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| Broadband Hidden Fees | ||
Broadband Help GuidesBroadband Usage Calculator: Useful tool to help you calculate your average monthly broadband usageBroadband Buying Guide: Tips on choosing your broadband package Beginners Guide To Broadband: If your new to broadband then this guide tells you all you need to know. Broadband Switching Guide: Guide to help you choose the right provider when you wish to switch Guide to broadband hidden fees: Guide to fees that a provider may charge which are not heavily promoted Fair Usage Policy: A comparison of different fair usage policies that various broadband providers implement Free Broadband: Advantages and disadvantages of free broadband packages ISPA Awards 2007: Winners and finalists of the Internet Service Provider Awards 2007 Broadband Glossary: Broadband related terms explained |
Broadband Hidden Fees: What they are and what to avoidThere is an increased trend to include hidden charges within broadband packages, so don't be tricked by the headline price, this can include thin profits for the internet service provider who aim to increase profits and cover costs using other methods. These charges need to be reviewed carefully before deciding on a your broadband package, these are discussed below: Credit card surchargesCredit card companies charge a fee to companies that receive payments by credit card, these can range significantly from one merchant to another.Some broadband providers pass on this charge to you, the consumer. Some of the broadband providers charging for the use of credit cards are as follows:
Cancellation chargesCancellation charges generally only apply to contracts that are 12 months or longer, if you cancel before the 12 months are up then you will usually incur an additional charge.Examples of these charges are as follows:
Note this should not affect most consumers as they are likely to honour the minimum contract term, but is still worth bearing in mind. Downgrade chargesIf you sign up to a particular package you will usually receive benefits that are only applicable to that package, therefore the internet provider will not be keen on you downgrading to a lower valued service.In order to prevent this from happening a downgrade fee can apply, this will generally only be applicable when you are within your minimum term. Examples of these charges are as follows:
House moving feeSome providers charge you for moving house, this is usually a pass through of the connection charge from BT (£34.86).If you are out of contract you can always cancel and move to a provider that gives you free setup, see our switching guide for help with migrating to another provider. Examples of these charges are as follows:
Hardware delivery chargeMost broadband providers give free hardware (i.e. modems, routers or wireless routers) in exchange for signing up for a 12 month contract.Even though the hardware is free they charge a delivery fee, which enables them to keep the headline price the same and offer the 'free' modem or router. Broadband providers that have these charges include Pipex (£7.50) and Eclipse Internet (£4.99) Hardware Recovery feesSome broadband providers charge for recovering the hardware as they retain ownership of it.Again this is usually hidden in the small print, and providers charging this fee includethe following:
Reconnection chargesSome broadband providers charge you when your telephone gets disconnected, this can be as much as £40.Examples of these charges are as follows:
Cease chargesBT are looking at charging internet providers a fee for any of their connections that ceases., this charge is likely in most cases to be passed on to you, the end customer.Note that there is only a charge for customers that do not migrate to another provider but cancel their line completely. This includes those who move house as they are essentially cancelling their old service and starting a new one. The providers that will pass on this charge is not clear as the charge should have become applicable in July, but has been temporarily set to £0.00. Examples of providers charging these are as follows:
Helpdesk chargesSome providers have freephone numbers for their customer service and technical support team and many have local rate numbers. But some have national rate or even premium rate numbers, that can become quite expensive if you ring often.If you ring the customer services department for 30 minutes per month then this can lead you to incur up to £3.00 of charges each month. Providers helpdesk numbers are shown below (note 0870 is national rate and 0845 is local rate charges):
Interest on overdue balancesThis is only a minor point and you should not generally worry about this, but it is worth noting that if you don't pay your bill on time then some providers will charge you interest.Examples of providers that may reserve the right to enforce these charges include:
BT Engineer Call out chargeBT charge ISP's when an engineer is called out, if the call out was unnecessary (i.e. when the fault is not BT's and is that of you, the customer). This charge can be as much as £160 and your internet provider can charge this to you. Therefore when you request an engineers visit you need to ensure that you have checked everything from your end to ensure that this cost does not end up on your bill.Note that Namesco may charge £160 for an engineers visit and Plusnet reserve the right to charge on any charges from BT. Other Hidden chargesOther hidden charges include charging for additional services, such as anti-virus and firewall, for instance Pipex offer this free for the first year but it is not clear whether this is the case for periods after this.Tip: Check the small print (at the bottom of the pages on the web site) and terms and conditions of the service Back to top of the page... |