Over fifty percent of UK broadband users experience connection issues
In a recent survey conducted by consumer organization Which?, it was revealed that an alarming 44% of broadband customers have faced customer service problems. These issues range from slow speeds to outages and connection dropouts.
Rocio Concha, the director of policy and advocacy at Which?, expressed her concern, stating that it is unacceptable for customers to face both price increases and connection problems. This sentiment is echoed as many UK mobile and telecoms companies have been accused of "greedflation" for pushing through mid-contract price increases of up to 17.3%.
These price hikes have been a significant concern for customers, particularly those who are trapped in contracts where they either have to accept above-inflation price hikes each spring or pay exorbitant exit fees to leave their contracts early.
The government is also taking notice of the issue, considering promoting a larger range of cheaper social tariffs for the most vulnerable and financially strapped customers. Last week, the government met with Ofcom to discuss potential actions to ease financial pressure on consumers during the cost of living crisis, including promoting cheaper social tariffs for vulnerable customers.
In May, Ofcom's annual customer service report found areas for improvement in call waiting times, getting through to the right person quickly, and dealing with a complaint first time. The investigation launched by Ofcom in February is focused on the widespread industry practice of using mechanisms to annually increase customer bills by inflation, usually measured by either the consumer prices index or the retail prices index.
The problems are not exclusive to the top providers. Even smaller operators such as Hyperoptic, Shell Energy, and Utility Warehouse, which generally performed better, still had at least 40% of their customers reporting at least one problem.
Interestingly, Ofcom's review of inflation-linked mid-contract hikes is expected to result in changes to prevent customers from being trapped in such situations in the future. The top three largest telecommunications providers in the United Kingdom with the worst broadband connection issues according to Which? are not explicitly named in the provided search results. However, Sky, Virgin Media, and EE were found to be the worst offenders among the UK's biggest providers, with 68%, 65%, and 63% of their respective customers reporting connection problems.
BT fared the best among the UK's biggest telecoms providers, with 51% of its customers reporting broadband performance problems. It is more important than ever that providers offer a reliable connection and good customer service, according to Concha.
As of January 2023, more than half (53%) of UK broadband customers have experienced problems with their connections. This underscores the urgent need for action to improve customer service and address the issue of price hikes in the telecommunications industry.
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