@chooseonline
Newsletter
More

EXPENSIVE technical support numbers have long been a way for the budget broadband providers to make quick cash from their customers. With BT's recent move to make both its customer and technical support free, however, that could be about to change.

Amazingly few broadband providers have so far cottoned on to the fact that paying £15 an hour to get your £6 a month broadband up and running is blood-boilingly irritating.

Or rather, they have cottoned on to it but failed to work out that it sends their customers running for the hills.

Free tech support

As of April 1st this year, BT broadband entered the elite group of broadband providers (which includes Be* Broadband, O2 Broadband and Fasthosts [Ed: no longer offering home broadband]) offering totally free telephone support as their six most popular chargeable numbers became completely free.

That's 99% of numbers as opposed to the current 92%.

For BT executives the announcement was an object lesson in extreme smugness.

"There really is no excuse for companies whose prices are either sky-high or verging on the ridiculous," claimed Gavin Patterson, BT's managing director, adding that he estimates broadband customers are losing out on a cool £70 million a year.

Free support raises prices

It seems unlikely, however, that many broadband providers will follow BT's lead.

From one point of view that isn't such a bad thing. Freephone technical support raises prices of broadband packages and why pay for something that you might never use?

Then again, you do pay to have access to the Internet and don't expect to have to pay for what often turns out to be your broadband provider's mistakes on top of that.

So how much are you paying your broadband provider for technical support?

It's best to really research before you buy, taking care to check the small print.

Sneaky trick

One sneaky trick to watch out for is broadband providers who make the customer support line free and the technical support a premium rate number and then advertise free support.

Remember, too, if you are experiencing problems with your service and can afford to wait, an email or a good old fashioned letter can solve the problem just as well as a phone call and for cheaper.

Look below to see whether your broadband provider is a phone support star or a phone support shame.

Broadband Phone Support Hall of Stars

Price From a BT Landline	Providers
Free!	Be, BT, Fasthosts Fasthosts [Ed: no longer offering home broadband], O2 Broadband, Virgin Media*
Local Rates	Pipex
0845 numbers » 2p p/min daytime » 0.5p p/min evening	Eclipse, Zen, Post Office Broadband, Virgin Media (Non-cable Customers)*
0844 numbers » Between 1-5p p/min	Madasafish (always 4p a minute), Orange (Home Max and Home Select packages only - always 5p a minute)
0870 numbers » 6p p/min daytime » 1.5p p/min evenings	Easyspace, Sky, TalkTalk (free from TalkTalk landline), AOL

* From June 08 onwards

Broadband Phone Support Wall of Shame

Tech Support Price from a BT Landline	Customer Support Price from a BT Landline	Providers
50p p/min	5p p/min	Orange (Home Starter only)
50p p/min	4p p/min	Tesco
25p p/min	2p p/min daytime, 0.5p evenings	Virgin Media*
10p p/min (5p p/min on Tiscali Talk )	10p p/min (5p p/min on Tiscali Talk )	Tiscali

* Until June 08 only, thereafter free for Virgin Media cable customers, or an 0845 number for Virgin Media's non-cable customers.

Comments