Compensation if a broadband switch goes wrong

Start with the new provider

If activation is late, an engineer misses an appointment, or you lose service, contact the gaining provider first. They own the order. Keep dates, reference numbers and a simple log of calls.

Automatic compensation

Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme can apply to delayed repairs, delayed activations and missed appointments for qualifying residential services. Eligibility and amounts are set by the scheme and the provider, not by OneTouchSwitch. Check the current Ofcom summary rather than treating this page as a legal right.

If you cannot resolve it

Use the provider’s complaints process, then an Ofcom-approved alternative dispute resolution scheme if the complaint is unresolved. We are not a regulator and cannot adjudicate a switch.

What the scheme is actually for

Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme can apply to delayed repairs, missed appointments and delayed activations on qualifying residential services. Amounts and eligibility are set by the scheme and the provider. They change. This page is not a tariff of what you will be paid.

A delayed switch is not automatically a delayed activation. If you cancelled the old line yourself and sat in a gap, that gap may be your cease, not their delay. If they promised a date and missed it, write down both dates before you argue.

Business lines, some small alt-nets, and services outside the scheme are not the same product. Ask the provider whether the scheme applies to the service you ordered, rather than assuming every broadband brand is inside it.

How to ask without turning it into a complaint first

Start with the provider’s compensation or complaints route and give them the dates. If they say the scheme does not apply, ask which exclusion they are using. If you disagree, their complaints process comes before the Communications Ombudsman. Ofcom does not award you a personal payment.

Keep the request shorter than your frustration. Date ordered, date promised, date working, what you want. Attach the order email. A long narrative about the call-centre music does not help the person applying a scheme rule.

What to do with this guide

Use this page as a checklist, not as a quote. The decisions sit with you and with the provider: the address, the contract you already signed, and the offer they will actually sell. OneTouchSwitch can show a mock catalogue and explain the switching process. We do not send the One Touch Switch messages, we do not set exit fees, and we do not decide social-tariff eligibility.

Before you act, write down four things. The premises, including the flat number. The early-termination figure in pounds if you are still in a minimum term. Whether a television package, a phone number, or a care alarm depends on the line. And the date you can be at home if an engineer is required. If any of those is unknown, you are not ready to order, however clear the guide feels.

Then compare at the address. Look at the opening monthly price and, separately, the minimum-term cost: later months, setup, and a confirmed exit fee. A first-year figure is useful and it is not the whole term when the contract is longer. Order with the gaining provider only when you have decided the numbers work. Do not cancel the old service first. Keep the confirmation and the old router until the new line has worked. If the situation in “Compensation if a broadband switch goes wrong” does not match what the provider just told you, use the provider’s written answer.

If you are helping someone else, you need their authority. Paying a bill is not authority. A parent, a landlord, or a housemate cannot One Touch Switch a contract that is not theirs. Sit with the account holder, or get the provider to note an authorised contact, before a date is agreed.

Related reading on this site is there to stop a second mistake. Full fibre is a way of building, not a speed. A social tariff is a provider’s discount for people who qualify, not a promo code. An exit fee is a number you ask for. Availability is the premises, not the town. If you only remember one of those, remember the premises.

When the new service is up, return borrowed kit to the address the old provider named and keep proof of postage. Check the first bill against the price you were told, including the month the introductory rate ends. If it does not match, query it while the order email is still easy to find. A comparison is finished only when the bill matches the promise.