Fixed-line broadband

Posted on 14 Aug 2007 at 14:52

Funnily enough, Ofcom doesn't see the downside. "We don't look at it as a penalty on those who don't live in LLU-enabled areas, we look at it as a saving for those who are," says the pint-half-full spokesperson. "Prices aren't going up for those who aren't within a catchment area for an LLU exchange, they're going down for those who are."

However, broadband customers are voting with their feet. "Sales for AOL have more than halved coming through our site," says Moneysupermarket.com's Lloyd. "We're still getting a sufficient number of people looking at AOL and clicking through, but once they go through [and see the prices] they're not converting at anywhere near the rate they used to."

Solution: There are still companies that offer consistent national pricing, no matter what type of network you're connected to. Orange, Pipex and Tiscali are among the companies that maintain a level playing field, although Tiscali has recently introduced two new telephony and broadband television services with regional pricing variations.

The contract handcuffs

Your connection starts dropping randomly, the speeds are slower than dial-up and the ISP charges you 50p a minute to listen to a technical support drone who can suggest nothing more helpful than rebooting Windows. What to do? You'd like to tell your ISP to stick its router where the sun doesn't shine and take your business elsewhere, but, as is increasingly common these days, you're locked into a lengthy contract.

If you're a disgruntled TalkTalk subscriber, your only means of escape is to pay up the remainder of your 18-month contract and ask for a MAC code. Madasafish will demand a payment of £55 for cancelling early and charge you for any subsidised hardware, such as your wireless router. There's simply no option to terminate the Sky agreement within the minimum 12-month period.

Even if you haven't signed a long-term deal, there may be hidden charges lurking in your contract. Direct Save Telecom has a notice period of 28 days, but charges customers a £50 disconnection fee if they cancel within the first year. Be Broadband will demand £50 if you don't give three months' notice.

For once, Ofcom seems prepared to bare its teeth. "Unfair pricing and unable to switch providers when you want to: those are the areas where we're really focusing the glare of the regulator's attention at this stage," says Ofcom's spokesperson. It's currently investigating the random assortment of charges imposed by ISPs and plans to announce its findings shortly. "We might find that charges levied for buying yourself out of contract are excessive," he says. PC Pro believes they definitely are.

Solution: Settling a dispute with an ISP is a ridiculously elongated process. First, you have to register your complaint with the ISP. If the dispute isn't settled within 12 weeks, only then will an official body such as the Office of the Telecoms Ombudsman (Otelo) step in. How long will it take to reach a verdict? "How long it takes us to come up with a solution depends on how complicated the complaint is, and how quickly we can get to the facts," says Otelo's website. So, you're looking at a bare minimum of three months - potentially much longer - with no or patchy broadband before an official decision is made.

Incredulously, Ofcom - which doesn't have the remit to investigate individual complaints - is happy with this process. "Time is an issue," the spokesperson claims with remarkable understatement. "But there's an effective, strong process for consumers to go through."