BT takes crown for most complained about broadband provider - Ofcom

Most complained about landline provider is PlusNet (owned by BT)

BT is the most complained about communications provider, according to the latest figures released by Ofcom.

Telecoms watchdog Ofcom fields complaints from consumers and, in its latest figures, BT has achieved the remarkable feat of generating more complaints per 100,000 customers than either TalkTalk or Virgin Media.

BT which owns PlusNet, gets the gong for both worst landline company and worst broadband company. That's the way that the complaint cards have been dealt. Ofcom creates its complaint tables by assessing the number of complaints per thousand customers.

PlusNet dominates the landline market with 24 comments a month per 100,000 punters, while BT, which owns Plusnet, bags the award for the worst broadband provider with 36 complaints for every 100,000. PlusNet is second with 30 complaints. EE (now owned by BT) and the Post Office, are joint second with landline issues and 20 complaints per month, while BT (under its own brand name) is third with 19.

BT appears atop another table, the one for the worst Pay TV provider. Here it gets 19 gripes per month per 100,000 customers, while its closest rival Virgin Media gets 7. In case you were wondering TalkTalk, another provider, gets 6 and Sky gets just one.

Vodafone, and stop us if you are a customer and know this already, is the most complained about mobile provider. It gathers 18 complaints a month. Talk Mobile and Virgin both get 8 a piece and joint-second position, while TalkTalk lurks just below them with 6.

If the numbers seem low, that's because most of us probably don't escalate our complaints to Ofcom. The regulator says that the total volume of broadband and landline complaints have increased, white pay monthly mobile moans have fallen.

"We won't stand for complacency when it comes to customer service. We expect providers to make it a top priority and work hard to better serve their customers," said Lindsey Fussell, director of Ofcom's consumer group. "If companies let their customers down, we will step in and investigate, which can lead to significant fines."