Biggest broadband firms ‘still failing’

SOME of the largest broadband firms are failing customers with poor service and high bills, a report has found.

Companies such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Vodafone, dominate the market, but research by consumer experts at Which? suggests they are falling short.

In its customer satisfaction survey, TalkTalk and Sky were ranked joint tenth, BT ninth, and Vodafone and Virgin Media joint seventh.

By contrast, top of the league was Zen Internet – ahead of Utility Warehouse and Plusnet, which is owned by BT but does much better than its parent company.

A Which? spokesman said: ‘ BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media supply almost nine in ten broadband customers, yet year after year these are the providers that occupy the bottom of the consumer champion’s league table.’

Most people get their broadband via old BT copper wire telephone lines, which produce speeds that are woefully slow and can be particularly bad for those a long way from a telephone exchange. Consequently, providers can distinguish themselves by offering a good level of customer service. Both TalkTalk and Sky earned a customer score of only 50 per cent. BT scored 51 per cent and Virgin Media, which has a mainly cable and fibre network, 58 per cent.

Meanwhile, some of the major broadband firms have pushed up charges ahead of inflation to fund their live sports contracts.

Natalie Hitchins from Which? said: ‘It’s outrageous that the biggest providers are still letting their customers down with shoddy broadband.’ TalkTalk said: ‘While these results are disappointing, we are already seeing more customers than ever staying with us as we continue rolling out major service improvements.’

Virgin Media said: ‘We are committed to delivering a first-class service.’