Broadband customers are being warned that if they book in an engineer to sort a problem they could be hit by what has been described as a 'doorbell fine' - an instant addition to your next bill if you fail to answer their knock. The fixed fees from Talktalk, Virgin, Sky and Vodaphone are imposed on your account automatically.
Some customers described the charges as 'outrageous' and said that there were any number of reasons that someone may be distracted - by children for example - at the key moment. The fees from the main providers are: Talktalk £65, Sky or Virgin £25, while with Vodafone it's £110.
Each of these firms has been approached for comment. Virgin Media customer Emma Robinson, 42, from Surrey, hit out at the doorbell tax to The Mirror.
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She said: “I have two young children and it’s not unusual for me to fail to hear the doorbell ring if I am upstairs giving my baby a bath. Now Virgin want to fine me for not answering my door when they rarely pick up the phone themselves and offer some of the worst customer service on the market. Unbelievable.”
Others reacted to the revelation on twitter Bobby Robinson said: ”Are you for real surely this is a joke? If not everyone should boycott Virgin Media.”
Richard Griffiths said: “This is an awful principle. Why on earth would you do something so clumsy at this time? Bit of a PR stumble. No I’ve not been affected, just can’t believe a company would be so silly.”
Ammar added: “Ok and are we gonna get £25 back every time you cheeky ***** hang up on me or don’t take my call?”
Martyn James, of complaints handling group, resolver.co.uk, said: “Anyone who has spent ages trying to get an appointment for a fault – or has waited at home till the evening with no knock on the door – will be outraged that a missed appointment could result in a charge.
“The broadband industry has a pretty terrible reputation for missed appointments, service and sorting complaints. Until the sector has its house in order, it shouldn’t be charging extra for anything – including missed appointments and exit fees.”
Households can also get compensation if they have booked an engineer who fails to turn up. This is £26.24 if an engineer either does not arrive or cancels an appointment with less than 24 hours' notice.
Under current rules, internet providers are obliged to pay customers £25 for each appointment the company fails to fulfil, or for appointments it cancels with less than 24 hours’ notice. In an online post to a customer, the broadband giant Virgin Media warned: “If you do miss the appointment for any reason, a £25 missed appointment charge will be applied to your account on the day of the appointment so it is important to reschedule if needed.”
There is also a £25 charge if the engineer visits and discovers:
- The technician diagnoses the fault as not being caused by our network/equipment
- The technician discovers that the fault or problem relates to your equipment.
- The technician discovers that the fault or problem relates to any system that we are not responsible for
“The technician will confirm during their visit if any of these instances apply, and if so, a £25 charge will be applied to your account.”
Broadband firms only pay out if they are signed up to this Ofcom compensation scheme - but the good news is most of them are. The list of providers signed up is BT, EE, Hyperoptic, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk, Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Zen Internet.
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: "Unlike many other providers, all our customers benefit from service and repairs at no extra cost – even if we need to send out an engineer. Charges for missed appointments are common across the industry to ensure we best serve all customers and we’re proud that our charges are amongst the lowest in the market."
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