Virgin Media tops Ofcom’s list as UK’s most complained about pay TV operator

Virgin Media has claimed the unfortunate title of being the most complained about pay TV operator in the UK, according to Ofcom.

The media regulator has published its Q4 2019 consumer complaints data, and while consumers have had less truck with operators across the board the Liberty Global brand is still the pick of the pack.

According to the data provided by Ofcom, Virgin Media saw an average of nine complaints per 100,000 customers in the quarter in regards to its TV operations. By contrast, Sky TV was the least complained about with only an average of two complaints per 100,000 customers.

TalkTalk was the second most complained about with eight complaints per 100,000 customers – slightly higher than BT which saw an average of seven complaints per 100,000 customers.

On the whole, TV operators were complained about far less in Q4 than in Q3. The figure remained the same for TalkTalk and Sky, but is much better reading for Virgin and BT, which were complained about 14 and 12 times per 100,000 customers respectively in the previous quarter.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t necessarily representative of overall customer satisfaction and only covers complaints that have been directly sent to the regulator itself. It does not factor in complaints made to the ISP, the ISPA or an ADR complaints handler such as Ombudsman Services.

Turning to fixed line broadband complaints, Liberty Global will be pleased that its figures are not so prominent with 14 complaints per 100,000 customers in Q4 (down from 20 complaints per 100,000 customers in Q3.

Vodafone was by far the most moaned about fixed line broadband operator with 27 complaints per 100,000 customers – up from 26 in Q3.

BT saw a drop down to 10 complaints per 100,000 customers from 13 in Q3, while Sky maintained its position at the bottom with five complaints per 100,000 customers.

Unlike in previous quarters, the regulator has not produced its usual report which provides added context, but it is clear that operators seem to be doing less to inspire the ire of their customers.