UK regulator highlights most complained about ISPs

Ofcom, the nation’s telecoms regulator, recently put British broadband providers under the spotlight. It examined the UK’s main internet service providers (ISPs) to calculate the number of complaints they received in the year.

The latest statistics Ofcom sourced showed that NOW, the Sky-owned service, received the most complaints, with 18 logged for every 100,000 users.

Sky’s own service, however, fared best of all, with only five complaints lodged per 100,000.

The exact reasons behind the significant difference between the companies was not immediately clear; however, Ofcom commented that most grievances arose because users were irritated by the way the complaints that they made were managed.

ISP Virgin Media ranked almost as poorly as NOW in comparison to its competitors, with the broadband supplier experiencing 15 complaints for every 100,000.

Uswitch.com telecoms expert Ernest Doku weighed in on the recent figures, commenting:

“It’s encouraging to see that the overall volume of broadband complaints has decreased across most providers. While NOW Broadband is once again the most complained about broadband provider, the decline in the number of complaints it has received this quarter shows signs that the provider is listening to feedback.”

He added that with many telecoms companies planning a price hike next year and the recent One-Touch Switch launch simplifying switching broadband, ISPs with unhappy customers must stay sharp to avoid losing them.

While Sky had the fewest complaints, it was closely followed by Plusnet, which had six complaints per 100,000. BT and TalkTalk were in joint third place with 10 complaints per 100,000.