uSwitch Broadband Survey March 2008

 

PlusNet Best, Orange Worst

 

The uSwitch survey ranked Orange as the worst broadband provider, claiming half a million customers - over a third - are not satisfied with its overall service.

 

PlusNet has been named as the UK's best broadband provider with over 86 per cent of customers satisfied, while Orange has won the wooden spoon for worst provider.

Overall one in two customers unhappy with the customer service they receive.

Research by uSwitch.com shows BT was rated worst for value for money – for the second year running – with its service 50 per cent dearer than the cheapest broadband deal available over the length of a fixed contract.

PlusNet – bought by BT in 2006 but run independently – won nine of the 11 categories including best customer Service, best technical support and best quality of connection.

Second place overall was taken by Sky, moving ahead of Virgin Media.

Steve Weller, communications expert at uSwitch, said: “Once again PlusNet is putting its larger competitors to shame – it’s definitely a case of ‘small but perfectly formed’.

"The rest of the pack needs to seriously up their game. Issues can no longer be put down to ‘teething problems’ – broadband has been up and running for seven years so any flaws should have been well and truly ironed out by now."

PlusNet scored well for its technical support, competitive pricing and 24 hour UK customer service centre, something many others are still failing to do, with seven of the nine providers failing to satisfy more than half of their customers.

Mr Weller added: "Last year consumers spent £31 million on phone calls trying to fix problems with their broadband, and over £11 million of this was wasted on hold waiting to speak to someone.

"It’s still unacceptable that, when it comes to technical support, just two providers are managing to satisfy more than half of their customers."

 

The survey ranked Orange as the worst broadband provider, claiming half a million customers - over a third - are not satisfied with its overall service.

 

Scroll down to see the winners and losers of uSwitch.com's broadband awards...

 

 

 

The winners and losers of uSwitch.com's broadband awards:

 

Category

Winner

Loser

Best overall customer satisfaction

PlusNet

Orange

Most likely to be recommended

PlusNet

Orange

Best value for money

PlusNet / Sky

BT

Best customer service

PlusNet

Orange

Best technical support

PlusNet

Orange

Best for billing

Talk Talk

AOL

Best quality of connection

PlusNet

Talk Talk

Best for speed satisfaction

PlusNet

Talk Talk

Best 'Deal for You'

Sky

Orange

Best for ease of use

PlusNet

Talk Talk

Best for set-up support

PlusNet

Talk Talk / Orange

     

 

 

Click here to compare 140 broadband packages on OrangeProblems.co.uk

 

 

 

 

Internet Service Provider

Customer
Satisfaction
(%)

Value for
Money
(%)

Technical
Support
(%)

1. PlusNet

86

83

67

2. Sky

81

83

48

3. Tiscali

74

73

44

4. Virgin Media

74

66

49

5. AOL

73

64

59

6. BT

72

58

49

7. Talk Talk

72

83

48

8. Pipex

68

61

42

9. Orange

65

61

40

 

Figures quoted refer to customers who were satisfied in each respect.

Source: uSwitch.com

 

 

  • Broadband deals from BT
  • Broadband deals from PlusNet
  • Broadband deals from O2 (now Sky Broadband)
  • Broadband deals from Be Broadband
  • Broadband deals from Sky
  • Broadband deals from Three
  • Broadband deals from Vodafone
  • Broadband deals from Virgin