Shell Energy Broadband complaint levels also remain above the industry average, and with the purchase of their customer base by TalkTalk confirmed in February 2024, it will be interesting to see if complaints spike for either provider when customers are migrated.