Virgin Media tops list of most-complained about phone and broadband firms to Ofcom

Virgin Media has once again topped the list of the most complained about broadband and phone companies, according to the latest data from Ofcom.

The regulator said Virgin Media received the most amount of complaints across broadband, phone and pay-TV firms between October and December last year, driven by how customer issues were being handled.

Ofcom publishes complaints data every three months to help people compare providers when they look to shop around, as well as push providers into improving their services.

Virgin Media O2 customers complain that their issues are not being resolved

For broadband services, Virgin Media received 20 complaints per 100,000 customers between October and December, an improvement on the 32 per 100,000 recorded in the previous quarter.

It is slightly ahead of the second-highest, Now Broadband which received 18 complaints, but it lags behind the industry average of 12.

Sky came in with the fewest complaints at 5 per 100,000 customers, while Plusnet and EE both received 9.

Complaints handling was the cause of 43 per cent of customer complaints against Virgin Media, compared with an industry average of 32 per cent.

Just 22 per cent of its complaints were about faults, service and provisioning, well below the industry average of 37 per cnet.

Its complaints for landline came in at 13 per 100,000, just ahead of Shell Energy and Now Broadband which had 12 and 10, respectively. It marks a reduction from the previous quarter, which saw 19 complaints per 100,000.

Complaints handling was again the chief gripe among customers, with 43 per cent of complaints compared to an average of 31 per cent.

Sky and EE had the fewest number of complaints, with 2 and 3 respectively.

Virgin Media has come under pressure from the regulator following complaints from customers who said the company made it difficult to cancel its services.

Some customers say they have struggled to get through to an agent while others said they had to make lengthy and repeated requests to cancel.

A spokesman for Virgin Media O2 said: ‘We’re committed to providing an excellent service to our customers, and while overall these complaints represent a very small proportion of our customer base, we acknowledge there is a need for improvement, which is underway, and we’re focused on getting this right.

‘We are investing heavily and making changes across our business to deliver tangible improvements – for example through multi-skilling our teams and rolling out new IT platforms that will make it easier for customers to get support when they need it, and empowering our people to resolve any issues quickly and effectively first time.’

O2 also came top of the list for mobile complaints, receiving 7 complaints per 100,000, compared to the second-highest, Three, with 4 and an industry average of 3.

Virgin Media also received 13 complaints per 100,000 for pay-TV, almost double that of BT, which received seven and Sky and TalkTalk which both received two.

Complaints handling once again remained the biggest grumble among customers for both.

Alex Tofts, broadband expert at Broadband Genie, says: ‘Virgin Media maintains its notorious status as the UK’s most complained-about broadband service, under continued investigation for potential misconduct.

‘Despite a slight improvement in performance compared to the previous quarter, Virgin Media still generates far above the industry average for complaints, alongside NOW, Shell, Vodafone and TalkTalk. This is unacceptable for one of the nation’s largest broadband providers.

‘April’s mid-contract price hikes have intensified scrutiny on broadband providers and has once again raised concerns about the fairness of tying price increases to inflation — a practice we believe needs to be stopped altogether.

‘With each price hike, customers will be questioning why they are paying more despite receiving a sub-par service.’

What to do if you’re unhappy with your phone or broadband deal

If you’ve had a huge increase in the price of your broadband or phone deal, or you’re unhappy with the service you’re receiving, there are some things you can do.

If you’re out of contract, you can switch providers to a better service. Broadband Genie estimates consumers can save up to £162 in the process and you might also be able to take advantage of a new customer deal.

However, you can try to haggle with your existing supplier. If you have come to the end of your contract and threaten to live, they might offer a better deal to convince you to stay.

If you’ve been hit with a price increase that isn’t in your contract then you can leave without paying an exit fee. However, this will not apply to annual increases as these tend to be explained in your initial contract.

‘If you’re stuck in a contract, check the expiry date, mark it on your calendar, and keep communicating with your current provider to resolve any issues,’ says Tofts.