We understand that choosing a telecoms provider can be difficult. The market is filled with resellers who all offer things that sound too good to be true. And the big telco companies are reknown for sub-par service (usually requiring a long contract to boot).
Testimony to this is the recent news that telecoms provider Vodafone, is facing the prospect of a serious penalty after Ofcom found that the company failed to deal with customer complaints properly.
The regulator said it believed that Vodafone had broken the rules on handling complaints over a two-year period up to November 2015, and accused Vodafone of failing to have the proper procedures in place. The penalty for such misconduct is no small matter—Vodafone could be fined up to 10% of its annual turnover.
Ofcom also accused the Vodafone of failing to send out written notifications to customers where a complaint was not resolved after eight weeks - a requirement under the industry code of practice.
In fact, figures from the regulator show that Vodafone is the most complained-about network in the UK. In March this year, the number of customers complaining about Vodafone rose from 20 to 32 per 100,000.
A Vodafone spokesperson responded by saying, "We note Ofcom's statement on this investigation, with which we have been cooperating fully. We will be reviewing the Ofcom report in detail before deciding what representations to make."
The company now has a chance to respond before Ofcom announces its final decision, but it is not looking good for Vodafone.
The main difficulty for large telcos like BT and Vodafone is that telephony is a service that is of fundamental importance to people’s lives, but that is provided as an impersonal utility more than a service. This is why service providers have flourished in recent years: they offer the same products, if not better, with better service, and without the mark-up of resellers.
Service providers are usually privately owned, have better educated engineers, and support provided from UK-based offices rather than call centres abroad. They also, typically, provide more customisation, free changes and more flexible contracts.
To learn more about the difference between large telcos, service providers and resellers, download our free eBook!
About VTSL
VTSL is a business phone systems provider specialising in VoIP and unified communications. As a service provider, VTSL is able to provide exceptional customer service delivered from its UK based team. VTSL's VoIP business phone systems are popular with companies across a wide range of sectors and sizes, given their low, per user monthly fee and dozens of free features. For more information on VTSL's VoIP business phone systems, call 020 7078 3200 today.
