Satisfaction falling among Broadband customers

Broadband customers in the UK are becoming less satisfied with their service, according to a new study by market research firm JD Power.

The study found that customer complaints now outnumber service-related enquiries by 52% to 48%.

Getting a response to a complaint or query is also becoming more difficult, with people having to wait 17 minutes, on average, for technical advice from their broadband provider.

Performance and reliability of broadband services were also found to be worse compared with the figures from last year’s survey. Average satisfaction levels based on a service’s reliability fell 9 points compared with last year.

The survey covered eight leading UK broadband providers - Tiscali, Virgin Media, Sky, AOL, Orange, Pipex, Talk Talk and BT. Their performance was compared in seven key areas, including performance, reliability, customer service and technical support.

Tiscali came top overall, with 668 points out of a possible 1,000, while BT was placed last with 626 points.

However, the survey found that speed is improving, with the average connection increasing from 3.5Mbps last year to 4.8Mbps.