MPS demand refund for customers who suffer slow broadband

Broadband customers should receive compensation if they don’t get the speed they pay for, a group of MPS have said.

The British Infrastructure Group (BIG), led by Conservative MP Grant Shapps, has called on regulator Ofcom to extend its proposals for compensation, which cover slow repairs and missed appointments, but not poor speeds. This is “unacceptable” BIG said in its new Broadbad 2.0 report ( www.snipca.com/25140).

BIG recommends that Ofcom considers applying the same rules to broadband companies that Ofwat does to water companies under its Guaranteed Standards Scheme. This forces water companies to automatically compensate customers when things go wrong with their service, such as low water pressure.

Major internet service providers (ISPS), including BT, Sky and Virgin Media, have signed up to Ofcom’s voluntary code of practice, which allows customers to cancel a contract without fees if the speed consistently falls below a level set by the company. But they aren’t legally required to refund customers for slow speeds. Ofcom said the code was being reviewed to potentially make it tougher.

BIG also called for more transparency on the levels of compensation currently paid to customers. After asking major ISPS for details of their compensation policy, BIG said it received answers that “failed to provide any definitive figures”.

The research BIG conducted for the report shows that as many as 6.7m broadband connections may not be able to get 10Mbps, which is the minimum the Government says households require for a basic decent service.

Four of the five worst constituencies for speed are in Scotland (see box). Ross, Skye and Lochaber in the north-west has the highest percentage of premises not getting 10Mbps.