Consumers bemoan home phone service

Consumer satisfaction with phone companies has plummeted to an all-time low, the price- comparison website uSwitch.com has said.

BT, which has 10 million customers, is now the UK's least popular home-phone company, with a third of users saying they are displeased.

This is the first time BT has finished bottom of the annual uSwitch customer-service survey, in which 12,000 people took part. It was criticised for high charges and poor complaints handling. Sky was named the best provider, with eight in 10 customers saying they were happy with the service. It was closely followed by TalkTalk and Tiscali.

Tim Wolfenden at uSwitch said relatively new entrants to the market were "outperforming the traditional incumbents".

Overall, though, he added that millions of people feel let down. "Many loyal home-phone customers now pay more for a service which, they believe, has declined. On top of the recent hikes to line rental and other charges, 13 million customers are being stung by additional fees for paying by methods other than direct debit."