Vodafone downplays deteriorating customer service data

Ofcom’s latest customer complaints data reveals Vodafone’s rehabilitation hit a bump in Q4 2016, but the operator insists things are still on track.

In Q3 2016 the Ofcom numbers indicated Vodafone was close to restoring its customer complaints to the level they were before the great billing balls-up of 2015. They were still well above the industry average, but definitely heading in the right direction.

Vodafone must be dismayed, therefore, by the latest Ofcom numbers, which show a sharp uptick in the level of complaints received about the operator in the final quarter of the year. We’re not aware of any fresh reports of BSS BS so this could just be an anomaly, or perhaps a product of negative publicity resulting from the Ofcom fine announced last October.

Vodafone certainly seems keen to gloss over it, with a spokesperson offering Telecoms.com the following statement: “The Ofcom report highlights that the number of complaints about Vodafone fell during 2016. Our own statistics show a 50% reduction in customer complaints. That positive momentum has continued into this year. We expect it to improve further as our 2,100 new UK based customer service roles come on line and as we continue our £2 billion investment programme to further strengthen our UK network and services.

“Our ambition is to give our customers the best service experience possible to match our great network. We know we are not there yet, but we are committed to ensuring our customers see a tangible improvement this year.”

You can see the latest Ofcom chart for mobile complaints below. There wasn’t much of note on the landline/broadband side of things, but BT continues to attract pay TV complaints at around 3-5 times the level of the industry average, as you can see in the second chart.