James Rowe: Getting a cheaper broadband deal is simpler than ever. Here is what you need to do.
Hello, I’m James Rowe and welcome to Which? Shorts, your free weekly insight into Which? magazine, as well as our money, tech, travel, and gardening titles too. Today I’m bringing you a piece that Yvette Fletcher wrote for the April issue of Which? magazine all about the best and worst broadband providers in the UK.
Every year we survey broadband customers to find out which companies are impressing us with things like their speed, reliability, cost, and communication. Today, we’ll tell you which companies are the best and which ones are left languishing at the bottom of the table. Plus, if you think switching is a hassle, we’ll share a success story that might inspire you – and it’s easier than you might think.
Here is Yvette’s piece, adapted for the podcast this week, read by Rob Lilley-Jones.
Rob Lilley-Jones: Many of us have been making do with a middle-of-the-road broadband provider because switching feels like tedious admin. But this is an area where the grass truly can be greener: taking your business elsewhere can mean you both save money and get better service.
That is because the UK’s broadband landscape is changing. Greater competition, upgraded connections, and easier switching are putting the power back in consumers’ hands. Switching providers isn’t only about moving cables around; it’s also a chance to break free from a second-rate service.
We surveyed more than 5,000 broadband customers, and the results show that there are some providers working hard to offer excellent service. Perennial favourites Zen Internet took first place, with Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, and Plusnet joining it at the top of our rankings.
This is the second year running that Zen Internet secured the crown. Customers gave it strong scores in every category we could rate it in. Its customers are significantly more likely to say they haven’t experienced issues with their connection and an impressive 98% told us that they were satisfied with their provider.
But it’s the four biggest providers – BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media – that are leaving their customers significantly less satisfied. These companies still serve around two-thirds of the UK’s broadband customers, so it’s particularly worth considering whether one of the other providers offering reliable connection, easily accessible customer service, and value-for-money might be more deserving of your custom.
It was Virgin Media that had the lowest customer score of the big four, but it did manage one decent rating: customers gave it three stars for the speeds they get via its network. But more than a quarter said they’d experienced disruptive dropouts and one in five had been left without a connection for more than an hour. Customer service and technical support were also found lacking.
Research from the telecoms regulator Ofcom has shown that introductory prices for broadband deals have generally got cheaper over time, with the fastest speeds seeing the biggest reduction. But the value you get from your deal can quickly disappear if you’re with one of the providers that put up their prices every year.
Take BT and its subsidiary EE, for example. Last July, it announced that their annual price rises would be increasing from £3 to £4 a month for customers signing up or re-contracting. Just as we’ve seen before, the other major providers generally fell into line. Plusnet, another BT subsidiary, was followed by Virgin Media, then Vodafone, then TalkTalk, and finally Hyperoptic, which once actually campaigned against mid-contract price rises. Meanwhile, Utility Warehouse and Zen Internet still commit to fixed prices throughout your minimum contract term.
While Now and Sky don’t have set price rises, they tend to announce some each year, but affected customers with standalone broadband will be offered the right to switch away without penalty.
Having to factor any price rises into your calculations can feel like an extra complication when choosing a new deal. That is why our comparison service, which there is a link to in the show notes, does it for you, allowing you to compare the full cost of a contract including up-front costs.
But still think switching is a hassle? Well, simply starting a switch could get you a discount.
Our cars editor, Will Stapley, told us that when his contract with BT came to an end, he was left paying £60 a month for a gigabit connection – more than double the price of some introductory offers currently on the market. His connection was fast and reliable, so he didn’t want to leave BT, but he wanted to arm himself with a cheaper quote from Community Fibre. He filled out a form on its site that included an option for Community Fibre to handle the switch – part of a new simpler process called One Touch Switch. He didn’t complete the form in the end, but went far enough to alert BT and within seconds he received a ‘sorry you’re leaving’ text.
Later that day, a phone call from BT saw Will being offered the same package for more than half the price, just £29.99 per month. Was he lucky? Perhaps, but when we surveyed a thousand Which? members who have used One Touch Switch, a quarter said their old provider had offered them a new deal. Of these, half were offered the same deal for a lower price and one in six were offered a faster speed for a lower price.
If you’re in a similar situation, it’s worth exploring. But be willing to make the jump if your provider doesn’t come to the party.
James Rowe: Thanks for listening to this podcast from Which?, the UK’s consumer champion. You can find plenty more advice about what we discussed today in the show notes. There you’ll also find a link to become a Which? member for 50% off the usual price, an offer exclusively available to you, our podcast listeners.
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