Broadband and phone

When you’re entitled to broadband and home phone compensation, and how much you could be owed.

Problems with your home broadband and phone

Your broadband or home phone provider is responsible for making sure issues like slow broadband connection or a fault on your phone line are fixed.

So start by calling your provider when it comes to fixing a fault with your broadband or phone line. They are responsible even if another company – like Openreach – manages the network.

They may need to send an engineer to fix the problem. You should expect to be told in advance whether and when you will be charged for this service. So, for example, if the problem is with your equipment rather than the network.

When you are entitled to compensation

You could be entitled to a refund or account credit if you’re left without service for an unreasonable time. For example, if your provider needs to dig up roads or get permission to access land to fix the problem.

If you’re left with no service for some time you could also be eligible to leave your contract without paying a penalty. Check what the terms in your contract say about this.

This also applies if your broadband speed falls below the minimum guaranteed speed you were offered by your provider. Most internet service providers are signed up to Ofcom’s voluntary code of practice that includes this commitment.

Automatic compensation: what you need to know 

You are entitled to money back when things go wrong without having to ask for it. 

The communications sector in the UK is regulated by Ofcom. Home phone and broadband companies who are signed up to Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme will give you money back for delayed repairs or delays to the start of a new service.

Simply get in touch with your provider if your broadband or landline service stops working. They have two full working days to fix the problem. You should start receiving automatic compensation if the repair takes longer than this.

Your compensation will usually be paid as a credit on your account, unless you agree otherwise with your provider.

How much compensation will I get and when? 

You are eligible for automatic compensation if you are a broadband or landline customer of companies signed up to Ofcom’s scheme. 

The level of compensation you get will depend on the length and type of problem you have with your broadband or home phone service:

Problem	Amount of compensation	When you will be paid
Delayed start: Your new provider starts your service later than promised	£5.83 for each day of delay, including the missed start date	No later than 30 days after the delay is resolved or contract cancelled
Delayed repair: Your service stopped working and is still not repaired after two days.	£9.33 a day until the service is repaired	No later than 30 days after the loss of service is resolved or contract cancelled
Missed appointment: An engineer doesn’t turn up or it is cancelled with less than 24 hours notice	£29.15 per missed appointment	No later than 30 days after the date of the missed appointment

Providers can cap the amount of compensation they pay out. They can give you 30 days notice that payments will stop after 30 days of paying you compensation – so only paying you for a total of 60 days.

At this point, your  provider needs to take action to find you a suitable alternative service. You will still be entitled to compensation beyond the 60 days if they can’t find you a suitable alternative.

What to do if you don’t get compensation you’re owed

Use our template letter to contact your provider if you don’t receive compensation you believe you’re entitled to. Wait until the 30-day deadline has passed before getting in touch with your provider.

Complete this form and we’ll send you our free template letter to help you with your automatic compensation complaint. We’d also love you to sign up to the Consumer Voice newsletter, if you’re not already.

Am I eligible for automatic compensation in extreme circumstances?

Customers of companies signed up to Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme will be paid even when the problem is not caused by your provider. For example, if the problem has been caused by extreme weather or strikes. 

There may be exceptions applied to this rule from time to time. For example, automatic compensation payments for lost connections or bad service were temporarily stopped for four months during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

When you won’t be eligible to receive automatic compensation

There are certain circumstances when you won’t be entitled to automatic home broadband or phone compensation:

• If the loss of service is due to faulty equipment or activity in your home – for example, not having your router in a suitable place. 
• If you caused the delay – for example, if you asked for a later engineer appointment

Who is eligible for automatic compensation

Customers of the following companies will be automatically compensated when they have problems with their home broadband or phone service: 

BT	Hyperoptic	Sky (including NOW Broadband)	Utility Warehouse	Vodafone
EE	Plusnet	TalkTalk	Virgin Media	Zen Internet

BT customers could be owed up to £400 in compensation

Guaranteed broadband speeds

You are entitled to certain service levels when you buy a broadband service from a company signed up to Ofcom’s Broadband speed code of practice.

You should be given clear information – without having to ask – about speeds when you buy a broadband service. Your provider should give you a personalised minimum guaranteed speed for your service.

Contact your provider if you think your broadband speed is sluggish and slower than it should be. You are entitled to leave your contract without paying an early exit fee if you don’t get the speeds you were promised and the problem can’t be fixed within 30 days.

The following companies are signed up to Ofcom’s Broadband Speeds Code of Practice: BT, EE, Now Broadband, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk, Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media, Zen Internet.

Checking your broadband speed

Use Ofcom-accredited price comparison websites to help you shop around for the best phone and broadband deals. Some of these services also offer speed tests so you can check the actual speed you’re getting:

• Broadband Compared
• Broadband Deals
• Broadband.co.uk. 

Getting priority service for fault repairs

You could be eligible for priority services to fix problems with your home broadband or phone services. The Priority Fault Repair Scheme gives people urgent repairs for health and mobility reasons priority over standard repairs. Speak to your provider about how to access this service.

How the law protects you with broadband and home phone services

Broadband and phone providers need to comply with general consumer laws about how they should treat their customers, alongside specific rules and voluntary schemes from Ofcom.

The most important of these laws are:

The law	Your rights
Communications Act 2003	You have rights to clear and transparent information about your services, accurate billing statements. You should have access to effective complaint handling procedures and companies must be signed up to an alternative dispute resolution scheme.
Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013	You have a 14-day ‘cooling off period’ in which you can cancel your contract  if you signed up to your broadband or landline service over the phone or online. If your service started within this time you may be charged for what is used.
Consumer Rights Act 2015	Your broadband or home phone service must be ‘fit for purpose, as described and of satisfactory quality’. If your broadband or phone provider doesn’t meet these standards you can cancel your contract and receive compensation. Contract terms must also be fair and transparent. For example, the terms shouldn’t be weighted in the interests of the provider and they should be written in a way that are easy to understand.

Complaining about your broadband or phone company

Start by contacting your broadband or phone company if you’re unhappy with your service or you don’t get the compensation you believe you should. Companies have up to eight weeks to provide a final response to your complaint.

If you can’t reach a resolution you’re happy with by this time then you can escalate your complaint to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme. All companies must be signed up to an Ofcom-approved alternative resolution (ADR) service. 

Ofcom approves two ADR schemes for resolving broadband, landline and mobile complaints:

• Communication and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS)
• Communications Ombudsman

Ofcom has an A-Z checker for finding out which ADR scheme your provider belongs to.