Which broadband provider has the best customer service?
When choosing a new broadband provider, the first things youll probably look at are price, speed and contract length. But one factor thats often hard to gauge in advance is customer service. If there is a problem with your broadband connection, or you have a query about your bill, good customer service will mean that your concerns are addressed quickly and efficiently, which makes your overall experience with your provider much better. We've got a few quick fixes that may help you if youre experiencing internet connection problems, but if you're sure you cant fix the problem yourself, its time to get in touch with your providers customer service team. Customer service includes any point of contact you have with your internet service provider, and it falls on them to help answer your concerns as effectively as possible. A big part of that is having knowledgeable customer care staff that can answer your questions quickly and in detail. Another is that you should be able to contact them quickly and on your own terms, whether it's by phone, email or live chat. Ultimately, the best broadband service is one you can trust and feel comfortable using. If you're able to contact your broadband provider when needed and discuss any concerns or queries, youre more likely to feel valued as a customer. If theyre hidden or hard to find then the whole process of contacting your provider will take longer and be more stressful than it should. See our guide on how to contact your broadband provider to find the quickest ways you can get in touch with the right customer service team. Call wait times  Telephone is still the most popular way of contacting broadband companies (85% of customer contacts are via telephone, according to Ofcom). Having to wait an hour on hold just to speak to someone about your latest bill would hardly qualify as good customer service. If you still prefer to use your landline, you can see deals from some of the best broadband and phone providers on Uswitch.com. This can sometimes be easier with smaller broadband providers. Politeness of customer service staff  This is an obvious one. For example, if an engineer visit needs to be arranged, the customer service representative should be able to arrange that directly, without keeping you on hold for a long time or asking you to call another department. If you're unhappy with your providers customer service, why not see if you could get a better broadband deal elsewhere. Our latest broadband deals  Ofcom broadband complaints report  Ofcom, the telecoms industry regulator, releases a quarterly report highlighting the broadband providers that received the most (and fewest) complaints per 100,000 customers. This is one of the best measures of the most reliable broadband providers in the UK. It names and shames providers that received the most complaints over the previous few months and highlights those with the most customer satisfaction that had the fewest customer complaints, too. While the number of complaints per provider changes with each report, there are often similar trends in the top causes for those complaints. Most recently, the majority of customer complaints were for faults, service and provisioning issues, complaints handling and issues relating to billing, pricing and charges. Broadband complaints report, April 2021  The most recent Ofcom complaints report looked at complaints received during the second UK lockdown, from October-December 2020. While schools and universities remained open in this period, the majority of the UK went back to working from home in November and became almost entirely dependent on their broadband for their entertainment and socialising. While the overall number of complaints that Ofcom received remained the same, the number of complaints about fixed broadband services increased. The main cause for complaint about broadband was faults, service and provisioning issues, and this quarter the biggest offender was Vodafone. You can see more details about the latest Ofcom complaints data here. If youre unhappy with your broadband providers customer service and want to shop around for better deals, try the Uswitch Postcode Checker to see the speeds you have available directly to your home. Our latest broadband deals