Plusnet and Vodafone top the complaints charts despite having some loyal customers who are full of praise for the beleaguered ISPs. So why are so ISPs turning out to be Marmite among the general population?
It’s official, and the charts are out. Plusnet and Vodafone are both taking home the trophy as being leads ahead of their rivals in terms of complaints.
But is all as it first seems? Apparently not. DPS Computing’s own reasearch shows that most of the firms listed opposite have a torrid time in terms of online reviews.
Comparing the Trustpilot scores for the opposite brands paints a bleak picture:
| Provider | Trust Pilot Score (out of 10) |
| Plusnet | 0.9 |
| Vodafone | 0.8 |
| TalkTalk | 2.2 |
| BT | 0.7 |
| Virgin Media | 0.5 |
| Post Office | 1.2 |
| Sky | 1 |
| EE | 2.1 |
Source: Trustpilot – 29/07/2019
Whilst the complaints picture might paint a clear picture, the state of play out there on the world wide web is far from clearcut. According to that data, we’re most impressed overall with our third-highest complained about company. Overall, it looks like we’re least impressed with Virgin Media, despite Plusnet having racked up a whopping three times as many complaints as their rival.
Overall, however, it’s quite clear that we aren’t best pleased with any of our broadband providers, with the highest rated TalkTalk scoring only a measly 2.2 out of 10 stars on Trustpilot.
Vodafone’s Ultimate Speed Guarantee also appears to have not been able to save them from the wrath of customers despite offering those affecting by less-than-promised speeds a whopping 15% off their bill each and every month until it gets sorted. Compare that to BT’s paltry offer of a one time £20 pre-paid gift card courtesy of their ‘Stay Fast Guarantee’ and you really start to see the differences between the providers.
Whether comparing Trustpilot reviews or the complaints chart released by Ofcom, one thing is clear. We’re a nation that’s having a real-time liking any of our broadband service providers at the moment who should surely be trying desperately to up their game.
However, in a struggling economic environment and Brexit looming large in business minds, will they take the view that such investment and time spent on improving customer service is misplaced, especially given the equally dreadful performance of all their competitors.
Only time will tell. One thing that isn’t necessarily clear from the headline stats is whether we hate our broadband providers for the same reasons or provider-specific reasons. Let us know your broadband experiences in the comments below!