All 13 of our 'winners' were nominated by experts across every area of Which? before being whittled down by our in-house panel of judges.
So whether it's an outrageous price hike, a household brand with shocking customer service or a product that spectacularly fails to do the job it was designed for (or even poses a safety risk), here are our standout letdowns of 2024.
Get our expert tips for making smarter consumer choices.Worst telecoms company – Virgin Media
We’ve reported Virgin Media to regulator Ofcom over concerns it could be breaking the law by giving itself the right to hike broadband bills by unlimited sums whenever it chooses – on top of its annual inflation-based increases.
Virgin Media argued that these contract terms are widely used in the industry and that it is ‘transparent’ about price rises. But we're sure you'll agree that it's more than deserving of a place in the Shoddies line-up for the second year running.
Biggest flight booking letdown – Opodo
Opodo may offer the cheapest fare when you use comparison sites like Skyscanner, but don’t be fooled. In our latest survey, the flight booking site garnered an abysmal customer score of 28%. One respondent complained that Opodo offered them ‘zero customer service’.
Others said they unwittingly signed up for its Prime service and only noticed when they were billed later on. We also found examples where it charged over the odds for extras such as baggage and seat selection.
Although Opodo says 90% of the customers it surveys are happy with the service, we recommend booking directly with the airline.
We reveal the – and the ones to avoidMost shocking price hike – Norton antivirus renewal
Good antivirus software will protect your computer from viruses and other kinds of malicious software, including phishing attacks designed to compromise or steal your data. And Norton 360 Deluxe is an excellent product: the Windows version was made a Best Buy after it performed exceptionally well in our tough lab tests.
The problem is the renewal price. You can sign up for £30, but that price trebles to a whopping £90 if you renew your annual subscription after the first year.
It’s the largest renewal spike of any of the paid-for antivirus products currently on test – and we think it's excessively expensive.
Grimmest hotel chain – Britannia
Britannia has been rated the worst hotel chain in our survey for 11 years running – with many of its beautiful historic buildings showing signs of neglect. Britannia received just two stars for cleanliness and one star for the quality of its bedrooms and bathrooms.
Even more worrying, we found serious fire safety flaws (including broken fire doors and missing fire extinguishers) when we went undercover at two of its properties in 2022: Canary Wharf and Heathlands hotel in Bournemouth.
Britannia later told us it had ‘investigated and addressed’ the issues at both hotels, adding: ‘We invest heavily in fire safety at all of our hotels and will continue to do so.'
Most unhelpful energy company – Scottish Power
It also achieved just two out of five stars for overall customer service and one star for value for money in our annual customer survey.
Scottish Power told us it has been working tirelessly to improve its customer service. But, in an essential sector that millions rely on every day, it's completely unacceptable that billpayers are being let down so badly. In fact, it's downright shoddy.
Dodgiest car hire company – Goldcar
Back in 2019, we caught Goldcar’s agents lying and bullying at the rental desk to flog unnecessary insurance to customers.
In response to our investigation, the company announced ‘a programme of large-scale change’. But, when our undercover journalists returned to Spain with hidden cameras earlier this year, its staff once again used pushy sales tactics to try to panic us into buying extra insurance, even though we’d already bought a comprehensive policy online.
– discover the car rental firms you can actually rely onLeast trustworthy online marketplace – Temu
Temu stocks just about every item imaginable from third-party sellers (including clothes, technology, homeware, cosmetics and toys) at rock-bottom prices.
Temu told us that it 'deeply regrets any concern or inconvenience caused by the safety issues we identified', and stressed that the safety of its customers is its highest priority.
Our experts explain what you need to knowDumbest smart product – Swan Alexa Smart Kettle
It’s a case of style over substance for this £68 smart kettle, which is packed with hi-tech features – controlled via Alexa, it can be programmed to switch on automatically with your morning alarm. But it fails to do its basic job well.
It’s a Don’t Buy because it’s incredibly slow to boil, overboils for ages and has a minimum fill of two cups (meaning you'll waste energy every time you make tea for one). It also has no limescale filter, making it a terrible choice for anyone in a hard-water area.
Biggest rail rip-off – train ticket machines
Only one in six UK train stations have a full-time ticket office, and 759 stations don’t have one at all. This means you’ll be forced to use a ticket machine if you haven’t bought your fare in advance.
But Which? mystery shoppers found that most operators have outdated machines that don’t sell the cheapest tickets. In fact they can charge more than double compared with booking online, and the best-value fares can be unavailable or hard to find.
On average, same-day tickets were 52% more expensive. We think it's a massive rip-off.
Unsafe product – Peg Perego Viaggio Twist car seat
As a result this car seat – designed for babies and children from six months to four years old – has been rated a 0% Don't Buy.
Our crash tests are severe, but we think they more accurately reflect what happens in a real crash (this car seat has passed the regulatory tests required by UN-Regulation 129/03).
Peg Perego has since put distribution of this product on hold and told us it will soon be providing a new and improved car seat to customers.
– find out which car seats impressed in our tough crash testsPersistent failure on scams – Meta
Malicious content is rife on Facebook and Instagram, leading users to make poor investment choices or, in the worst cases, become victims of fraud.
We reported the issue to parent company Meta immediately, but it failed to remove the profile – in which time the scammers had rebranded to impersonate another genuine firm.
Meta told us it has systems in place to block scams, which are an industry-wide issue. But we want to see it doing more to prevent other consumers suffering similar financial and emotional harm.
Design fail – Nautilus Designs Ascot Mesh office chair
Its sole purpose is comfort, but this woeful Don’t Buy is not only incredibly uncomfortable but also potentially dangerous.
You run the risk of tipping backwards if you recline too far (it failed the rearwards overturn test) and it’s not ergonomic. In fact, the lumbar support hurt our experts’ backs.
Useless cleaning product – M&S Italian Lemon & Ginger cleaning spray
This £2 product was consistently bad at removing tough spills, including baked-on grease and starchy spills like rice water.
In fact, we'd think twice about buying any of our cleaning products from M&S: its washing-up liquid is a Don't Buy, and its non-bio washing powder and laundry liquid aren't great either.
– see which two sprays were standout Best BuysWatch: Don't buy these shoddy products
Here's our round up of the products that disappointed us in 2024.
Watch: The shoddy companies that you let you down
Take a look at the companies that underwhelmed us in 2024.
Watch: Don't use these shoddy travel companies
We run through the travel companies we wouldn't recommend in 2024.
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