FTSE 350 telecom firms BT Group plc (LON:BT.A) and Talktalk Telecom Group PLC (LON:TALK) have once again come top in the league table for most complained about broadband operators.
In its latest quarterly league table on complaints, communications regulator Ofcom said TalkTalk had received 29 complaints per 100,000 customers while BT received 23.
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This marks the second consecutive quarter that the two companies have topped the table, with TalkTalk and BT receiving 31 complaints per 100,000 and 27 per 100,000 respectively in the last list.
At the other end of the scale, pay-TV company Sky PLC (LON:SKY) registered the fewest complaints about its service with only 5 complaints per 100,000, while other providers Virgin Media and EE received 12 and 13 complaints respectively, under the industry average of 16.
However, for complaints about mobile services, Virgin came top with 11 per 100,000, while Tesco came last with just 1.
TalkTalk did not fare much better for its landline service, where it racked up 20 complaints per 100,000 while Sky had the least at 5.
Commenting on the data, Jane Rumble, Ofcom’s director of consumer policy, said: “It’s frustrating enough when things go wrong, without having to put up with poor customer service as well. So it’s encouraging to see complaint numbers falling in some areas, and we want to see this continue. Anyone fed up with their provider can easily shop around and see if there’s a better service out there for them.”
The data will rub a little salt into the wounds of TalkTalk’s founder and executive chairman Charles Dunstone, who is facing an investor revolt after an influential advisor services firm criticised the group’s move in February to place shares representing 19.99% of its existing share capital earlier this year – just below the threshold that would have required investor approval.
In late afternoon trading Wednesday, TalkTalk shares were down 1.6% at 116.7p, while BT’s shares were steady at around 219.3p.