Tiscali tops satisfaction poll

Tiscali, Virgin Media and Sky have come top of a survey of customer satisfaction with ISPs, though the study found that overall levels of satisfaction with ISPs are down.

The research from JD Power and Associates places Tiscali, which recently took over competitor Pipex, at the top of the rankings, up from third place last year. It scored 668 points out of 1,000 in JD Power's index.

Virgin Media (660) and Sky (657) followed in second and third places respectively, but there was only a gap of 42 points between the top and the lowest-ranked ISP, with the average score being 645.

The study found that one of the major gripes customers had with ISPs was the length of time spent waiting on telephone helplines.

"The 2007 study finds that call waiting times continue to increase when customers contact their ISP, with customers now waiting an average of 17 minutes before initially speaking with a representative," said Caspar Tearle, director of service industries research at JD Power and Associates.

Customers are also making more complaints to their ISPs, JD Power's survey of 1,683 broadband users found.

"Complaints to customer service departments have risen again in 2007, and now outnumber customer service-related questions for the first time. With customers of most suppliers paying from their own pocket for these calls, these high levels of complaints come as no surprise," said Tearle.

However, there was some good news for customers - the average cost of broadband had come down from £25.91 per month in 2006 to £21.10 in 2007.

www.jdpower.com
www.tiscali.co.uk
www.virginmedia.com
www.sky.com

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