Can you afford broadband support?

Published 22nd Aug 2007

The broadband industry is flourishing, with 13 million households now spending a whopping £2.8 billion a year subscribing to their service.

Yet, customer satisfaction is falling, with over a quarter of customers now dissatisfied with the overall level of service provided by broadband companies.

Technical support has emerged as the biggest villain in the recent survey of nearly 11,000 broadband customers by independent price comparison and switching service, uSwitch.com. Less than half of UK consumers are satisfied with the level of technical support offered by their broadband company, a drop of 11 per cent since March 2006.
Over 5 million broadband customers have turned to their broadband provider for technical help over the last year, having to foot a £34 million bill for the privilege.
Consumers make on average four calls per year. The most common complaint is a problem with the network connection, caused by their broadband service failing to work or frequently cutting off.

General interruptions to service are a common complaint for nearly 1 million customers, and 800,000 broadbanders have experienced problems over the last year just trying to set up their connection.

While both the fault and the remedy of these problems usually lies in the hands of the broadband providers rather than the customers, the majority of firms charge a premium rate to call technical support lines. The average charge is 11p per minute, but customers on Oranges’ Starter broadband service have to pay a staggering 50p per minute to call their technical helpline. With the average phone call lasting 17 minutes, the motive behind the charges seem clear.

Steve Weller, Head of Communications Services, at uSwitch.com, said: “New advances in broadband technology appear to be having an adverse effect, with connection problems and service interruptions occurring all too frequently. Customers have found themselves having to make numerous calls to get their problems fixed so it’s no wonder satisfaction is at an all time low.

“It’s disheartening that broadband companies are not content with the £2.8 billion already being channeled in by customers who are simply paying to receive a service that works. To rake in an additional £34 million just for helping customers to resolve technical hitches is just wrong. It’s interesting that sales lines are free to call.”

The uSwitch.com study reveals that customers have to call technical helplines up to three times to fix the same problem. Just 4 out of 10 customers have successfully resolved a problem in just one call. Worst of all, however, is that on an average 17 minute call customers spend over six minutes waiting to be connected. As a result, the nation is spending £12 million a year on hold to broadband companies.

Weller said: “TalkTalk should in theory be the ‘hero’ as customers can call up technical support for free – but it comes bottom of the league for overall technical
By Jennifer Lowe

Source: ' Personal Finance & Savings '

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