TalkTalk bottom for broadband customer service

'Free' broadband providers TalkTalk and Orange have the worst customer service and support, according to an annual survey of almost 15,000 fat pipe users.

But customer service satisfaction also fell generally across the top 10 broadband providers by nine per cent in the last year, despite broadband prices falling by an average of 17 per cent and the advent of 'free' broadband bundles, the survey by uSwitch.com found.

Fewer than half of TalkTalk and Orange's broadband customers - 42 per cent and 46 per cent respectively - said they were happy with the customer service they got from their provider, while NTL and Tiscali weren't far behind with just over 50 per cent.

Just last week TalkTalk announced a deal to overhaul its current customer service operations in a deal with CRM vendor NetSuite.

Carphone Warehouse launched its 8Mbps broadband and free phone call TalkTalk bundle earlier this year but admitted recently that unexpected high demand for its broadband offer had meant poor service for thousands of people who had signed up.

Telewest retained top spot and scored highest on customer service with 72 per cent, followed by AOL and Virgin.net.

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On overall customer satisfaction - a combination of customer service and value for money - Virgin.net came top with 85 per cent of its customers happy, while Orange and TalkTalk came joint bottom with 70 per cent.

Steve Weller, head of communication services at uSwitch.com, said that with broadband pricing unlikely to fall much further providers will have to improve customer service if they are to recruit and retain customers.

He said: "Broadband providers have always differentiated themselves on price. Over the next 12 months we will see more on customer satisfaction. The service providers are going to have to offer great customer service. People are really pissed off about paying 50p a minute for technical support."

Weller also warned the move to bundled triple- and quad-play packages will also potentially make it more difficult for customers to switch suppliers.

He said: "It's going to be an interesting year as people move to these bundles. How do you make one seamless transfer from one bundle to another? That is something Ofcom needs to look at."

No one at either Orange or TalkTalk was available for comment at the time of publication.