Shell, BT, Virgin most complained about to broadcast watchdog

Shell PLC, BT Group PLC and Virgin Media O2 are among the most complained-about broadband, mobile and television providers, according to regulator Ofcom.

Shell’s 1.4mln-strong customer broadband wing, Shell Energy, faced the most complaints over broadband and landline coverage of any UK provider between October and December, Ofcom said on Thursday.

For each 100,000 customers, an average of 27 complained about Shell broadband and 25 about landline coverage, mainly due to faults, compared to the industry average of just 11 and 6 for each.

Vodafone, TalkTalk and Virgin Media were the next three with the most complaints for their broadband and landline, all again above the industry average.

BT had the most complaints about its mobile service, with four in 100,000 customers getting in touch with Ofcom, compared to an average of just two.

Virgin Media, which was also the most issue-struck paid-TV provider and was accused of overcharging customers just last week, faced more complaints than average over its mobile coverage, alongside O2.

The main reason customers complained about Virgin Media was due to complaints handling, the regulator said.

Ofcom also received complaints from customers struggling to change providers and from some facing issues over billings, with Sky customers the least vocal overall in each category.

Share in Vodafone, which has suffered outages in recent weeks, were down 1.4% on Thursday, , while Shell slipped 1.6%.

BT shares climbed 1.2% meanwhile, with the report finding complaints over its market share-leading broadband and landline wings hovered around the industry averages. Proactive Investors