TalkTalk is the most complained about ISP in Britain

[Wilhelm]

TalkTalk really needs to get its act together

TALKTALK HAS BEEN BRANDED the worse UK internet service provider (ISP) having received the most complaints for the delivery of its broadband service in the last quarter of 2017.

Ofcom's latest report on telecoms and pay TV complaints show TalkTalk received 31 complaints per 100,000 customers. In comparison, BT and Plusnet had 27, while Virgin Media has 14 and EE had 12. Sky was the least complained about broadband provider with a mere seven complaints.

TalkTalk was panned for having faults in its service as well as provision issues and its handling of complaints. It's billing, process and charges didn't win it any favour either.

The company also had the most complaints related to the delivery of its landline services, with 23 per complaints per 100,000 customers. Plusnet and the Post Office didn't cover themselves in glory either having scooped up 21 complaints each. Again Sky was the winner in this category with six complaints.

When it comes to broadband delivery, TalkTalk has been the frontrunner in collecting the most complaints for the second quarter in a row, while both BT and Plusnet have also recurrently failed to win the approval of their customers.

As such, Jane Rumble, Ofcom's director of consumer policy was prompted to state the bleeding obvious.

"These figures give people the information they need to shop around and compare providers' performance," she said.

But Rumble also had some rumblings of a good point and noted the negative results of TalkTalk and other should prompt the ISP to pull their socks up and improve their services.

"The scorecards also motivate companies to improve their performance, and we want to see them follow through on their promises to give customers better service." 

In a statement given to INQ, TalkTalk said: "We always strive to provide the best possible experience and are disappointed by these results.

"Ofcom's historical data reflects a short period last year which coincided with the closure of our contact centre in India. The move was part of a major investment to improve our services but caused some temporary disruption for customers. We continue to roll out service improvements, including new online tools to help customers resolve issues more quickly and conveniently."