Home phone News

Are you with the most complained about landline provider?

Tuesday 20 December, 2011

By Kelvin Goodson

TalkTalk is once again the most moaned about home phone company, but it’s getting better, according to Ofcom.

TalkTalk received more complaints about its landline service than any other major home phone provider in the three months up to September, Ofcom has said.

The communications regulator found that TalkTalk received 0.77 complaints per 1,000 customers between July and September, mostly regarding billing and customer service issues.

In comparison, Virgin Media, the least complained about provider over the three months for the fourth year in a row, received 0.19 complaints per 1,000 customers.

Despite coming top of the flops in the previous two quarters, TalkTalk’s performance as a home phone provider is actually improving - between October 2010 and February 2011 it received 1.78 complaints per 1,000 customers, and between April and June this year it received 0.8 complaints per 1,000 customers.

TalkTalk said: “It’s encouraging that complaints continue to come down. They account for 0.07% of our landline customer base and, in November, Ofcom reported that ‘there has been improvement in many areas of TalkTalk’s customer service since February 2011’.”

The company added that its own data also displays “ongoing improvement,” with a 40% year-on-year reduction in customer service calls and 75% of those calls now being resolved at the first time of asking.

TalkTalk has in the past attributed its poor customer service record to moving to a new billing system and switching Tiscali customers to its network after it bought out the Italian telecoms company in 2009.

In comparison, Virgin Media saw its fine complaints record wobble slightly between July and September, as the company received just 0.15 complaints per 1,000 customers between April and June this year.

A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We’re working hard to deliver the best services around and are pleased to see Ofcom’s results, but we want to deliver a fantastic customer experience every time and continue to invest in our network, content, products and services.”