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Shell Energy sees complaints about broadband and landlines soar, new Ofcom rankings show
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Shell Energy received the most complaints from its broadband customers
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Around two-fifths of complaints included faulty services and complaint handling
By EMILIA SHOVELIN FOR THIS IS MONEY
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Households thinking of moving broadband and landline services to Shell Energy may want to think twice after complaints about it soared in the first three months of the year.
It received twice as many complaints than the industry average for its broadband services, according to Ofcom – and more than three times’ as many for its landline offering.
Overall, complaints sent to the industry regulator stayed broadly the same as the last three months of 2021, its data shows.
However, notably Shell received 22 complaints per 100,000 for its broadband services – up from 15 in the previous set of data. It also had seven times’ as many gripes as the best ranked, EE.
Around 40 per cent of the complaints were the result of poor service or faults, while a third complained about its customer handling.
Some customers complained about the poor quality service, with reports of long wait times on service calls, or a lack of broadband service outside of major cities.
Around a quarter of complaints also included issues with billings, or costs associated with the poor quality service.
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Shell – which offers electricity and gas supplies to households, alongside its broadband and landline offering – refused to comment on the measures it is taking to address the significant number of complaints received.
A Shell Energy spokesperson said: ‘We are committed to offering great customer support, and we are investing over the long term in new ways to provide the best possible experience for every customer.’
For broadband, Sky and EE saw the least complaints from customers for a second quarter running.
Sky received four complaints per 100,000 customers, with EE getting three complaints for its broadband services.
Sky also saw only one complaint per 100,000 for its pay-TV and pay monthly mobile services, while EE received just one complaint per 100,000 for landline.
EE also received the least complaints for the landline service, while Sky ranked number one again for the fewest complaints across mobile and pay-TV services.
Virgin Mobile saw the most complaints against for pay-TV services, receiving four complaints per 100,000 customers.
O2 and BT also ranked low for pay monthly mobile services, receiving 3 complaints each, compared to four complaints per 100,000 Virgin Mobile customers.
How to fight back against poor service
If you are unhappy with your provider, for anything including regular faults with the service, the customer service is dismal or you’re not getting good value for money you have the right to complain or you could switch, depending if you’re out of contract.
You should contact your provider directly and outline your complaint, along with the steps you want to take to correct any issues.
If after eight weeks you’ve still not received a response, or you’re not happy with the response you have received, you can escalate the problem by contacting CISAS or the Ombudsman Services: Communications.
It will look at your case independently and if it rules in your favour it could ask the provider to pay you for any money you’ve lost.
It may also tell the provider to pay you for extra costs, such as time spent on the phone or money spent accessing the internet through alternative means such as with a dongle.
You may also be able to leave the contract early, without penalty, if you’ve been left without a decent service for some time.
This should be detailed in your contract but if not keep a note of how long your service has been down and include this with your complaint and request to be able to leave.
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Shell Energy attracted the most broadband complaints per 100,000 customers, primarily due to faults, service and provisioning. EE and Sky attracted the fewest broadband complaints.
Shell Energy was also the most complained-about landline provider, with faults, service and provisioning again making up the bulk of customers’ woes. EE attracted the fewest landline complaints.
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Shell Energy tops hall of shame with 22 complaints per 100,000 customers – while EE and Sky generate the fewest moans
Shell Energy and Virgin Media have been named the worst telecoms providers in the latest survey of customers by regulator Ofcom.
It found Shell Energy was the most-complained-about broadband provider, with 22 complaints per 100,000 customers – more than double the average of 10.
The company was also worst for landline services, with complaints well above the average.
telecoms.com: Shell Energy goes from bad to worse in latest Ofcom complaints report
It looks like relatively new ISP Shell Energy is struggling to keep its customers happy as it is the most complained about UK broadband and landline provider.
This is the key finding of UK communications regulator Ofcom’s latest complaints report. As you can see from the tables below, Shell Energy received by far the most complaints per 100,000 customers than any other provider both for its broadband and landline services. This represents a continuation and a worsening of the trend observed a quarter ago.
Ofcom also categorises the main drivers of the complaints it receives and, as you can see from the second set of tables, Shell seems to be especially struggling with the basic provisioning of fixed line services. Since Shell will be using wholesale network providers most of the time, you have to wonder how it is managing to do such a relatively bad job of delivering them to customers.
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