If you aren’t happy with your broadband service, the obvious thing to do is switch. But how many of us stick with a bad service because we’re worried about all the hassle that’s involved?
Some of our recent research showed that many of us experience problems when trying to switch internet service provider (ISP). Nearly half of the Which? members who’d switched recently said they’d had problems.
The main switching bugbears include your old broadband provider continuing to take payments, problems setting up the new connection and being left without a broadband service for far too long. It’s this kind of annoyance that puts many of us off.
One of the other things that seems to make people reluctant to switch is losing your old e-mail address. I’ve heard from people who aren’t happy with their current service but don’t want to change for this very reason. Although it might seem like a pain, I don’t think you should let the poor provider tie you in to their email.
Why it’s worth switching in the end
For the sake of an easy life, you might think it’s not worth it. But we want you to get the best deal – so don’t be put off! Even though many people experienced problems, this didn’t stop the majority (78%) of our switching members finding the experience easy.
Two thirds of those asked have been with the same ISP for more than three years. Although time can fly – and many of you may be entirely happy with your current service – I find this slightly worrying. Broadband deals and prices change all the time, so if you haven’t checked out the competition for three years you should do so now. Changing broadband provider could get you a cheaper, better service.
Make sure you know what you’re switching to
It’s worth a quick reminder to check you know what you’re signing up to. Worryingly four in 10 people in our survey didn’t know the advertised usage limit on their broadband package.
You should also make sure you look at the small print. For example, don’t take broadband deals offering unlimited usage at face value. If you’d expect to download as much data as you like with an unlimited broadband deal, watch out – this isn’t always the case. Unlimited deals are often subject to fair usage limits which differ between providers but could place restrictions on heavy users.
But at the end of the day, if you’re not happy with what you’re getting, or think you could get a better broadband package elsewhere. Go on, make the effort and switch. I dare you.
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