People are unhappy with the service they receive from the major broadband suppliers, a report from price comparison service uSwitch has found.
Although bills are 5% cheaper and speeds 18% faster than 12 months ago, the broadband industry is still not getting it right, according to uSwitch. Despite households spending a staggering £2.6bn a year on broadband, 6.3 million consumers (42%) are not satisfied with the service they receive. More than eight million customers (54%) do not believe their provider has them on the best deal for them, uSwitch said.
The survey, based on responses from more than 12,000 broadband customers, found the widest ever gap (26%) in customer satisfaction levels between the best and worst broadband providers. uSwitch said AOL's popularity had plummeted, with more than a third of its customers saying they were unsatisfied.
Steve Weller, communications expert at uSwitch.com, said, "It seems that some of the more established broadband companies are slowing down with age and have lost sight of what customers want - speed and reliability, backed up by efficient customer support should things go wrong."
Broadband Winners
Best overall customer satisfaction - O2
Most likely to be recommended - O2
Best value for money - O2
Best customer service - O2
Best technical support - O2
Best for billing - TalkTalk
Best quality of connection - PlusNet
Best for speed satisfaction - O2
Best 'deal for you' - O2
Best for ease of use - O2
Best for setup support - O2
Broadband Losers
Worst overall customer satisfaction - AOL
Least likely to be recommended - AOL
Least best value for money - BT
Poorest customer service - Orange
Worst technical support - Orange
Most difficult billing - AOL
Worst quality of connection - AOL
Worst for speed satisfaction - AOL
Worst "deal for you" - AOL
Hardest to use - TalkTalk
Most difficult setup support - Orange
Source: uSwitch.com Broadband Satisfaction Awards 2009
