Ofcom urged to probe hidden broadband charges

Many UK broadband subscribers are being hit hard by hidden charges.

So claims research published today, which also calls for communications watchdog Ofcom to step in to do something about the charges which affect around eight million Brits.

One in six of respondents of the research by Opinium Research on behalf of moneysupermarket.com have faced extra charges averaging out at an additional 44 per year. This figure rose to 61 per year with customers in their 20s.

When added together, these charges amounted to an extra 370 million for providers each year, according to the report.

The survey also showed that almost half of the 2,000-plus online respondents who incurred these additional charges had no idea they were written into their contracts.

The comparison website is calling for Ofcom to address the issue which sees customers getting charged for paper billing, non-direct debit payments, technical support lines and exceeding download limits to name a few.

James Parker, mobiles and broadband manager at moneysupermarket.com, said in a statement: "Mobile and broadband bills are one of the few to fall in the past year yet providers are clawing back revenue with charges hidden in the small print and Ofcom need to address this practice to ensure people know upfront what things will cost."

When contacted by IT PRO, Ofcom confirmed that it is already investigating into these hidden charges.

"We released a ruling in December last year for all communications providers to make it clear what extra charges were in the small print and if they were administrative to make sure they were fair," said a spokesperson.

They added: "We then gave them three months to comply and, in April, we started an ongoing open investigation to look at their charges. If we find one is worse we will name them publicly and open a named investigation into them."