Millions of broadband customers across the UK are set for a much fairer deal from today.
A new scheme set up by Ofcom now means some of the UK’s biggest internet firms will make it much easier for users to claim compensation when things go wrong.
Virgin Media, Sky, TalkTalk, Zen Internet and BT have all signed up to the new initiative which will see customers getting instant money back when their broadband or phone goes offline.
In fact, from today you’ll begin receiving as much as £8 per day for outages that aren’t fixed or £25 if an engineer doesn’t turn up or cancels the appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice.
We think it’s unacceptable that people should be kept waiting for a new line, or a fault to be fixed
Sharon White, Ofcom Chief Executive
Previously, only around one in seven broadband or landline customers who suffer delayed repairs, installations or missed engineer appointments have received compensation from their provider; and even then, only in small amounts.
Ofcom wanted to change that and has intervened to ensure fairness for customers while giving companies a strong incentive to avoid delays occurring in the first place.
BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Zen Internet had already signed up to the scheme and Ofcom has just announced that Hyperoptic and Vodafone have also agreed to the new terms, and will start paying compensation automatically later this year.
Together, the firms that have committed account for more than 95 per cent of broadband and landline customers in the UK.
Ofcom says the new scheme could see customers benefit from £142m in payments – around nine times the amount they receive today.
Speaking about the automatic compensation Sharon White, Ofcom Chief Executive, said: “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.
“We welcome the companies’ commitment to this scheme, which acts as a strong incentive to improve service for customers.”
Ofcom says it will carefully monitor companies’ compliance with the compensation scheme, and report on how it is working next year. If customers are not being treated fairly, we will step in and take action.
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