TalkTalk has been voted the worst landline and broadband provider for the second time, as revealed Thursday by Ofcom. The independent telecommunications regulator ran the survey on customer satisfaction levels and found that 23% were dissatisfied with TalkTalk"s broadband service, and 24% were dissatisfied with their landline offerings.
The firm took over broadband provider Tiscali in 2009, and since then former Tiscali customers have expressed beliefs that service quality has declined. The company previously found itself in trouble for promising free broadband to its phone customers. When the company was unable to keep up with demand, it was forced to withdraw the offer.
Along with quality of service, customer support also came under fire. TalkTalk received below average marks for support on the survey, with many customers frustratingly unable to get through to the right person. Ofcom found the results unsurprising, stating: "This is consistent with a higher than average level of complaints received by Ofcom about TalkTalk compared to other major providers."
The survey has, however, been criticised for only representing a fraction of the UK"s providers. As a rule, only companies with over 4% marketshare were included. Speaking to The Guardian, Broadbandchoices" Michael Phillips said: "It"s a shame that the research excludes the smaller service providers. Our own research earlier this year of over 11,000 respondents has shown that smaller, niche [broadband] providers, such as O2, BE and Plusnet, are streets ahead of some of their larger counterparts."