TalkTalk leads Ofcom's list of most complained about telcos

Ofcom has released its latest report on the volume of complaints it receives regarding the major providers of telecoms and pay TV services.

According to the report, which covers Q4 2013, TalkTalk is the most complained about landline provider a position it has held since 2011 followed by BT, which has consistently been second or joint-second since Q3 2012, Sky and Virgin.

However, while TalkTalk holds the dubious honour of coming out on top, the proportion of complaints has decreased year-on-year, dropping from 0.84/1,000 customers in Q4 2011 to 0.27/1,000 in Q4 2013.

The industry average has also been steadily dropping, standing at 0.16 in the most recent report, compared to 0.19 in Q3 2013 and 0.3 back in 2011.

When it comes to fixed broadband, Virgin and Sky continue to perform well, remaining below the industry average in this area.

BT comes off worst, with 0.32 complaints per 1,000 customers, followed closely by EE at 0.29 with TalkTalk coming in third place with 0.21. The industry average is 0.17.

The two companies that make up EE, Orange and T-Mobile, were ranked worst in terms of the number of complaints regarding pay-monthly mobile phone providers at 0.12/1,000 customers and 0.11/1,000 customers, respectively.

O2 is the best performing, at 0.029 complaints per 1,000 customers, followed by Three at 0.033/1,000 customers. This is a significant drop for Three, from 0.06/1,000 in Q3.

Claudio Pollack, director of Ofcom's consumer group, said: "This report acts as a significant incentive to providers to work to address issues driving complaints and deliver an improved quality of service to their customers.

"We're committed to giving consumers valuable information to help them choose a provider that best suits their needs. Consumer complaints also help us to identify where enforcement action is needed and ensure that providers comply with our rules."