If your broadband provider has let you down with no internet access for two or more days, then there’s good news.
As of 1 April, new Ofcom rules mean broadband customers will automatically have £8 credited to their account if they are left without internet for two or more days.
This is good news and means you won’t have to chase customer service departments for compensation.
The move forms part of Ofcom’s Fairness for Customers Scheme, which also promises customers a refund of £25 issued if an engineer fails to turn up or cancels the appointment with less than 24 hours to go.
And if your service doesn’t start on time, then the provider must give you £5 for every day it is delayed.
Ofcom’s Customer Fairness Scheme is currently voluntary, although major providers such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Zen Internet have signed up. Hyperoptic and Vodafone are expected to take part later this year.
Ofcom says there are around 7.2 million incidents a year, where customers are left without broadband service, delayed repairs, installations or missed appointments – leaving many of them out of pocket.
‘We think it’s unacceptable that people should be kept waiting for a new line, or a fault to be fixed. These new protections mean phone and broadband firms will want to avoid problems occurring in the first place. But if they fall short, customers must be treated fairly and given money back, without having to ask for it,’ says Sharon White, Ofcom chief executive.
Other aspects of the Fairness for Consumers scheme include a cap on the cost of calling directory enquiries services, and allowing customers to switch mobile contracts by text, which will be in place on 1 July.
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