TalkTalk takes a battering in Ofcom complaints dataTalkTalk takes a battering in Ofcom complaints data

Ofcom's latest telecoms and pay TV complaints figures do not make comfortable reading for TalkTalk, which saw the volume of complaints against it in both the fixed broadband and landline segments increase significantly in the July to September quarter compared with the previous three months.

It fared better in pay TV, in that its complaints were lower than the national average – EE and Virgin Media were the bad guys in this segment – but still flat compared to the previous quarter.

And in a market in which complaints are generally falling, albeit it very slowly, TalkTalk's performance stands out for all the wrong reasons.

However, the telco is doing something about it. We can't say whether or not the timing of its latest customer experience announcement, coming as it did on Monday, was a coincidence. But it is a more convincing statement of intent from TalkTalk than any canned executive comment would have been.

The operator revealed it has signed a multi-year deal with Kraken Tech, an AI-enabled technology platform for customer data that amongst other things is geared towards improving customer satisfaction. Kraken, which was launched by Octopus Energy and currently serves energy companies and water utilities, is taking on TalkTalk as its first telecoms customer.

TalkTalk plans to migrate its 2.3 million customers from its own proprietary platform to Kraken within the next two years, with the first group due to go live later this year.

"At TalkTalk, we are undertaking a significant transformation as part of our ambition to become the most recommended WiFi provider in the UK. An innovative and flexible technology platform that enables us to provide excellent customer service like Kraken is central to our ambition," said TalkTalk CEO Susie Buckridge.

We'll gloss over TalkTalk's decision to refer to itself as a wifi provider.

Presuming the system works, TalkTalk's disgruntled customers should have fewer reasons to escalate complaints to Ofcom going forward, which may have a knock-on effect on its overall data, unless another broadband provider starts to slip.

There are a couple of candidates in the running to take TalkTalk's crown as the most complained about broadband provider. EE racked up 13 complaints per 100,000 subscribers in Q3, leaving it only slightly ahead of TalkTalk's 14, while Now Broadband and Virgin Media clocked up 12 each.

Virgin Media O2 chief executive Lutz Schüler took to blog post to defend his company's performance.

"Complaints data published by the regulator Ofcom over recent months and years, and indeed our own data, has shown that some customers don't always get the fast and efficient support they expect. We know that needs to change and we are on the path to doing that," he said.

Schüler went on to outline a four-point strategy launched by VMO2 last year, which covers: investment in customer service, including appointing additional care agents; simplifying systems and processes; providing additional training to customer care staff; and identifying persistent issues that affect customers.

"There isn't a simple overnight fix. It will take time to get to where we want to be, and there may be bumps on the road, but we're already seeing some real tangible progress," the CEO claimed. He noted that in the past three months 92% of complaints were resolved within 24 hours, and by the end of last year VMO2 reduced the number complaints to Ofcom by 48% compared with the average monthly run rate in 2023, beating its own 40% target.

"In December, complaints relating to Virgin Media were at the lowest levels since 2017, while complaints about O2 hadn't been lower for two years," Schüler said. "We expect these latest improvements to be reflected in future Ofcom statistical releases."

O2, incidentally, was the most complained about mobile operator in Ofcom's list with five complaints per 100,000 customers, making it the only player to exceed the industry average of three. Interestingly, the best performers here were Tesco Mobile and Sky Mobile, with a score of one.

Sky performed well across the board. It had the fewest broadband complaints with five and the second-fewest landline complaints at two, while its pay TV offer was also the least complained about.

"Sky has received the fewest complaints in total to Ofcom across all categories out of all providers," said Devesh Raj, Chief Operating Officer at Sky, a statement that is almost accurate.

"This success is a testament to the outstanding efforts of our teams across all departments, from technology to customer service, enabling us to deliver the best possible Sky experience," he said.

It's not particularly insightful, but clearly Sky is doing something right.