Faults and service issues push BT broadband to the top of the pile for customer complaints
BT has beaten its competition for all the wrong reasons after topping a league table of customer complaints compiled by Ofcom.
Faults and service issues push BT broadband to the top of the pile for customer complaints
The telecoms giant, together with its subsidiaries Plusnet and EE, were responsible for generating more irate customers among broadband providers than any other brand during the first three months of the year.
In total BT generated 34 complaints per 100,000 broadband subscribers over the first quarter, versus a UK industry average of just 21, handing the provider the dishonor of having topped the chart in every quarter over the past 12 months.
BT’s PR woes were further compounded by an Ofcom calculation that its pay TV business generated close to four-times the volume of complaints as opposed to the average industry complaint level, attracting 19 complaints per 100,000 as opposed to an industry average of just five.
Identifying the root cause, Ofcom wrote: “BT’s main complaint drivers related to faults, service and provision issues, followed by issues around complaints handling and issues with billing, pricing, and charges.”
Ofcom’s table made better reading for Sky, which generated the fewest dissatisfied broadband customers at just eight complaints per 100,000. As far as pay TV is concerned Sky performed even better with just two complaints, beating Virgin media on nine.
BT's woes follow a ban imposed on its latest Ryan Reynolds-fronted broadband ad over an unsubstantiated claim that it offered the 'UK's most powerful wi-fi signal'.