Broadband contract advertising and pricing clearer from today

[HEXUS]

Adverts must now show upfront and monthly costs, including line rental charges.

Read more.

[virtuo]

Step in the right direction, hopefully the will start clamping down on quoted speeds next. I pay for "Up to 80Mb", I was getting over 72-73 when it was installed, which I was fairly happy with, but it's slowly degraded to about 55 so I'm now closer to the 40Mb package than I am the 80.

I think the cost should be on a sliding scale, like my connection speed is!

[Shazadam]

I live with a 4.5Mb connection, and that is unstable at the best of times.

[EndlessWaves]

Oh great, even more incentive for big discounts up front and the resulting price gouging if you stay with an ISP.

[Percy1983]

Oh great, even more incentive for big discounts up front and the resulting price gouging if you stay with an ISP.

Just swap ISPs, past that I phone talk talk when my contract is up and the word "plusnet" seems to get them listening.

[shaithis]

People still don't understand that "you get what you pay for!"

[Corky34]

81 per cent of participants were unable to calculate correctly the total cost of a broadband contract

I'm not sure if that says more about the ads or the participants ability to add two numbers together.

[virtuo]

I'm not sure if that says more about the ads or the participants ability to add two numbers together.

I'd say the monthly cost x contract term is the easy bit, it's the line rental, install fees, termination fees, post-signup-discount-increases and delivery charges that seem to be tripping people up.

Not that it should, it's still a fairly simple thing to work out.

[ik9000]

A quick scout around and they all say *Prices may change at any time during the contract.

How is a contract a contract if they can change terms at will. The only defence is that they must let the consumer leave. Great - but what if you're in a quasi monopoly like me, where your option is Virgin, or 1.5MB adsl? That is hardly choice. FFS OFCOM endorse this! A quick visit to their website and they couldn't give a toss. I might actually write to my MP. You can't leave at a month's notice without penalty. Why can they change the price? That is ridiculous.

[kalniel]

Still unclear that they can advertise a BIG monthly price and keep an additional upfront payment in the small details. Eg BT infinity £33 a month, but you have to also pay £60 as a one off 'activation' payment.

[frozen-monkey]

Step in the right direction, hopefully the will start clamping down on quoted speeds next. I pay for "Up to 80Mb", I was getting over 72-73 when it was installed, which I was fairly happy with, but it's slowly degraded to about 55 so I'm now closer to the 40Mb package than I am the 80.

I think the cost should be on a sliding scale, like my connection speed is!

This +1

[aniilv]

A quick scout around and they all say *Prices may change at any time during the contract.

How is a contract a contract if they can change terms at will. The only defence is that they must let the consumer leave. Great - but what if you're in a quasi monopoly like me, where your option is Virgin, or 1.5MB adsl? That is hardly choice. FFS OFCOM endorse this! A quick visit to their website and they couldn't give a toss. I might actually write to my MP. You can't leave at a month's notice without penalty. Why can they change the price? That is ridiculous.

They cannot change price and force you to pay, while under your fixed term/cost contract. They can, however, change price and offer you to leave. Thats what virgin has been doing since they have raised price twice in last year. My letter said, "either take the hit or leave". Since what they are doing is essentially braking my contract terms.

[Dashers]

If you want better contract terms with your ISP you're free to negotiate them with their commercial department.

But the rules of supply and demand suggest you're unlikely to convince them to offer you better terms than they give anybody else as an individual.