Virgin Media still has a big problem as best and worst UK broadband revealed

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The latest broadband stats are in and there are some very clear winners and losers when it comes to customer complaints. These latest findings have just been published by telecoms regulator Ofcom and it’s not great news for anyone who subscribes to Virgin Media or TalkTalk. The two firms have come bottom of the pile with some of the most complaints in the industry for broadband, landline and Pay TV.

This isn’t the first time Virgin Media has performed badly in these vital league tables with Ofcom raising concerns with the provider about its customer service in the previous quarter.

Ofcom says Virgin is improving with complaints about its service dropping in volume but it’s still the most complained-about pay-TV provider and mobile network plus it came in the bottom three for both its broadband and landline services.

At the other end of the scale is EE with the firm coming top for broadband, mobile and landline services.

This makes it one of the least complained about providers with Sky also performing well in a number of categories.

One final provider who will be pleased with the latest results is Tesco Mobile who came joint first for least complaints with its network.

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Here’s how everyone compared in the latest Ofcom stats

BROADBAND WINNERS
Complaints per 100,000
EE • 4
Sky • 5
BT • 10
BROADBAND LOSERS
Complaints per 100,000
Vodafone • 14
Shell • 13
Plusnet • 15
Virgin Media • 17
TalkTalk • 19

LANDLINE WINNERS
Complaints per 100,000
EE • 2
Sky • 3
BT • 6
Vodafone • 7
LANDLINE LOSERS
Complaints per 100,000
Plusnet • 8
Virgin Media • 10
Shell • 10
TalkTalk • 13

MOBILE WINNERS
Complaints per 100,000
Tesco • 1
Sky • 1
BT Mobile • 1
EE • 1
O2 • 2
MOBILE LOSERS
Complaints per 100,000
ID Mobile • 2
Vodafone • 3
Three • 3
Virgin Mobile • 4

PAY TV WINNERS
Complaints per 100,000
Sky • 1
PAY TV LOSERS
Complaints per 100,000
TalkTalk • 5
BT • 6
Virgin Media • 9

Speaking about the latest stats, Fergal Farragher, Ofcom’s Consumer Protection Director, said: “It’s encouraging to see complaints figures falling across the board to pre-pandemic levels, but providers cannot be complacent about their customer service.

“Those with a consistently high number of complaints still have a lot of work to do to ensure they meet the expectations of their customers.”

If you are having issues with your provider then Ofcom recommends that you first raise a complaint with them directly.

If they are unhappy with the outcome, people can take the complaint to an independent ombudsman, who will look at the case and make a judgment on it.

BT Broadband Full Fibre 100 (150Mbps)

For a limited time, BT has slashed the price of its fastest fibre broadband packages in half for the first three months of your contract! After that, your monthly bills will rise to £34.99 a month. But with download speeds of 150Mbps, this super-speedy package means you’ll rarely see any buffering when streaming a boxset, making a video call, and more!

Contract Length: 24 months | Upfront cost: £9.99

View Deal Broadband only – no landline

Vodafone Superfast 2 (65.5 – 73.5 Mbps)

If your broadband is out of contract, Vodafone’s new “Switch and Save” deal estimates that you can save as much as £300 by switching to one of its newly discounted plans. With average download speeds between 65-73.5Mbps, this isn’t the fastest connection on the list, but it’s a great price. If you have a SIM plan with Vodafone, you’ll benefit from a free tablet too

Contract Length: 24 months | Upfront cost: FREE

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NOW TV Super Fibre (63Mbps)

NOW is currently offering its fast Super Fibre broadband package for just £22 a month, which includes unlimited downloads at speeds of over 60Mbps. It also bundles free calls to landline numbers, and there are exclusive discounts available if you add a NOW TV pass to unlock access to Sky’s exclusive channels, movies, and live sporting fixtures too. At 12-months, this is one of the shorter contract lengths – perfect for those who want to keep switching to always get the best deal

Contract Length: 12 months | Upfront cost: £5

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Shell Energy Superfast Fibre Plus (67Mbps)

While you might not associate Shell Energy with broadband, the company offers decent download speeds at competitive prices. And since it runs on BT’s Openreach network, you’re likely to already have the right infrastructure in your street. Right now, Shell has slashed the cost of its Fibre Plus package from £35.99 a month down to £21.99 for the duration of your contract. Bargain!

Contract Length: 18 months | Upfront cost: FREE

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TalkTalk Fibre 65 (67Mbps) BLACK FRIDAY DEAL

TalkTalk is offering its fibre broadband at a discounted price, with customers now able to access to the web from just £23 a month. You will need to pay a one-off £4.95 charge for the postage of the new Wi-Fi router, but that’s it. TalkTalk says to expect up to 67Mbps download speeds, which is about average – and more than enough for smaller households

Contract Length: 18 months | Upfront cost: £4.95

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Plusnet Unlimited Fibre Extra (66Mbps) + FREE £60 Gift Card

Plusnet has dropped its £10 activation fee on this plan – and added a £60 Gift Card to its popular Fibre Extra plan for Black Friday. In terms of the broadband bundle, you’ll get acceptable 66Mbps speeds and unlimited usage. The 18-month minimum contract isn’t the shortest on this list, but it won’t tie you in as long as some providers, like BT

Contract Length: 18 months | Upfront cost: FREE

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John Lewis Broadband (36Mbps) + FREE £50 Voucher

For a limited time, John Lewis is handing out a £50 voucher to spend in its stores or Waitrose when you sign-up to its fibre broadband plan. Coupled with the free evening and weekend calls to a landline, the unlimited usage, and the short 12-month minimum contract length – this is a superb deal

Contract Length: 12 months | Upfront cost: FREE

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Virgin Media M100 Broadband (108Mbps) BLACK FRIDAY DEAL

For Black Friday this year, Virgin Media has slashed the price of its M100 broadband down to £25 a month. Usually priced at £44 a month, this incredible deal offers speedy downloads at 108Mbps. You don’t need to worry about a landline phone either as this is a broadband-only contract.

Contract Length: 18 months | Upfront cost: £35

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GigaClear (300Mbps)

While GigaClear might not have the brand recognition of some of the other brands in this list, it more than makes up for that with some phenomenal deals. Right now, you can get 300Mbps download speeds – almost 4 times faster than the UK average speed – for less than £25 a month. You’ll also get unlimited downloads and free installation

Contract Length: 18 months | Upfront cost: FREE

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Sky Broadband Superfast (59Mbps) BLACK FRIDAY DEAL

With a guaranteed download speed of 50Mbps, this package has more than enough bandwidth to stream Netflix and Disney+ in Ultra HD without issue. Downloads are all unlimited too, so no worries about any hidden charges. No one-off charges to get set up either!

Contract Length: 18 months | Upfront cost: £19.95

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Origin Broadband (67Mbps)

Origin promises no-nonsense broadband, with customers guaranteed no chance of mid-contract price rises, unlimited downloads and no speed throttling – even at peak times. The contract lasts 18-months, which is a little shorter than you’ll get from BT and Sky too – perfect for those who want to shop around as soon as possible!

Contract Length: 18 months | Upfront cost: FREE

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Hyperoptic Hyperfast (1Gbps)

Hyperoptic is one of the new kids on the block. Unfortunately, that means it’s not available quite as widely as BT, Sky or Virgin Media, but if you’re lucky enough to have its gigabit-cable cables in your street – there are some amazing deals to be had. For example, you can secure 1Gbps download speeds (more than 14x faster than the UK average broadband speed!) for just £35 a month. BT and Virgin Media charge around £60 for those eye-watering speeds!

Contract Length: 24 months | Upfront cost: FREE

View Deal

TalkTalk Future Fibre 500 (506Mbps)

Unfortunately, this super-speedy bundle isn’t available nationwide, but if the cables in your street have been upgraded to support these lightning-fast downloads – it’s a brilliant deal. TalkTalk doesn’t ship its own Wi-Fi router to customers who opt for this package, instead, it provides an Eero 6 Pro, which costs £229 when bought from Amazon

Contract Length: 18 months | Upfront cost: FREE

View Deal

Community Fibre 1 Gig Fibre (1,000Mbps)

If you’re looking for the ultimate broadband speed at home, this bundle from Community Fibre is sure to blow your hair back. Unfortunately, Community Fibre doesn’t quite have the reach of BT and Virgin Media, but if you live in an area served by its network, it offers next-generation speeds for significantly less than those more established rivals

Contract Length: 24 months | Upfront cost: FREE

View Deal

Virgin Media Gig1 + Phone (1,130Mbps)

Almost 14 million Virgin Media customers nationwide can access the company’s fastest broadband speeds – more than 1,000Mbps. That’s fast enough to download a two-hour blockbuster film in crisp HD from Netflix in under 100 seconds. Woah. Unfortunately, those speeds come at a cost – but will be essential for busy households or home-workers who are always in video calls!

Contract Length: 18 months | Upfront cost: £35


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