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Ofcom: TalkTalk and 3 get most complaints

by Scott Bicheno on 22 September 2011, 14:48

Tags: Ofcom, TalkTalk, Three (HKG:0013)

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Troublesome telcos

UK telco regulator Ofcom has published its latest quarterly summary of complaints data. It reveals that the most complained-about company for landline and broadband services is TalkTalk, while the most ire-inducing mobile operator is 3.

The charts below illustrate the complaints per 1,000 users between April and June of this year, as well as the previous two quarters. The first one covers landline providers and, as you can see, TalkTalk is easily the most complained-about, although it does seem to have got its act together in the past few months.

Over to broadband and TalkTalk is once more the main focus of consumer wrath. You have to assume that many of the complaints Ofcom received for TalkTalk are for both landline and broadband, as they follow a pretty similar pattern. BT seems to be going down in its users' estimations on the broadband side of things, and is in danger of supplanting TalkTalk at the top of the list of shame.

On the mobile side of things 3 is far and away the most complained-about operator in the last chart, and things seem to be getting worse. This could, in part, be a consequence of its recent marketing drive to promote its unlimited mobile broadband tariff, at a time when its competitors are applying ever-tighter caps to theirs.

 

 

 

 

One thing both of TalkTalk and 3 have in common is being relatively new to the market, and thus having to be extra aggressive in competing for market share. As is often the case, per pursuit of growth, first and foremost, can come at the expense of the quality of product. While TalkTalk seems to be headed in the right direction, 3 needs to be careful it doesn't drive its hard-won new customers away.

And Virgin shows that being a market underdog doesn't have to mean cutting customer service corners. The only company to feature in all three charts scores pretty well across the board, making Virgin triple-play - or quad-play if you fancy cable TV too - a very credible option.

 



HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

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Three may have terrible customer service but they also so offer some of the most competitive pricing and their data packages and lack of restrictions make them the best value and only worthy data mobile network to be on.

Clearly corners had to be cut to offer this service and at their prices.

Wonder if people would be willing to spend an extra £5 a month on their contracts to speak to an English customer service centre.
You get what you pay for.

Saying that, the broadband product is perfect for light users.
Brewster0101
Three may have terrible customer service but they also so offer some of the most competitive pricing and their data packages and lack of restrictions make them the best value and only worthy data mobile network to be on. Clearly corners had to be cut to offer this service and at their prices.
Wonder if people would be willing to spend an extra £5 a month on their contracts to speak to an English customer service centre.
First part 100% correct - as far as I'm concerned Three make the rest look like a bunch of dinosaurs (although Tesco Mobile seem to have more and more good deals). I still can't believe that some will happily sell you a “smartphone” and yet expect 200MB/month to be all the data allowance you'll ever need. Oh, and no tethering or Skype usage either.

Second part I'd disagree with. First off, I'm not bothered if it's the flag of St George in the window - I'd just like someone who was UK-resident (remember Brewster0101 that we could use call centres in Wales, Scotland or NI). Secondly, I'd like someone who could actually use their damned brain - Three's technical support are superb if you've done something simple/daft like setting a PIN code and then forgetting it (oops), but anything other than that - forget it.

The other part of Three that annoys (apart from the lack of phone updates) is how darned difficult it is to get billing sorted out. E.g. every month I get a mail saying I've now run out of credit one day before my new bill is generated - needless to say I've never been cut off despite being out of credit. At least I managed to get the snafu at Christmas time sorted out - I sent them a change of bank details, they confirmed that was fine and they'd updated their details, then sent me a letter a month later threatening to cut me off because they couldn't collect my contract payment - from the old bank account. :(

Oh, and why in 9/10 cases does a text to someone not on Three - especially to one of these “company” addresses (Coke Zone, Five TV competitions, etc) - fail to get through. And while I'm whinging - why is it that invariably my daughter's SE X10 Mini get's a signal where my SE X10 doesn't? Then again, she's on T-Mobile, not Three like me. Needless to say I don't think I'll be renewing my contract with Three in June next year. Especially if Nokia's Windows phones turn out to be better than the latest dual/quad core Android phones.
I am currently on both :O but is now due for renewal and looking for other possible providers. I am tired of Three's network coverage. I can't even get a good signal at home.