Know Your Rights!

At BroadbandChoices, we’re regularly inundated with e-mails from consumers who want to know where they stand on a number of contentious issues with their ISP. Presented here are guidance notes on how to resolve a number of common disputes and grievances that you might have with your ISP.

Independent Adjudication

Remember, if you have a complaint or issue regarding your broadband provider, CISAS and OTELO are on hand to help you out.

• CISAS (Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme) was established as an independent adjudication board in 2003, and applying to them is free.
• OTELO (Office of Telecommunications Ombudsman) provide a free and independent service designed to sort out disagreements between public communications providers and their customers.

We've included case studies taken from previous CISAS adjudications in order to illustrate how a number of disputes between consumers and ISPs are concluded.

Additionally, feel free to contact us at BroadbandChoices (ourexpert@broadbandchoices.co.uk), and we will endeavour to help you see a claim through to an agreeable conclusion.

What should I do if I feel I’m being consistently overcharged?

Customers with package bundles are occasionally overcharged for one aspect of that bundle, UK phone calls for instance.

In order to be wise before the event, stay organised. Keep detailed records of any financial exchanges between yourself and your ISP (Internet Service Provider), including bank statements, bills and tariff agreements. If you're overcharged, calculate the exact amount that you feel has been charged erroneously. Once you have done this, make written contact with your ISP and ask for a refund through the official complaints procedure.

Be organised before any actual dispute occurs. Keep your bills and bank statements filed in chronological order. Use our guide to complaints procedures to help you.

If your ISP cannot justify the overcharged amount, or makes no attempt to communicate with your bank and adjust payment amounts, then you’re entitled to a refund. In some cases, customers have also received compensation payments.

Do not accept a goodwill payment from your ISP until the case has been fully followed through. You may be accepting an amount that is significantly less than you deserve.

What if i've been mislead by TV advertising?

Some adverts lead you up the garden path with all manner of promises, only to reveal that, in actuality, none of the promises can be realised. For broadband customers, this often relates to promised speeds not being met and lack of network coverage in a given area.

Broadband adverts have been criticised for describing speeds incorrectly. For instance, a connection may be described as 'up to 8mb' when 'from 2Mb' may be more appropriate. The BroadbandChoices speed test awards showed none of the fastest ISPs actually delivered anywhere near their advertised speeds. (Take a quickbroadband speed test)

If you have acted on a TV advert, only to be disappointed or have your time wasted, write to the advertising standards authority and state both the advert and the misleading information.

You may be entitled to an apology and explanation.

What should I do if a representative of an ISP makes promises and doesn’t keep them?

This is tricky, as staff turnover in call centres can be rapid, and individual calls are hard to trace.

Always take the full name of the representative who makes changes to your account, regardless of whether they’re upgrading or downgrading. Insist on having a written contract or official letter sent to you denoting any changes to the agreement.

What should I do if I’m the victim of poor customer service?

If, for example, you’re still being charged after a contract has ended, and you find the customer service department of your ISP responds in an unreasonable manner to your enquiries, then you may be entitled to an apology and, in extreme cases, a compensation payment.

Extreme cases are defined as situations where it takes the ISP a lengthy amount of time to action a refund or requested alteration to the service.

In November 2007, a consumer lodged a complaint against an ISP that took six weeks to action a refund. The claimant was awarded £50 compensation on top of their original refund.

What should I do if my broadband connection fails but I’m still billed?

Contact your ISP and inform them of the failure. In most cases, if the service does not work for four weeks after activation, then you have the right to cancel the agreement under the ‘termination clause’.

A case in May 2007 saw a claimant whose faulty connection had been dormant for a month, have their contract cancelled and bills written off.

Be sure to inform your ISP, in writing, that you intend to cancel the contract after four weeks using the ‘termination clause’. They will not automatically assume this, and if you don’t inform the ISP of your intentions then it may affect any tribunal claims that you make.

Check that you're writing to the correct department and targeting the right people.

What if my tariff is upgraded or downgraded without prior notice?

Take this issue up with your ISP. They should instantly realise their mistake and correct it accordingly. Use bills and bank statements to add credibility to your claims.

If you lose confidence in your ISP and wish to migrate, an incident like this should be enough to allow you to leave the contract without penalty. It shows gross negligence on the ISPs behalf.

What should I do if I’ve requested that my broadband connection be moved to my new home, but the process has been racked with complications?

Delays of up to nine weeks have been reported by customers moving their broadband connection from one house to another. These customers were understandably upset at having to wait over two months for their broadband connection to be activated.

Successful compensation claims in these cases are rare; there are simply too many issues and variables (such as line tags) surrounding the status of the connection in your new house.

Our tip would be to work closely with the ISP when moving home and provide all necessary information promptly. There may already be a user on your new line, and you’ll need to work in conjunction with your ISP in order to remedy this situation.

If you're moving regularly then why not consider a mobile broadband connection?

What should I do if my ISP refuses to disclose my MAC?

An ISP has ‘a duty to provide a MAC (Migration Authorisation Code) in a reasonable manner and within a reasonable timescale, in response to a reasonable request’ according to CISAS.

There are a number of ‘reasonables’ in the above statement, but this is the most clearly defined explanation regarding MACs and migration.

Although the term ‘reasonable’ is open to subjective interpretation, we would define the three instances in the following way:

• Reasonable Manner – The ISP provides you with a MAC in the form of an official letter following a written request or phone conversation.
• Reasonable Timescale – Although the process could be concluded in a day or two, a timescale of 5-7 working days is considered to be reasonable. You shouldn't have to ask more than twice for your MAC; it's the same ISPs who tend to drag their heels each time.
• Reasonable Request – You have a legitimate reason for moving and have given the ISP prior notice. Your MAC request has been conducted in a polite and patient manner.

If your ISP adopts a devil may care attitude to supplying your MAC code, then CISAS may be able to help you claim compensation.

What should I do if direct debit payments are taken from my account without my authorisation?

If you have migrated from one ISP to another, and are still having payments taken from your account by the old ISP, then this is a major offence on the part of the ISP in question.

Never assume that just because you've requested a MAC, the ISP will instantly terminate your account. Reinforce the cancellation on the phone and in writing.

Take the issue up immediately with your former ISP, using bank statements to back up your argument. The ISP is obliged by law to refund these payments and remove your personal details from its live database.

If you don't have any joy from the ISP, then you might want to take your claim to a small claims court. It will cost you £30 to make a claim of up to £300, and £80 to appeal the decision if you so wish.

What should I do if my ISP has taken my address details incorrectly, resulting in correspondence confusion and billing disputes?

If promised hardware (such as a modem) or a contract agreement with a new ISP has not reached you within 4-5 days of the deal being agreed, contact the ISP immediately and check your address details. The longer you leave it, the less credible your argument becomes.

Additionally, make sure you know your password or any other required personal details needed to gain access to this information. If you don’t know your password then the ISP won’t take you seriously.

The web mail service offered by my ISP is free but has never worked. I have lost some important information due to this. What should I do?

Whether the web mail service is free or not is immaterial. If the web mail service is promoted as part and parcel of the subscription, then the ISP has to provide the web mail service to an appropriate standard.

If you can prove that the lost information caused you to suffer a financial penalty, then you may have a legitimate claim for compensation. However, there has not yet been a successful claim in a case of this kind.

What should I do if I’m sent a faulty modem?

Contact your ISP immediately and inform them of the fault. The ISP should request that you send the modem back to them for testing, and if it’s found to be defective, the modem should be replaced. You should be refunded for any postage costs incurred during this exchange.

It is not advisable to have a third party engineer work on the modem before it is sent back to the ISP. The work that the engineer carries out may default your claim, plus the cost of the engineer is unlikely to be covered by your ISP.

Do i have to return my modem at the end of the contract period?

A number of ISPs lease the modem or router to you and expect it to be sent back if you switch. Check first to see if the modem is included in the package for free, if you're required to pay for the modem, or if the modem is being leased to you for the contract duration.

If you're in a contract where the ownership of the modem is yours, recycling this modem will increase your choice of potential new ISPs at switching time.

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