People signing up to the UK's biggest broadband providers could be making a mistake.
That's according to a new study, which asked customers how happy they were with their supplier.
And even though BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media supply almost nine homes in ten with broadband, they all ranked in the bottom half when it cam to satisfaction, consumer association Which? found.
“It’s outrageous that the biggest providers are still letting their customers down with shoddy broadband, especially when we know that longstanding customers are the most likely to be overpaying," said Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services.
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Who came bottom
Last in the league table were TalkTalk and Sky - who tied for last place. When asked, only half their customers were happy with their service.
TalkTalk was criticised for the quality of its customer service and tech support - and didn't even score well for value for money.
Sky was ahead of TalkTalk in most categories, but more than two Sky customers in three (67%) said they were likely to switch broadband provider.
TalkTalk customers were most likely to report very slow speeds (27%) and frequent connection dropouts (21%) in the past 12 months. By contrast, 22% Sky customers also reported very slow connection speeds.
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A TalkTalk spokesman said: "While these results are disappointing, we are already seeing more customers than ever staying with us as we continue rolling out major service improvements."
BT only just snuck in ahead of Sky and TalkTalk - scoring 51%. Customers were particularly unimpressed by the value for money from the telecoms giant.
One in five BT customers said they haf problems with very slow speeds (20%) or connection dropouts (20%).
Virgin Media fared a little better, with a customer score of 58%. However, Virgin customers were by far the most likely to complain about price increases - with more than half (54%) saying it was a problem.
Virgin customers were also most likely to be left without a connection for hours or days at a time (17%), or have had problems with their router (21%).
Virgin Media said: "We continue to invest around £1 billion a year on our network, as well as our products and services such as new in-home Intelligent WiFi features. We are committed to delivering a first-class service to our customers."
The best broadband providers
Not everyone complained about their provider, though.
Zen Internet proved most reliable - winning the satisfaction study for the second year running.
Zen’s Founder Richard Tang said: “We know that customers want a service that’s fast, reliable, and supported by experts that genuinely care.
He added: “Unfortunately, the UK broadband industry is notorious for awful customer service, mid-contract price hikes, and poor value for money."
But then there's a simple solution for that.
Which?'s Hitchins said: “Anyone who is unhappy with their current provider should take back control and switch to a better deal - you could get better service and save hundreds of pounds a year.”
Broadband customers can now walk away for free if the speed is too slow
Best and worst broadband providers ranked
- 1st - Zen Internet
- 2nd - Utility Warehouse
- 3rd - Plusnet
- 4th - John Lewis Broadband
- 5th - SSE
- 6th - Post Office
- 7th (Joint) - Virgin Media
- 7th (Joint) - Vodafone
- 9th - BT
- 10th - (Joint) Sky
- 10th - (Joint) TalkTalk
