Ofcom Announces Automatic Compensation for Landline and Broadband Customers – 13 Nov 2017 

Ofcom has today announced that broadband and landline customers will get money back from their providers when things go wrong, without having to claim it. 

Many people are not getting the standard they expect, or being adequately compensated when their service falls short.Waiting too long for  a landline or broadband service to be fixed is frustrating enough, without having to fight for compensation. 

So, earlier this year, Ofcom set out plans for people to be compensated automatically by providers for slow repairs, missed appointments and delayed installations. This means credit on a customer’s account – without having to ask.  

As a result, BT, Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and Zen Internet – who together serve around 90% of landline and broadband customers in the UK – have agreed to introduce automatic compensation, which will reflect the harm consumers suffer when things go wrong. 

The companies signed up will have to pay money back automatically, whenever repairs or installations don’t happen on time, or an engineer doesn’t turn up. People will get the money they deserve, while providers will want to work harder to improve their service.  Consumers will benefit from up to £142 million per year in automated compensation payments. 

This is the first ever automatic compensation scheme for telecoms customers, so there will be a 15-month implementation period before the scheme comes into effect to ensure a smooth introduction. This is to allow for the significant changes required to companies’ billing systems, online accounts and call centres. 

For any further information, and a breakdown of the compensation charges, please click here. 

[https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2017/automatic-compensation] 

http://www.jostevens.co.uk/ofcom_announces_automatic_compensation_for 

No images