Broadband News
9 out of 10 don’t want to pay for tech support
Tuesday, 01 December 2009
Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk
Almost 90 per cent of broadband customers believe that they shouldn’t have to pay to report a technical problem to their provider.
The YouGov poll on behalf of Kingston Communications (KC), owner of Karoo Broadband in Hull, found that 68% of customers think that ISPs use customer service lines to make more money out of them, with 45% having to wait more than five minutes for their call to be answered and almost a third claiming that their problem was rarely resolved on their first call.
Nick Thompson, director of consumer services at KC, said: “We firmly believe that it is wrong for consumers to have to pay for the privilege of reporting a problem that needs to be fixed.
“The survey paints a grim picture for the state of customer service in the UK - not only are businesses charging their customers to call in, they’re also making them wait far too long before being connected,” he added.
KC, which doesn’t charge its customers for technical support, has called on other broadband providers to ditch their customer service charges too.
Michael Phillips, Broadbandchoices.co.uk product director, said: “Consumers are becoming increasingly frustrated that they have to pay for technical support - at a cost of up to 50p per minute with some providers.
“However, some broadband providers, such as O2 Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) have bucked the trend and offer free, UK-based technical support and customer service,” concluded Phillips.
O2 Broadband packages
| The All Rounder (O2 mobile customers only) | The All Rounder + Evening and Weekend calls (O2 mobile customers only) | The Basics + Evening and Weekend calls (O2 mobile customers only) | |||
| Monthly charge | £6.25 for 12 months Half-price broadband Ends Soon | £6.25 for 12 months Half-price broadband Ends Soon | £8.50 | ||
| Speed (up to) | 16Mb | 16Mb | 16Mb | ||
| Usage limit | Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | ||
| Contract length | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months | ||
Call O2 on 0800 954 1408 | Call O2 on 0800 954 1408 | Call O2 on 0800 954 1408 |
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