Broadband customers snared by £600 ‘switching fees’
Men and women have decision of paying hundreds of pounds to switch suppliers or placing up with shoddy connection speeds, a charity warns 
Photograph: ALAMY
Broadband firms are “punishing” their consumers with arbitrary cancellation charges, according to Citizens Advice.
Providers’ hefty exit fees, faltering connections and negative consumer services have come below fire in a campaign launched by the charity.
Customers are charged £190 on regular for switching broadband contracts – even if they move home and can no longer stay with their current supplier.
Folks who switch also encounter “cancellation costs” of up to £625.
The most complained-about problems consist of slower-than-advertised connection speeds, persistent faults and minor or no consumer services.
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Switching charges and bungled expenses
One in 5 consumers who complained to Citizens Suggestions in the past yr have been involved in a cancellation or withdrawal dispute.
Client gripes also integrated broadband organizations failing to deal with complaints (18pc of complaints) and issues with fees and billing (15pc of complaints).
Total, three,300 individuals have reported World wide web and broadband troubles to the charity given that July 2013.
Some customers who refused to spend the exit fees were passed above to debt assortment agencies, the charity said.
Gillian Guy, Citizens Tips chief executive, stated: “Internet service companies should not shackle customers in search of a much better services with unreasonable fees that can turn into shock debt.
“All Net end users want to be in a position to effortlessly have a way out of inadequate contracts and broadband speeds that only give them daily aggravation.”
James Padmore at comparethemarket.com stated that the higher fees deterred competitors in the broadband marketplace. “These large fees are developed to lock consumers into their present packages and to deter them from purchasing about,” he stated.
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