Ofcom’s latest quarterly report into the customer service provided by landline, broadband, mobile phone and pay TV companies shows a dramatic change in the mobile sector. Unlike the Ofcom report that monitors complaints made to the regulator, this survey records any contact made between a customer and their chosen telecoms supplier.
Overall, thousands of consumers who’d contacted their provider between July and September 2012 were asked to rate the customer service they’d received. 67% of mobile phone users were satisfied with their network’s customer service, compared with 62% of fixed broadband users, 64% of landline customers and 69% of pay TV subscribers.
However, dissatisfaction levels amongst mobile users have increased since Ofcom’s first survey in 2009: three years ago 9% of mobile customers were dissatisfied with the standard of customer service, this year the figure was 14%.
The main reason mobile customers contacted their service provider was to discuss changes to their account, with poor coverage being the next most-common issue. O2 was rated highest for overall customer service satisfaction while Three UK saw its customer service rating rise by seven percentage points from last year, putting it ahead of Orange, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone. Ofcom notes that Three “no longer stands out as having a higher level of complaints or faults, nor for requiring more contacts to resolve issues”.
Overall satisfaction with customer service by mobile provider
| |
Satisfaction |
Neutral |
Dissatisfaction |
| O2 |
76% |
15% |
8% |
| Three |
67% |
18% |
14% |
| T-Mobile |
67% |
18% |
15% |
| Orange |
65% |
21% |
14% |
| Virgin Mobile |
64% |
18% |
17% |
| Vodafone |
61% |
21% |
18% |
| Average |
67% |
19% |
14% |
Scores may total more than 100% due to rounding.
[Full report (pdf)]