Vodafone named UK's least favourite network yet again

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Vodafone props up the table for eighth year in a row

(Image credit: Vodafone) (Image credit: Vodafone)

Vodafone has once again been ranked as the UK's least popular mobile network.

The operator finished bottom of the latest survey from consumer watchdog Which?, marking the eighth year in a row it has achieved the unwanted title.

Giffgaff was voted the UK's best provider, with fellow small operators Utility Warehouse and Plusnet Mobile scoring highly, but EE and O2 filled the bottom three places alongside Vodafone, which has now finished bottom in all eight of Which?'s annual reports.

Value for money

Thirteen UK mobile network providers were included in Which's survey of 6,135 members. The watchdog says it aims to highlight the best network choice for consumers in the UK, including areas such as customer service and value for money.

Vodafone saw one-star ratings for customer service, value for money and technical support, with one in five of its customers telling Which? "customer service, including complaints handling and the way their queries were dealt with, was poor".

Vodafone apologised to users for its poor showing, saying it was sorry customers were unhappy and that it was, "working hard to understand the issue and what more we can do."

“We are determined to provide our customers with the best possible mobile service," the company said in a statement to TechRadar Pro. "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."

In contrast, Giffgaff customers said the network was "good or excellent" value for money.

"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," said Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services.

"If you think you're 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."

Earlier this month, EE was named as the UK’s best mobile network according to analysis from OpenSignal, which said the operator had the fastest speeds, lowest latency and greatest availability of all four major networks.

Mike Moore
Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.