Communication problems with telecom providers
I have said for many years that the communications sector is the worst for communication!
Today (26/01/23) Ofcom has published the latest figures for complaints it received about the UK’s major home phone, mobile, broadband and pay TV providers between July and September 2022.
The report says that “Overall, complaint volumes during this quarter were broadly in line with the previous three months.”
This is very similar to the last quarter and the quarter before that. It’s all very well Ofcom calling on providers to prioritise customer service improvements and ‘deliver what customers expect and deserve’ but Ofcom has been saying the same thing for years! What is Ofcom doing to make that happen?!
Fergal Farragher, Ofcom’s Consumer Protection Director, said of the report: “Overall complaint levels have been consistently low in recent months, but some providers need to raise their game to match the customer service standards offered by their rivals.”
Does this sound familiar? It should do.
On 30 April 2019 Ian Macrae, Ofcom’s Director of Market Intelligence, said “We absolutely think that the firms need to up their games in the way they handle complaints.”
On 18 May 2022 he said: “As we emerge from the pandemic, some companies need to up their game when it comes to resolving problems”
Ofcom has been telling companies to up their game for the last three years.
The last time Ofcom fined a telecom company was just in December 2022 in respect of Sepura £1.5m for breaking competition law. But before that O2 was fined £10.5 million in February 2021 for overcharging customers.
However, the last time it fined a company in relation to complaint handling was EE, more than SEVEN years ago, for £1m in July 2015 for complaint handling failures.
OFCOM says that it “does not investigate individual complaints, it records complaints by service and by provider and use the data to inform policy, enforcement and monitoring work.” I recommend consumers to log their complaints with OFCOM here
Perhaps OFCOM will see more of a pattern and fine more often if a larger number of us report the companies.
Let’s see much more action from Ofcom in relation to holding companies to account and fining them heavily. If Ofcom started to take more decisive action then other companies would be shaken into properly ‘upping their game’ ”.
Choosing a telecom provider
Whilst it would appear that some providers are at last investing in customer service, many clearly are not. If you are not happy with your provider, you should look to switch. Take some time to compare prices but always consider the quality of customer service being provided.
You can read more on this page All you need to know about comparison websites
Vodafone and appalling service for those bereaved
Interview with the Ofcom Consumer Protection Director on my The Complaining Cow Consumer Show for East London Radio
Further help with complaining effectively
Top 20 Tips on how to complain effectively
How to save money on and complain about, telecom providers
And for everything else to complain about effectively GET THE BOOK! How To Complain: The ESSENTIAL Consumer Guide to Getting REFUNDS, Redress and RESULTS!
Want to get better at complaining? See 101 Habits of an Effective Complainer
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