Consumers 'misled' over broadband speeds

The way broadband speeds are advertised is misleading for consumers and needs to be changed, a cross-party group of 50 MPs have said.

Currently, the British Infrastructure Group (BIG) is calling for greater powers for consumers to hold internet service providers to account, as they are not in breach of current regulations, even if only ten per cent of customers can obtain the advertised speeds.

The group led by former Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said consumers had “very few rights and protections” and were “poorly treated” by their internet providers.

The report published by the group suggested that consumers be given the power to “hold their internet service provider to account when services are not to par, or when they are deliberately misled into signing a contract offering speeds that are not up to the speeds required”. It continues that consumers should have the “power to leave contracts if they are found to have been misled and that there should be a minimum level of compensation if customers receive a poor service”.

Grant Shapps, in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, argued that: “You might sign up for 24 megabits of download speed, find that you don't get anywhere near that, you can't get any compensation, you can't get out of the contract, and it seems to us this is completely the wrong way round.

“BIG will, therefore, be campaigning for mandatory refunds for anyone who has been mis-sold a broadband contract."

Ofcom has suggested that internet service providers sign up to a voluntary code of practice, requiring them to provide consumers with further information and advice on maximum speeds.

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