Most complained about operators revealed by Ofcom

Three tops list but says complaints come down to the complex services it provides

Three says it will work to remove itself from the top of an Ofcom list published today, that shows it is the most complained about network in the UK.

The research carried out by Ofcom between October 2010 and February this year revealed Three had a total of 0.15 per cent of complaints per 1000 customers compared.

It was based on complaints received by Ofcom directly from consumers. The regulator said it handled an average of 450 telecoms related complaints per day.

O2 was the least complained about operator with 0.04 complaints per 1000 customers while T-Mobile, Orange and Vodafone had 0.13, 0.10 and 0.09 complaints respectively.

A Three spokesperson said that while the operator accepted the results, the fact that the services it provided centred around “more complexed” offerings such as mobile internet meant the number of complaints it received were always going to be higher.

“While the data suggests most mobile operators generate a similar number of complaints and our smartphone-focus means our customers can and should be more demanding than average, this is one chart we don’t want to stay top of,” the spokesperson said.

“We value the feedback and will act on it as we continue to focus on giving our customers a great smartphone experience.”

O2 chief executive Ronan Dunne praised his staff following the release of the results saying he was “proud” of their “hard work”.

Dunne said: “As the mobile offering grows ever more complex, and as we gain more and more fixed line and broadband customers, we will be working even harder to give our customers a simple service, with transparent pricing, that helps them connect to the people and things they love.”

Ofcom also revealed the same data, over the same time frame for broadband and fixed line providers.

This part of the study showed Talk Talk as the most complained about internet and fixed line provider with 1.78 complaints for its fixed line services and 1.27 complaints per 1000 customers for its broadband.

Virgin Media was the least complained about company for both fixed line and broadband – Ofcom reported as the least, with 0.20 complaints for broadband and 0.21 complaints for its fixed line services.