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Broadband customers won’t receive compensation for lost connections during coronavirus crisis


BROADBAND and landline customers won’t receive automatic compensation for lost connections and bad service during the coronavirus crisis.

Originally rolled out in April last year, telecoms regulator Ofcom paused the compensation scheme this week due to the pandemic.

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 Broadband customers won’t receive automatic compensation for lost service during the coronavirus crisis
Broadband customers won’t receive automatic compensation for lost service during the coronavirus crisisCredit: PA:Press Association

The scheme usually means that customers of the major providers are automatically compensated if they are left without service or if an engineer fails to turn up.

Customers get £8 for every day their service is down, if it’s not fixed within two working days.

And new customers whose service does not start on time usually get £5 for every day of delay.

There are also automatic refunds of £25 every time an engineer fails to show up for a booked appointment.

Top tips on how to stay connected

BELOW are some tips from Ofcom on how to stay connected during the coronavirus crisis.

  1. Use your landline or wifi calls: More people are making calls on their mobile network during the day, so you may find you get a more reliable connection using your landline or by turning on “wifi calling” in your settings.
  2. Move your router clear of other devices: Keep your router as far away as possible from other devices, such as cordless phones, baby monitors, TVs and monitors, as they can all affect your wifi if they’re too close to your router. Also, place your router on a table or shelf rather than on the floor, and keep it switched on.
  3. Lower the demands on your connection: The more devices attached to your wifi, the lower the speed you get. Devices like tablets and smartphones often work in the background, so try switching wifi reception off on these when you’re not using them.
  4. Try wired rather than wireless: For the best broadband speeds, use an Ethernet cable to connect your computer directly to your router rather than using wifi.
  5. Plug your router directly into your main phone socket: Where possible, try not to use a telephone extension lead, as these can cause interference which could lower your speed.
  6. Test the speed on your broadband line: You can run a speed test using Ofcom’s official mobile and broadband checker. If possible, carry out tests over a few days and at different times of day.
  7. Get advice from your broadband provider: If your connection isn’t working as well as it should, you can find advice on your broadband provider’s website. If you need to contact them for help, keep in mind that because of coronavirus some companies have fewer people to help with your queries.

But current circumstances mean that providers are less likely to be able to carry out repairs, install new services or make home visits than they usually would.

As a result, Ofcom has temporarily relaxed the rules of the scheme, although it added that the decision wasn’t taken lightly.

The regulator told The Sun the flexible approach will be applied as long as the unique circumstances apply.

In the meantime, providers have to make their customers aware of any decision not to pay compensation.

They must also stop charging any customers who are left without service, Ofcom said.

It added in a statement: “While we acknowledge the difficult circumstances that telecoms companies are in, that does not mean customers should be exploited.

“If we see evidence that is happening, we will step in and take action.”

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Your internet may be getting slower as the coronavirus outbreak causes a huge surge in daytime traffic.

Earlier this week, Sky customers were furious after their broadband went down leaving them unable to work from home.

While O2, Virgin, Tesco, EE, Three and GiffGaff went down earlier in March.

Welsh village 300 people dig seven miles of trenches to install own super fast broadband





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