UK broadband customers are increasingly unhappy with their suppliers and it looks like bundled services and so-called 'free' broadband offers are to blame, according to a new customer satisfaction survey.

A survey of over 50,000 home broadband and telephony users by utility comparison service uSwitch suggests that satisfaction levels have fallen by an average of nine per cent for broadband and four per cent for telephony services since March. 

The satisfaction gap between the top and bottom players is 15 per cent for broadband and 11 per cent for telephony.

Orange and Carphone Warehouse, both of which have launched 'free' broadband products this year, came bottom of the survey with 70 per cent overall customer satisfaction.

Carphone Warehouse's TalkTalk also came bottom of the survey for customer service with 42 per cent, and Orange was next worst with 46 per cent. 

Virgin.net was the best performing supplier overall, according to the survey, with 85 per cent in overall customer satisfaction. 

"Virgin only started bundling a month ago and it seems that, because it has concentrated on broadband and not been distracted by other services, its customer service level has remained high," Steve Weller, head of communications services at uSwitch, told vnunet.com.

Despite offering 'free' broadband, Orange also came bottom in the survey for value for money. The results throw into doubt the value of 'free' services to customers and suppliers.

The biggest suppliers, BT and NTL, which account for 14.7 million customers between them, also saw customer satisfaction levels fall.

BT fell from 82 per cent in March to 76 per cent in November, while NTL fell from 81 per cent to 72 per cent over the same period.

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