We all want the best broadband service possible at home, from the speed of our downloads to how reliable our connection is. However, one often overlooked area of internet packages is the customer support offered by our broadband company.
In a perfect world, we’d never need to reach out to customer support in the first place. Unfortunately, households across the country have issues with their connections every day. When that happens, we all want to get back online as quickly and easily as possible.
That’s where the comfort of knowing your broadband supplier has excellent customer service comes in.
Luckily, Ofcom – the UK regulator for telecoms, including the internet – publishes an annual report on the customer service of every major UK broadband supplier. Using this information, we can see which providers offer A+ support and which ones are falling short.
Which broadband companies have the happiest customers?
One metric tracked by Ofcom is the level of customer satisfaction with how their complaints are handled. Three companies scored significantly better than average – EE, Plusnet and Sky. They scored 66%, 65% and 63% respectively for overall customer satisfaction with complaints.
| Company | Customer Satisfaction (%) |
|---|---|
| EE | 66% |
| Plusnet | 65% |
| Sky | 63% |
| TalkTalk | 54% |
| Virgin Media | 53% |
The lowest-scoring companies were TalkTalk and Virgin Media, with 54% and 53% customer satisfaction, respectively.
Which broadband company has the best phone support?
Sometimes, talking with customer support on the phone is the simplest way to get your problem fixed. That’s why the best broadband companies offer reliable on-call support. Ofcom tracks a range of statistics related to phone support.
The shortest wait time was for customers of Vodafone broadband, who waited an average of 25 seconds to get connected to an agent. Joint second place went to Sky and Now Broadband, who kept their customers waiting just 46 seconds. The longest waits were for KCOM customers, who spent more than 7 minutes on average waiting to talk to an agent.
Ofcom also tracks the call abandonment rate, with Sky, Now, and Vodafone all coming out on top at just 2%. At the other end of the scale, 14% of BT support calls were abandoned.
What’s the best broadband supplier based on customer complaints?
Perhaps the clearest measure of customer satisfaction is which suppliers Ofcom receive the fewest complaints about, proportional to their customer numbers.
The least complained-about broadband supplier last year was Sky Broadband. Ofcom received just 21 complaints per 100,000 customers (0.021%). In comparison, the most complained-about supplier was Now Broadband. Ofcom received 65 complaints per 100,000 subscribers from Now customers – three times as many as Sky broadband.
How to complain about your broadband customer service
Have you had a bad experience with your broadband provider’s customer service? You can contact Ofcom to make a complaint, either online here, by phone on 0300 123 3333 or by post to PO Box 1285, Warrington, WA1 9GL – although they recommend reaching out online or by phone.
You should be aware that Ofcom handle complaints regarding the broadband supplier’s customer support, rather than a problem with your internet connection. If you’re having internet issues, you should contact your broadband supplier directly.
