TalkTalk gathers most broadband complaints

The latest broadband and mobile complaints have been published for the quarter July to September 2024 (Q3 2024), and reveal TalkTalk as the most complained about provider.

TalkTalk received 14 complaints per 100,000 broadband customers, and 8 complaints per 100,000 landline customers.

Virgin Media was the most complained about pay TV provider however, while TalkTalk's TV service had the fewest complaints alongside Sky.

Source: Ofcom

Broadband complaints

Ofcom's quarterly complaint figures look at how many customers have contacted them to raise a complaint about their broadband, landline, mobile or pay TV provider.

For broadband, Ofcom received an average of 10 complaints per 100,000 customers, with the most complaints - 39% - focusing on faults, service and provisioning issues. Complaints handling was also a bugbear, with 29% of complaints, while billing, pricing and charges accounted for 18% of complaints.

TalkTalk was the most complained about provider for Q3 2024, gathering 14 complaints per 100,000 customers, compared to the industry average of 10 for the period.

Vodafone, Virgin Media, NOW Broadband, and EE, also all had higher than average complaint levels, while BT, Plusnet and Sky had the fewest complaints.

Last period, in Q2 2024, NOW Broadband had the most complaints, with 18 per 100,000 customers, which followed on from Q1 2024 where they also had the most complaints, receiving 22 complaints per 100,000 customers.

It's good to see then complaint levels have decreased for NOW Broadband, as well as Virgin Media who also saw a peak in complaint levels in Q3 2023, which have now improved.

EE's broadband complaint levels have been steadily rising since late 2023, and now sit as the second most complained about provider, so that's one to keep an eye on.

Mobile complaints

For the mobile sector, O2 was the most complained about provider, with 5 complaints per 100,000 customers in Q3 2024, while Tesco Mobile and Sky Mobile had the fewest complaints.

Ofcom said O2's complaints were primarily driven by complaints handling, as well as faults, service and provisioning, and lastly by billing.

The industry average for the period was 3 complaints per 100,000, which sees Three, ID Mobile, Vodafone, and EE all in line with or lower than.

Pay TV complaints

The pay TV sector covers only four providers, Sky, TalkTalk, EE and Virgin Media.

For the Q3 2024 period, Virgin Media and EE had the most complaints, gathering 9 and 8 complaints per 100,000 customers respectively, noticeably higher than the industry average of 4 for the period.

Ofcom said Virgin Media's high complaint levels were driven by complaints handling predominantly, as they also were for EE. Billing and prices were also a problem for Virgin Media customers, while EE customers also had issues with faults and service provisioning.

The least complained about pay TV providers were Sky and TalkTalk, both with just 2 complaints per 100,000 customers.

Best broadband provider

Looking at complaint figures alone, Sky continue to outperform most other providers in all sectors including broadband, landline, mobile and pay TV.

Sky received just 5 complaints per 100,000 customers for fixed line broadband, and just 2 complaints per 100,000 customers for landline, beaten only by Utility Warehouse with just 1 complaint.

Sky TV also performed well with just 2 complaints per 100,000 customers, and Sky Mobile had just 1 complaint per 100,000 customers for the period alongside Tesco Mobile.

Sky have been maintaining a low complaint record for several years now, and remain one our top broadband providers for customer service.

While other factors are important when choosing a good broadband deal, customer service is often high on the list for most customers who want to know they'll have a smooth experience should any problems arise.