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10 hidden broadband fees
We reveal some of the biggest and most common hidden broadband charges and how you can avoid them.
There are hundreds of broadband deals to choose from, with a new cheap headline deal announced almost daily. However, all is not what it might at first seem with many of these deals.
While many people find absolutely the right deal for them, a growing number of households regret the choice that they have made. As contracts are typically 12 months or more, a wrong decision can hit your wallet hard.
The two most common complaints are that the broadband deal simply does not deliver what is expected - in terms of speed, technical support, reliability or the attached call plan - or the cost of the broadband package works out more expensive than first thought.
Here are the top 10 things to watch out for to avoid the unpleasant surprise of hidden broadband costs:
1. Cost of line rental
It is common practice in the UK to quote a headline broadband price, without the cost of line rental included. All DSL broadband services (accessed via a copper phone wire) require a home phone line in order to function.
You will therefore have to pay for home phone line rental. The only exceptions are fibre-optic broadband, from Virgin Media for example, or a mobile broadband package that uses a mobile phone network to provide your broadband service.
Line rental typically costs £11 a month: BT line rental is £11.54 a month, Sky's £11, Virgin Media's £11 and TalkTalk £11.49.
2. Download penalties and "fair usage" policies
The term "downloads" refers to the amount of data that travels through your broadband connection when the internet is in use. Activities such as viewing television online, through BBC iPlayer for example, require large amounts of data to pass through your broadband connection to the computer. As a result, the broadband provider's download policy is extremely important.
There are two types of deal on offer from broadband providers - broadband packages with set "download limits" and so-called "unlimited downloads" packages. Both can end up costing more money (or delivering a reduced service) if you are unaware of your service entitlement.
If you exceed the download limit of a broadband package with a download limit (such as "10 GB per month"), then you should expect to either pay a surcharge of between £1.25 and £2.00 per GB, or experience restricted usage at peak times. A full length movie download uses about 1.5 GB - so if you download 5 or 10 movies and go past the set download limit, it will end up costing a packet.
But even if you are signed up to broadband packages with "unlimited" downloads you are at risk of being hit with hidden charges as many are subject to "fair usage policies". These providers will either throttle back broadband speed dramatically, or put in place an absolute download limit - despite the advertised "unlimited" message.
3. Not all advertised deals will be available in your area
The broadband deals available in an area typically depend on whether a broadband supplier has put their own equipment into the BT telephone exchanges in order to provide their broadband services (a process known as "local loop unbundling"). This enables them to provide better value deals. So a cheap looking deal, advertised in the national press for example, may not be available to all homes.
4. Customer service and technical help costs
Bearing in mind that broadband services can be a little unreliable - and you may be kept on hold before speaking to an adviser - customer service and technical help calls can end up costing a lot of money.
Most broadband providers charge you for customer service calls at national call rates (6-8p per minute). Other broadband providers offer cheaper customer service with 0845 numbers, but even then the call may cost 4.5p per minute.
Calls to broadband technical help lines can cost even more, ranging from 10p per minute to 50p per minute with some providers.
However, there are some exceptions. Virgin Media and O2 Broadband offer free customer service and technical help calls; and Sky Broadband technical help calls are only 5p per minute.
5. Costs of leaving an "LLU" broadband provider
Many popular broadband providers install their own equipment in BT telephone exchanges (under a system known as "local loop unbundling" or "LLU"). This allows them to offer you very competitive broadband deals, but it can leave you with a big charge if you ever want to leave them.
As an example, there can be a new line activation cost of up to £122.50 to be returned to the BT home phone network if you are moving back from a fully unbundled phone line (moving the line rental away from BT to another LLU broadband provider); or to move from Virgin Media's cable network onto a copper home phone (DSL) line.
6. Broadband cancellation charges
The majority of broadband packages are contract based and will charge a cancellation fee if the contract is terminated within the terms of the contract, unless it can be proven that the service has been unreasonably poor.
Typically broadband providers charge pro rata for the outstanding contract monthly costs owed.
7. Rolling contracts
Rolling contracts are a relatively new and underhand phenomenon. BT is the biggest broadband provider to introduce rolling contracts.
Under the system, if you stay with BT after the end of your initial 18 month contract, they will automatically sign you up for another 18 month contract, unless they receive a call within a 30 day window to let them know that a customer wishes to leave. The cost of leaving BT Broadband during a contract is up to £70.
8. New line activation fees
Another common trap comes when there is no home phone line in the property. Reactivating a home phone line with BT typically costs £120.
This may be true even if there appears to be a home phone line into the property. It may not be necessary to reactivate the home phone line if cable (fibre-optic) broadband is available at the property, so do check before paying the £120 activation charge.
Some broadband providers offer special deal on new line activations - TalkTalk for example is offering new line activation for £59.99. The charge is waived if customers sign up through some comparison sites.
9. Moving home
Some broadband providers will impose a "cease and re-provide" charge for customers who want to move home and retain their broadband service at the new property.
They may do this even if customers are still in contract. Another danger to be aware of is providers urging you to sign a new full term contract when moving home, a shrewd move which may add another 18 or even 24 months onto a contract.
10. Payment method
Direct debit is the best way to pay in order to avoid hidden charges; otherwise you may face increased monthly charges.
Virgin Media, for example, charge an additional £5 a month to customers paying by cash or cheque while BT Broadband charges a quarterly fee of £4.50.
10 hidden broadband fees - Bills - MSN Local
We reveal some of the biggest and most common hidden broadband charges and how you can avoid them.
There are hundreds of broadband deals to choose from, with a new cheap headline deal announced almost daily. However, all is not what it might at first seem with many of these deals.
While many people find absolutely the right deal for them, a growing number of households regret the choice that they have made. As contracts are typically 12 months or more, a wrong decision can hit your wallet hard.
The two most common complaints are that the broadband deal simply does not deliver what is expected - in terms of speed, technical support, reliability or the attached call plan - or the cost of the broadband package works out more expensive than first thought.
Here are the top 10 things to watch out for to avoid the unpleasant surprise of hidden broadband costs:
1. Cost of line rental
It is common practice in the UK to quote a headline broadband price, without the cost of line rental included. All DSL broadband services (accessed via a copper phone wire) require a home phone line in order to function.
You will therefore have to pay for home phone line rental. The only exceptions are fibre-optic broadband, from Virgin Media for example, or a mobile broadband package that uses a mobile phone network to provide your broadband service.
Line rental typically costs £11 a month: BT line rental is £11.54 a month, Sky's £11, Virgin Media's £11 and TalkTalk £11.49.
2. Download penalties and "fair usage" policies
The term "downloads" refers to the amount of data that travels through your broadband connection when the internet is in use. Activities such as viewing television online, through BBC iPlayer for example, require large amounts of data to pass through your broadband connection to the computer. As a result, the broadband provider's download policy is extremely important.
There are two types of deal on offer from broadband providers - broadband packages with set "download limits" and so-called "unlimited downloads" packages. Both can end up costing more money (or delivering a reduced service) if you are unaware of your service entitlement.
If you exceed the download limit of a broadband package with a download limit (such as "10 GB per month"), then you should expect to either pay a surcharge of between £1.25 and £2.00 per GB, or experience restricted usage at peak times. A full length movie download uses about 1.5 GB - so if you download 5 or 10 movies and go past the set download limit, it will end up costing a packet.
But even if you are signed up to broadband packages with "unlimited" downloads you are at risk of being hit with hidden charges as many are subject to "fair usage policies". These providers will either throttle back broadband speed dramatically, or put in place an absolute download limit - despite the advertised "unlimited" message.
3. Not all advertised deals will be available in your area
The broadband deals available in an area typically depend on whether a broadband supplier has put their own equipment into the BT telephone exchanges in order to provide their broadband services (a process known as "local loop unbundling"). This enables them to provide better value deals. So a cheap looking deal, advertised in the national press for example, may not be available to all homes.
4. Customer service and technical help costs
Bearing in mind that broadband services can be a little unreliable - and you may be kept on hold before speaking to an adviser - customer service and technical help calls can end up costing a lot of money.
Most broadband providers charge you for customer service calls at national call rates (6-8p per minute). Other broadband providers offer cheaper customer service with 0845 numbers, but even then the call may cost 4.5p per minute.
Calls to broadband technical help lines can cost even more, ranging from 10p per minute to 50p per minute with some providers.
However, there are some exceptions. Virgin Media and O2 Broadband offer free customer service and technical help calls; and Sky Broadband technical help calls are only 5p per minute.
5. Costs of leaving an "LLU" broadband provider
Many popular broadband providers install their own equipment in BT telephone exchanges (under a system known as "local loop unbundling" or "LLU"). This allows them to offer you very competitive broadband deals, but it can leave you with a big charge if you ever want to leave them.
As an example, there can be a new line activation cost of up to £122.50 to be returned to the BT home phone network if you are moving back from a fully unbundled phone line (moving the line rental away from BT to another LLU broadband provider); or to move from Virgin Media's cable network onto a copper home phone (DSL) line.
6. Broadband cancellation charges
The majority of broadband packages are contract based and will charge a cancellation fee if the contract is terminated within the terms of the contract, unless it can be proven that the service has been unreasonably poor.
Typically broadband providers charge pro rata for the outstanding contract monthly costs owed.
7. Rolling contracts
Rolling contracts are a relatively new and underhand phenomenon. BT is the biggest broadband provider to introduce rolling contracts.
Under the system, if you stay with BT after the end of your initial 18 month contract, they will automatically sign you up for another 18 month contract, unless they receive a call within a 30 day window to let them know that a customer wishes to leave. The cost of leaving BT Broadband during a contract is up to £70.
8. New line activation fees
Another common trap comes when there is no home phone line in the property. Reactivating a home phone line with BT typically costs £120.
This may be true even if there appears to be a home phone line into the property. It may not be necessary to reactivate the home phone line if cable (fibre-optic) broadband is available at the property, so do check before paying the £120 activation charge.
Some broadband providers offer special deal on new line activations - TalkTalk for example is offering new line activation for £59.99. The charge is waived if customers sign up through some comparison sites.
9. Moving home
Some broadband providers will impose a "cease and re-provide" charge for customers who want to move home and retain their broadband service at the new property.
They may do this even if customers are still in contract. Another danger to be aware of is providers urging you to sign a new full term contract when moving home, a shrewd move which may add another 18 or even 24 months onto a contract.
10. Payment method
Direct debit is the best way to pay in order to avoid hidden charges; otherwise you may face increased monthly charges.
Virgin Media, for example, charge an additional £5 a month to customers paying by cash or cheque while BT Broadband charges a quarterly fee of £4.50.
10 hidden broadband fees - Bills - MSN Local
