TalkTalk again tops broadband and landline complaints chart

Much-maligned broadband and home phone provider TalkTalk is still the UK's most complained-about major telecoms firm, according to Ofcom.

The regulator's latest data, covering April to June 2011, charts the performance of companies with a minimum four per cent market share that generated 30 or more complaints per month.

During the three-month period, TalkTalk saw the most complaints per customer in both the broadband and landline sectors.

Some 0.8 complaints were made for every 1,000 TalkTalk home phone subscribers, significantly more than BT and Sky, which ranked in joint second place after generating 0.25 complaints per 1,000 customers.

Virgin Media attracted the least issues from consumers at 0.15 per 1,000 subscribers.

TalkTalk also took the unwanted number one position for fixed-line broadband complaints with 0.58 for every 1,000 customers, with BT, Orange and Sky named in second, third and fourth with scores of 0.43, 0.37 and 0.2 respectively.

A score of 0.15 meant Virgin Media also took the honour of least complained-about major provider in the broadband market.

While the result will no doubt be disappointing for TalkTalk, the company can at least point to an improvement in performance over the previous two quarters.

Since the final three months of 2010, the former Carphone Warehouse subsidiary has reduced its landline and broadband complaints by 0.36 and 0.2 per 1,000 subscribers respectively.

The news comes in what has already been a difficult year for TalkTalk, with the internet service provider recently fined £3 million by Ofcom after incorrectly billings tens of thousands of customers for services they were not receiving.

More than £2.5 million in goodwill gestures and refunds was paid out by the company to appease over 65,000 households affected by the billing problem.

At the time, the regulator said: "Ofcom is able to fine companies which breach telecoms rules of up to ten per cent of their relevant turnover.

"Ofcom considers this to be a serious breach of the rules."