Date: Saturday, October 13, 2007

Ofcom Tackle ‘Misleading’ Broadband Claims

Ofcom, the independent UK consumer panel, has issued letters to BT, Orange, TalkTalk and three other major broadband providers asking why customers are unable to access the broadband speeds they were promised. The companies were accused of misleading their customers by making extravagant claims in their advertising and providing unclear information.

The letter, written by Ofcom chairman Colette Bowe, attacks the major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for telling their customers that they’d be able to access fast broadband services, which often boasted speeds of up to 24mbps. In fact, a recent survey by Which? revealed that the average speed for broadband in the UK is just 2.7mbps. The reason for this is that many major providers fail to tell their customers that broadband speeds can vary dramatically in different areas and that the only way to gauge a ‘true’ broadband speed would be to test the connection from your home to the exchange. A BT spokesman claimed staff would be happy to tell potential customers the broadband speed in their area, although admitted they were considering a number of Bowe’s claims.

One of Bowe’s main points addressed the issue of misleading information. “People need to see what they’re buying,” she stated, “we believe that broadband customers are not getting enough information.” Indeed, a lack of clear information is becoming a major problem. According to a recent survey by Moneysupermarket.com, just 21% of around 43,000 participants were getting the broadband speed they were promised.

Many broadband providers tie their customers into lengthy contracts of a year or even longer. This means that if customers are dissatisfied with the speed or service provided, they still remain tied to their broadband provider for a substantial period of time. As Paul Allen of Computer Active magazine told The Times, “Many customers sign up to 12 or 18 month packages only to be disappointed with the speed they are getting, and then find it difficult to get out of their contracts.”

Ultimately, it’s clear that a ‘try before you buy’ broadband policy would be the ideal solution to this problem. The question is, will major broadband providers be brave enough to free their existing customers from the shackles of their binding contracts and let their services speak for themselves?

Source:

Guardian Unlimited

The Times