People who get their broadband from Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Vodafone or Sky Broadband have been issued a fine warning of up to £110. If a member of staff visits your house and you don't answer the door, you can be issued the large fine - depending on which provider you're with.
Broadband providers can charge you a fixed fee if an engineer visits and you don't answer the door. The rules have caused controversy amongst customers. On the other hand, you can also get compensation if an engineer misses an appointment.
This compensation is, however, often a fraction of what you'd pay for missing one yourself, Manchester Evening News reports. This is how much the biggest broadband providers will charge you if an engineer is called out to no avail:
- TalkTalk - up to £65
- Sky - £25
- Vodafone - £110
- Virgin - £25
These firms have been approached for comment.
Virgin Media customer Emma Robinson, 42, from Surrey, hit out at the doorbell tax to The Mirror. 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.”
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.
The compensation is set by regulator Ofcom. You should not need to do anything to get the money, as providers are meant to pay the cash out automatically.
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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