27 July 2010
ISPs must do more to offer practical help to consumers on speeds, says Panel
The Panel today welcomed Ofcom's proposals to strengthen the voluntary code of practice governing broadband speeds, but raised concerns that the onus is on consumers to find out what speeds they are getting. The Panel would like to see more emphasis placed on ISPs to offer practical help to consumers who are not getting the speeds they were expecting.
On 14 July 2010, the Communications Consumer Panel published new research that looked at the information consumers are given about their ability to cancel a mobile contract if they don't get the coverage they need.
The research report Can I cancel? Mobile coverage and contract cancellation found that over half (56%) of people buying a mobile phone contract in-store did not receive accurate information about cancellation policies in the event of coverage problems, according to our mystery shopping exercise.
Can I cancel? also found that operators and retailers had significantly different policies. In some cases operators would not allow customers to cancel contracts even if they had no coverage at all. And where consumers could cancel their contract the time limit allowed varied dramatically. Shoppers also had considerably different experiences depending on which operator or retailer they visited.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Panel is calling on operators and retailers to give consumers:
1. a minimum 14-day time limit cancellation policy for poor or no coverage
2. the right to cancel their contract if coverage doesn't meet their needs
3. consistent cancellation policies within individual operators and retailers
4. accurate in-store information
5. staff trained to explain company policies correctly.
Can I cancel? is available on the Panel website here.
