Ofcom research compares how the UK’s broadband, mobile and landline customers rate their providers for customer service – including call waiting times, complaint handling and overall satisfaction.
The media regulator says that it has “seen signs” that companies have improved the way they deal with complaints.
Customer satisfaction with complaints handling for mobile (61 per cent), broadband (58 per cent) and landline (60 per cent) were all significantly higher in 2024 compared to 2022, when satisfaction levels were just above 50 per cent for all three services. While these are positive steps, Ofcom says providers must continue to improve.
Despite increased overall satisfaction, the proportions of mobile and broadband customers who said they had a reason to complain were higher last year than in 2022 – at 14 per cent (compared to 12 per cent) and 23 per cent (compared to 20 per cent) respectively.
How the companies compare
Looking at mobile, smaller providers – those outside of the four major network operators, EE, O2, Three and Vodafone – included in the report scored highly in some areas, as well as for overall satisfaction.
Tesco Mobile and giffgaff customers had higher than average overall satisfaction scores (both 94 per cent), while O2 and Vodafone customers were below average (85 per cent and 84 per cent respectively).
Tesco Mobile scored higher-than-average satisfaction with complaints handling (68 per cent), while Three was lower than average (51%). Lebara, Tesco Mobile and giffgaff customers were also more likely than average to recommend their provider to a friend.
Across all providers, the average number of complaints made to Ofcom reduced in 2024. O2 generated the most complaints per 100,000 mobile customers (23), while Tesco Mobile generated the fewest (4).
Turning to broadband, Plusnet customers had a higher-than-average overall satisfaction score (91 per cent), while for TalkTalk customers, overall satisfaction was lower than the average (77 per cent).
EE ranked higher than average satisfaction with complaints handling (66 per cent), along with Plusnet (65 per cent) and Sky (63 per cent), while TalkTalk (54 per cent) and Virgin Media (53 per cent) scored lower than average. In general, over eight in 10 (83 per cent) broadband customers were satisfied with the speed of their service, this is line with the level of satisfaction in 2022, and nearly three quarters (73%) of standalone broadband customers were happy with the value for money of their package, an increase from 62 per cent in 2022.
NOW Broadband generated the most broadband complaints to Ofcom per 100,000 customers (65), while Sky generated the fewest (21).
Finally, for landline, Plusnet customers had a higher-than-average overall satisfaction score (83 per cent), and Virgin Media customers had a lower-than-average score (67 per cent). Vodafone (67 per cent) and Sky (65 per cent) scored higher-than-average satisfaction with complaints handling.
On hold: call waiting times revealed
The average time it takes to get through to a customer service agent for mobile customers fell to 1 minute 52 seconds, down from 2 minutes 24 seconds in 2023. Six of the nine mobile providers included in the report reduced their average call waiting times during the year.
The industry average call waiting time for broadband and landline providers increased to 2min 1s in 2024, up 13 seconds from the 1min 48s average in 2023. However, five of the nine broadband and landline providers included in the report reduced their average waiting times.
Getting new services up and running
Across broadband and landline installations, orders took an average of 11 days to complete, an increase of one day from 2023. And only three quarters (73 per cent) of all broadband and landline orders were delivered by the date agreed in 2024, down from eight in ten (80 per cent) in 2023.
Vodafone completed the lowest proportion of orders by the date agreed, at 60 per cent, while BT and EE each completed 69 per cent of orders by the date agreed in 2024. In comparison Sky, TalkTalk and NOW Broadband all completed more than 90 per cent of orders on time.
Compensation when things go wrong
Under Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme, broadband and landline customers of companies who have signed up the scheme are entitled to compensation for missed engineer appointments, delayed start dates for new services and lengthy outages.
In total, providers paid out over £63 million to customers under the scheme in 2024, down from £67 million in 2023. This decrease indicates fewer things are going wrong for customers.
Ian Macrae, Ofcom’s Director of Market Intelligence, said: “It’s encouraging to see industry rally to our call to improve things for their customers. Call waiting times have come down for many providers and satisfaction with complaint handling is on the up. And we’re seeing competition in action, with smaller players challenging some of the bigger, well-established providers. But there’s further to go. Not all companies have made the same progress and it’s still taking the industry too long to fix things when they go wrong. Our rules have made it easier than ever to switch provider, so if companies don’t act they may find customers voting with their feet.”
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