Thousands of broadband and landline customers will be able to get money back from their providers when things go wrong, without having to fight for it, from Monday 1 April.
Regulator Ofcom has ruled that customers who experience repair delays, installations or missed engineer appointments will get stronger rights to refunds, to protect them when things go wrong.
According to Ofcom, there are 7.2 million cases each year where broadband or landline customers suffer delayed repairs, installations or missed appointments.
However, currently just one in seven households who experience issues receive refunds - and even then, its just a minor amount.
Under the guidelines, all the UK’s largest broadband and landline providers have agreed to compensate customers when they experience these delays, without having to ask.
BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Zen Internet had already signed up to the scheme. Ofcom has today announced that Hyperoptic and Vodafone have also agreed to the new terms, and will start paying compensation automatically later this year.
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Together, the firms that have committed account for more than 95% of broadband and landline customers in the UK.
The new scheme could see customers benefit from £142m in payments – around nine times the amount they receive today. As well as consumers, it will benefit the many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who choose residential landline and broadband services.
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.”
Richard Tang, at Zen - which is participating in the scheme - said: “The voluntary auto compensation scheme is a great step for consumers in the UK, but hopefully, in time, it will become part of the process for all internet service providers as treating customers fairly should be at the core of any organisation."
Ofcom said 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, it will step in and take action.
The compensation scheme is part of Ofcom’s Fairness for Customers programme of work to ensure that broadband, phone and TV customers are treated fairly.
This includes a price cap on 118 directory enquiry services which also comes into force on Monday 1 April and clearer, honest sign up information for broadband shoppers – before they commit to a contract – about what speeds they will get.
Meanwhile, easier switching for mobile customers, is set to come into effect by 1 July.
How much could I get from my provider?
This is how much your supplier will have to repay you if if it lets you down on one of the following services:
Delayed repair following loss of service: £8 for each calendar day that the service is not repaired
Missed appointments: £25 per missed appointment
Delays with the start of a new service: £5 for each calendar day of delay, including the missed start date.
