Millions of UK broadband users have been urged to make a check as some could potentially be due compensation. According to data calculated by the price comparison site Go Compare, around 3.9 million households experienced broadband issues last year. Go Compare said more than 3.5million households suffered broadband delays, 1.4 million experienced a late start of a new service and 2.1 million waited for a repair following a loss of service. Overall, around 5% of eligible broadband users reported to the insurance comparison site that they had experienced this issue.
When you see issues with your connection, you could be due a payout from your provider through Ofcom's broadband automatic compensation scheme. The three issues you can be compensated for include a delayed repair after a loss of service, missed appointments, and delays with the start of a new service. Most of the UK's largest telecom providers, including BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky, and Virgin Media, are signed up for it.
The scheme offers £9.76 per day to users who are waiting for a repair, £6.10 for each calendar day a new service is late starting, and £30.49 per missed engineer appointment. According to Go Compare, the reported delays and missed appointments mean providers should have paid out over £114.9million to customers in the last 12 months, with 1.2million receiving a cut of £57million due to missed appointments. With 85% of broadband users with a provider that offers automatic compensation, the majority should've received a compensation payment.
However, the research also found that a huge 91% of UK adults didn't know what the Ofcom broadband automatic compensation scheme was. This means if they were not compensated correctly - or even at all - some people could be missing out on compensation they are entitled to.
Matt Sanders, broadband expert at Go Compare, said: "The Ofcom automatic compensation scheme is great for users as it promises money back for any problems without having to claim for it yourself. When comparing broadband providers, it’s a good idea to check which ones are signed up to the scheme before committing.
"For some customers, issues and delays can drag on, with users waiting weeks or even months for repairs or the start of a new service. So, in these cases especially, we’re urging everyone to check that they have been fairly compensated for any issues with their service.".
To receive any money from your provider, you will need to meet the criteria. This means your broadband provider is signed up to the scheme, you have dealt with one of the problems listed above, and your broadband provider is aware of the issue. Sanders added that if you are correctly compensated, you usually get credit into your broadband account within 30 days of the problem occurring.
He added: "If this hasn’t happened, you should raise this with your broadband provider, and as a last resort, you can use the Ofcom-approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service." ADR schemes are free, independent bodies that carry out an impartial assessment of complaints between a customer and a provider.
You can take your complaint to the ADR scheme if you have already raised it with your provider and it is still unresolved and if it has been at least eight weeks since you made the initial complaint and an agreement has not been reached. Get our money-saving tips and top offers direct to your inbox with the Mirror Money newsletter.
