Long-suffering customers of some of the UK’s biggest companies are turning to social networking sites on the internet to vent their frustrations.

Users of the rapidly growing Facebook site are creating forums to share their gripes about poor customer service, helplines and products from such household names as British Telecom, HSBC, Carphonewarehouse, British Gas and Npower.

One evocatively titled group, “I f***ing hate BT” has accumulated 148 members and hundreds of postings detailing the experiences of users.

A common theme is the hours spent on the telecom giant’s helplines.

“All I want is a phone line, simple as that,” says Rebecca Hadfield, of Manchester.

“I actually want to give them money. So why do they never answer the phone to me when I'm trying to give them my bank details?”

Over 2,500 graduates have also joined a group set up by the National Union of Students in protest at HSBC's decision to scrap free overdrafts on its graduate current account.

However whilst the forum may give users an opportunity to vent their splein, customers should not expect their complaints to be taken seriously unless they contact the organisation directly.

BT yesterday said that while staff were employed to monitor internet sites, including Facebook, it did not "intervene" in external online forums or contact customers to discuss their complaints.

A spokesman told The Times: “If customers have a problem with us then they should get in contact and we’d be pleased to try and help them with any problem.”

Glancing at the wall posts on Facebook, however, it seems that it is getting in contact with the company that is the problem.

“There is a another way for most of us,” suggests Simon Powell, from London. “Cable”.