DITCH YOUR BROADBAND OR MOBILE DEAL WHEN YOU WANT
Watchdog hands power to customers
broadband and mobile phone customers will now be able to switch provider without unfair penalties.
From today, firms will have to release people from contracts if their internet service is too slow or has other problems.
Mobile owners will be able to change operator in a ‘swift and hassle-free’ process if service is shoddy or their term ends.
Contracts will have to be ‘clear and fair with no hidden charges or lock-ins’, according to Ofcom.
The regulator’s intervention will ease the frustrations of millions of customers locked into deals.
‘ Our job is to ensure that markets work for consumers and citizens, principally by encouraging competition,’ Ofcom chief sharon White will say today.
‘Where markets don’t work well enough – or where competition alone isn’t enough to secure good outcomes for customers – then we have the power to intervene.’
Before today’s changes, customers were often tied into a broadband supplier after a three-month initial period even if they received poor
service. They will now be free to leave at any point. Reforms of mobile phone contracts will be unveiled next month to make it far easier for users to switch suppliers if they are unhappy with network performance or customer service. Ofcom will tell firms to abolish hidden charges and penalties and to hasten the transfer of numbers to new networks.
Those customers who benefit from heavily subsidised handsets will still face exit penalties but will find switching provider far simpler and quicker.
At present, some mobile customers with contracts tied to a phone have to pay an ‘unlocking’ charge to use it on another network. Tesco charges up to £20 if the phone is still within contract, and will take up to 28 calendar days to do the job.
The regulator is investigating whether mobile companies use dirty tricks on customers who want to leave. ‘Ofcom receives a large number of complaints about the difficulties experienced by consumers trying to exit their communications service contract,’ it said.
‘Taken together, these suggest that communications providers are systematically making it difficult for customers to exit their contract. We consider that this allegation is extremely serious, and, if sustained, may result in significant consumer harm within the market for UK communications goods and services.’
The watchdog added: ‘It is vital that consumers are not let down by poor customer service and difficult procedures, or even deliberate obstruction, when they try to cancel their communications service.
‘Exiting a contract should be swift, easy and transparent, to allow consumers to exercise their choice and switch to another provider without undue hassle if they wish.’ Ofcom is likely to pile pressure on companies to hand customers the PAC codes they need to move suppliers much faster, and to cut the amount of time they have to spend on the phone to call centres.
It is also likely to cut the early-termination fees in many cases. Many mobile companies offer customers free or heavily discounted handsets in order to secure their business, and only actually start making money from those customers toward the end of the contract. Customers who have signed up for these sorts of multi-year deals would still have to cover the cost of the handset, it is thought. However, people who already have a phone, but sign up to a long deal to lock in a lower monthly rate may be able to walk away without paying high ‘get-out’ fees.
Broadband customers will be able to switch simply by calling the company they want to move to. The switching process is so tortuous that Ofcom receives 50 complaints a month from people who have trouble moving. Twice that number complain about exit fees. Today, Miss White will warn telecoms companies they can no longer get away with this sort of behaviour, and that Ofcom will take action against them if and when they break the rules.
The watchdog has launched a new ‘enforcement programme’, inviting customers to make contact if they feel they have been treated unfairly. Its officers will investigate and clamp down on problem companies, potentially imposing financial penalties.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: ‘Unreliable broadband speeds drive consumers crazy, so we also welcome the regulator telling providers to give better information on the speeds customers will realistically achieve, and to let people leave their contracts without penalty if they don’t get what is promised. Which? warmly welcomes the very clear commitment made by the new chief executive of Ofcom to putting the interests of consumers at the centre of everything the regulator does.
‘This is an encouraging start by Sharon White at a time when there are very big challenges facing Ofcom, many of which can be met by ensuring that consumers have more power to drive competition and growth among the best businesses, while protecting those who are vulnerable.’
Ofcom also wants to make it easier for people to switch their internet or landline provider, if they have a contract with BT, EE, Sky or TalkTalk.
‘Protecting the vulnerable’
FOR the millions of broadband and mobile phone users locked into contracts offering a lousy service, sharon White’s first speech as the industry regulator will come as a breath of fresh air.
in blunt language, the ofcom head warns providers must improve in four crucial areas – helping consumers compare deals, enabling easy switching between firms, offering straightforward contracts and handling complaints better. now comes the hard part – putting those fine words into action. if Miss White succeeds in forcing the industry to be fair to customers, this spirited, church-going daughter of Jamaican immigrants will prove herself worth ten times the identikit Blair crony she replaces.