TALK TALK ABOUT BAD BROADBAND
Hacked provider are on ‘worst’ list
THE biggest broadband providers in Britain are failing on basic customer service, speed and reliability, a study found.
TalkTalk, BT, Sky and EE – who collectively have a 72 per cent share of the market – all scored poorly in a broadband customer satisfaction survey by consumer watchdogs Which?
Frequent price hikes, connection drop-outs, unreliable speeds and “woeful” customer service contributed to the low scores, according to Which?
TalkTalk and BT achieved the worst customer scores, with 38 per cent and 45 per cent respectively. Just one in 10 customers described their service as “excellent”.
BT didn’t score more than two stars in any of the categories and TalkTalk only achieved more than two in value for money.
EE and the Post Office each managed 48 per cent, while Sky and Virgin performed marginally better on 49 per cent and 52 per cent.
Which? surveyed 1800 people last November and December about their broadband. Just four providers scored more than three stars for speed – Zen Internet, Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media and Vodafone.
Zen topped the table with a customer score of 86 per cent, followed by Utility Warehouse on 81 per cent.
Alex Neill, managing director of Which? home services, said: “Broadband is essential and people rightly get frustrated with poor service.
“Our results show the big players still have a long way to go to satisfy customers. If you’re unhappy with your broadband, complain and look to switch if your service doesn’t improve.”
Last December, a 17-yearold was given a 12-month youth rehabilitation order and had his smartphone and computer hard drive confiscated after he admitted hacking TalkTalk’s website.
He found a vulnerability in the system and shared details of it online, a hearing at Norwich Youth Court heard.