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Operators
April 24, 2019
The operator finishes last for the eighth year running
Vodafone has been rated as the UK’s worst mobile network provider in the UK in the most recent Which? annual mobile customer satisfaction survey.
MVNO Giffgaff was rated the best network in the survey, followed by Utility Warehouse and Plusnet Mobile.
The survey asked 6,135 Which? members in February about their views on the customer service, ease of contacting, value for money and incentives offered by 13 UK operators.
It found that Vodafone had averaged one-star ratings for customer service, value for money and technical support. Its overall average customer score was 51 per cent. EE and O2 came after Vodafone, with average customer scores of 56 per cent and 62 per cent respectively.
According to the survey, one in five customers felt that Vodafone customer service was poor, and one in seven rated the technical support as poor.
The highest ranking member of the Big Four operators was Three, which came eighth overall with an average customer score of 69 per cent.
The survey found that MVNOs tended to be better regarded by their customers than the most well-known operators. Giffgaff’s average customer score was 87 per cent, ahead of Utility Warehouse with 81 per cent and Plusnet Mobile with 80 per cent.
Almost all Giffgaff customers (97 per cent) told Which? they would recommend the network to friends and family, while 95 per cent said it was good or excellent for value for money.
Which? head of home products and services Natalie Hitchins said: “The continuing reign of smaller networks over the big players goes to show exactly how important customer support and value for money are to mobile users.
“If you think you are paying too much or are not getting the level of service you expect from your provider you should shop around for a better deal – you might find you save yourself some money and probably a lot of grief too.”
Compare My Mobile phones expert Rob Baillie added: “The survey really goes to show that shopping around is essential when it comes to mobile networks, as so-called ‘big names’ that you might be more likely to take a contract out with might actually be providing a worse service.”
Responding to the survey, a Vodafone spokesperson said: “We are determined to provide our customers with the best possible mobile service. We continue to invest in our network, our customer service and our products and last month saw our consumer satisfaction score reach its highest ever level. We have also introduced a new loyalty programme for our mobile customers, VeryMe, which is proving very popular.
“We are sorry that Which? members aren’t as happy as they could be with our service and are working hard to understand the issue and what more we can do.”