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Are you owed a share of £115m in broadband compensation?

Are you owed a share of £115m in broadband compensation?
Emma Lunn
Written By:
Posted:
04/02/2025
Updated:
04/02/2025

More than 3.9 million households should have received compensation for broadband issues in the past year, according to Go.Compare.

About £114.9m is owed to customers for service issues and missed appointments under Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme – but many households won’t be aware they are owed the cash.

More than three-and-a-half million UK households experienced broadband delays, either to the start of their service or while waiting for repairs to take place, according to Go.Compare. Yet, 91% of UK adults had not heard of the Ofcom broadband automatic compensation scheme, including customers whose providers are signed up to it.

The price comparison website found that 1.4 million users experienced some delay at the start of a new service and should have automatically been paid compensation as a result.

The comparison site produced the figures by applying survey data to official numbers from Ofcom and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It found that nearly a quarter (24%) of households waited two days before their service was up and running, while 17% experienced a delay of three days and 6% were delayed for four. A further 18% waited just one day, and 12% said they were delayed for five.

In addition, 2.1 million broadband customers had to wait for a repair following a loss of service in the past year, according to the survey of broadband users.

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Approximately one-fifth (21%) of broadband users experienced a repair delay of one day, and nearly a quarter (24%) waited two days for their service to be fixed. It took three days for 18% of users to receive a repair, while one in 10 waited for five days and 6% waited for four.

Meanwhile, compensation owed for missed appointments amounted to more than £57m in the past year. Around 5% of broadband users with providers signed up to the scheme reported experiencing this – equal to 1.2 million households.

The Ofcom scheme offers £30.49 in automatic compensation per each missed appointment for eligible customers. Half of those who say they experienced this reported just one missed appointment, while almost a third (30%) reported two missed appointments in the past year. A further 13% of these users experienced between three and five missed appointments.

‘Automatic compensation scheme is great for users’

Matt Sanders, broadband expert at Go.Compare, said: “The Ofcom automatic compensation scheme is great for users as it promises money back for any problems without having to claim for it yourself. When comparing broadband providers, it’s a good idea to check which ones are signed up to the scheme before committing.

“For some customers, issues and delays can drag on, with users waiting weeks or even months for repairs or the start of a new service. So, in these cases especially, we’re urging everyone to check that they have been fairly compensated for any issues with their service.

“You should have been automatically compensated, usually via a credit to your account within 30 days of the problem occurring. If this hasn’t happened, you should raise this with your broadband provider, and as a last resort, you can use the Ofcom-approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service.”

Related: How to save £235 on your broadband bill