Friday 21 August 2020 11:54 am

Talktalk worst performing broadband provider for customer satisfaction

Talktalk was the worst performing broadband provider for customer satisfaction last year, according to the latest research by the UK telecoms watchdog.

A survey by regulator Ofcom found that overall satisfaction levels among Talktalk customers were lower than average, with an approval rating of 78 per cent.

Customers were also less satisfied than average with the reliability of their service.

Talktalk said some of the results of the survey were “dissapointing” but said a “significant period of time” had passed since results were collected in January this year.

A TalkTalk spokesperson said: “ We have recently seen our lowest Ofcom complaints since 2016, and we expect this downward trend to continue.

“We’ve been working hard to deliver improvements to our customer experience, including new digital tools to help customers quickly identify and resolve issues without having to contact us.”

Where customers were unhappy with their home broadband service, the top two reasons were slow speeds, or speed not as advertised, and poor or unreliable connectivity.

Plusnet was the top performing provider last year, scoring 93 per cent.

The research found that 12 per cent of broadband customers had a reason to complain last year, in line with 2018.

Service issues, such as slow broadband speeds and intermittent or total loss of service, followed by billing, pricing or payment issues were the most common causes of complaint.

Virgin Media customers were more likely than average to have a reason to complain about their broadband service. However, the internet provider recorded an overall satisfaction score of 85 per cent, meeting the industry average.

“We’re always looking at how we can further improve our customer service so all of our customers can have the best experience from Virgin Media,” a spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Tesco was the highest performing mobile service provider, with 97 per cent of customers satisfied with the service.

Three customers were the least satisfied over all, with just 89 per cent saying they were happy with the service, below the sector average of 93 per cent.

Ofcom consumer group director Lindsey Fussell said: “Checking the quality of a phone or broadband provider’s customer service can be the difference between signing up to a company that keeps you connected, or one that falls short.

“Our research helps you to easily compare how providers perform on customer service, so you can choose the one that’s best for you.”