What can I do next?
In theory, signing a contract with any service provider – including
broadband – ought to be like marriage: you live happily ever after.
Unfortunately, things do not work out like that in practice. There may
well come a time when you feel the service you receive is not what you
signed up for, or the charges you are paying are too high.
This is even more likely to be the case in a situation where broadband
suppliers vie with each other to come up with better deals all the time.
So what should you do when faced with a problem? Here are some tips.
If you think your provider has broken its contract with you, you need
to be sure you are right in that view. So read your contract and check
the small print carefully.
Approach your provider – by mail or phone - and tell them about the
problem.
Keep a record of everything, including phone conversations and the name
of the person you speak to (and their title). If you are sending
letters, make sure they are posted by recorded delivery.
If you are unhappy with the provider's response, you can contact the
Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman (OTELO)
, whose job to sort out disagreements between public communications
providers and their customers. OTELO’s website has masses on useful
information on what to do next.
Alternatively, you may want to use the
Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS)
, whose service is free to members of the public. CISAS also has
details on its website of all companies that are members of to its
arbitration service
(http://www.cisas.org.uk/members.asp)
.
Another great source of information and advice is our own website,
particularly our
forum
. It is likely that other users will have encountered the same or similar
problems to yours and will have tips to offer on what to do next.
Also on our forums is an
Ask the Experts
section, where you can pose a question to our broadband experts and we
will try to offer you advice or help.
Finally, we regularly receive requests from the media for help with
stories they are writing. They often want to interview people about
their experience with various broadband providers. It is worth
checking into the
Case Studies
section of our forums to see if your experience matches a request
for a case study. We offer generous rewards for every case study
you take part in.
Whatever you do, let us know what happens. We want to improve our
service to you and find out more about providers and how they treat
their customers. You can contact us on
Rob.Barnes@Moneysupermarket.com
.
