It is astonishing that so few broadband providers seem to have noticed what an absolute turn-off their ?15 an hour telephone technical support costs are to their customers; this in return for just getting a straightforward ?6 a month broadband service going. Some bargain, you may well say.
Telephone support at zero cost
The popular broadband providers such as and its sister company , as well as Fasthosts, have for some time been offering completely free telephone support.
Since the beginning of April this year, BT broadband has also introduced free telephone support to customers by making their six most frequently used chargeable numbers totally free. This means that instead of 92% of numbers, it is now 99%. Now that's a whole lot better, isn't it?
BT's managing director, Gavin Patterson, has calculated that broadband customers are losing out to the tune of as much as ?70 million a year (yes, that's right - 70 million quid!) with the inexcusably high prices they are being forced to pay for technical support.
BT is justifiably feeling very proud of itself.
Will free support mean higher prices?
It does not seem likely, at this stage, that many other broadband providers will follow suit and this may not be such a bad thing overall. Free telephone support is likely to raise the price of broadband packages and means that you might be paying for something you are seldom likely to use.
No use = no value, so why pay for something you may not need? As they often say, there is no such thing as a free lunch and with access to the Internet never being free, why should you have to pay for getting to the bottom of your broadband provider's blunders on top of that cost?
How much then is your broadband provider charging you for their technical expertise which, incidentally, you may never or seldom need (especially with the amount of help and support information you can now easily obtain online)?
Before you buy, it is advisable to do some research on a like ChooseISP.co.uk and also carefully check the small print so you know exactly what you are letting yourself in for.
The devil is always in the detail!
Something you need to watch out for
A devious little ruse among some broadband providers is to throw in a free support line for the customer and cheekily advertise free support, but then to provide a technical support number charged at a premium rate.
A useful hint if you are experiencing a problem with your service but are not in a desperate hurry, is to send off a letter by email or even snail-mail.
This will solve the difficulty just as well, is a lot cheaper and you won't have to listen to canned muzak whilst waiting... and waiting... for the next available consultant to help you.
