The litany of excuses IT companies conjure up to explain disappointing results never fail to amaze me.

Earlier this year, Canon blamed none other than hapless ex-England manager Steve McClaren for costing it millions of pounds of digital camera sales. Why? Because Canon was one of the official sponsors of Euro 2008 and thanks to the umbrella man’s incompetence, fewer footy fans would stop mid-game, turn to their mate and say: “Sod this penatly shootout, I’m popping down to Dixons and picking up an Ixus” every time the Canon logo appeared on screen.

Now the Carphone Warehouse’s Charles Dunstone is blaming his company’s sliding broadband sales on the property slump. “One of the key times people change broadband provider is when they move house,” he claims in today’s Times. “If you’re not moving house, the catalyst to make you think about changing provider does not exist.”

Hmmm… I’d say the main catalyst for switching broadband provider is shocking service from an ISP. And how did Carphone’s TalkTalk rank for customer service in the most recent PC Pro Awards? A mighty two stars out of six for customer support and one for reliability.

Perhaps Mr Dunstone should be looking a little bit closer to home?