Service
Automatic compensation figures, April 2026
Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme pays money back from the broadband or landline provider when certain things go wrong, without a legal claim. The amounts below are the ones Ofcom published for new service issues from 1 April 2026. They are not a monthly price, not an energy rate, and not a payment from this website.
Reviewed 5 November 2026 · 6 min read · Independent · Not a price list
The three payments
Delayed repair after a total loss of service: if the service has stopped working and is not fully fixed after two full working days from the report, compensation is £10.34 for each further calendar day it stays unrepaired. A slow evening on Wi-Fi is not, by itself, a total loss of service. Test on a wire near the hub before you treat a dead corner of the house as a dead line.
Missed appointments: if an engineer does not turn up for a scheduled appointment, or the appointment is cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, compensation is £32.31 for that missed appointment. A visit that happened and did not fix a separate problem is a different conversation. Write down whether anyone arrived, and at what time.
Delayed start of a new service: if the provider promises to start a new service on a particular date and does not, compensation is £6.46 for each calendar day of delay. A date you hoped for is not a promised date. The date in the order confirmation is the one to keep. A gap you created by cancelling the old line yourself is not automatically their delay.
Who Ofcom listed as signed up
On the guide Ofcom last updated on 20 July 2026, the signed-up providers are BT, EE, Hyperoptic, Plusnet, Sky (including NOW Broadband), TalkTalk, Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Zen Internet. TalkTalk’s membership has restrictions for customers who are not on the Openreach network. Read that limit before you assume a CityFibre or other wholesale TalkTalk product pays the same way.
A provider that is not on that list is not in the scheme because a larger brand is. Alternative networks, smaller retailers and business products can sit outside it. Ask the provider, about the product on the order, whether the scheme applies. Keep the reply with the order date.
Membership of the scheme is not coverage of a network. Hyperoptic being signed up does not put Hyperoptic in a house the building network does not serve. Virgin Media being signed up does not put cable on an Openreach-only street. The payment rule and the availability rule are different facts.
How the amounts change
Ofcom’s code raises the payment amounts each 1 April in line with inflation, for new service issues from that date. The 1 April 2026 figures are the ones in the consumer guide as updated in July 2026. An issue that started before the change is not silently rewritten onto the new daily rate. Ask which rate applies to the date the problem began.
We will revise this page when Ofcom revises the guide. Until that revision, do not treat a forum post or a retention credit as the new rate. A goodwill credit on a phone call may be extra, or it may be offered instead of the scheme. Ask which one they are applying, and ask for it in writing.
OneTouchSwitch does not operate the scheme, does not see the fault ticket, and does not pay the sum. Ofcom does not post you a cheque as the first step. The provider does, where the scheme applies and no exclusion applies. Ofcom’s own guide says exclusions can apply. If a provider refuses, ask them to name the exclusion.
What the figures do not cover
They are not compensation for a headline speed you never measured at the hub, for a television package that failed while the line worked, or for an energy bill. They are not an exit-fee waiver. They do not move a care-alarm contract. They do not prove the provider was careless. They are a set tariff for three defined failures.
They are not a reason to cancel the old service early in the hope of being paid for the gap. The gaining provider should run One Touch Switch so the dates meet. If you cease the old line yourself, write that down, because the story of the gap has changed.
They are not a broadband price we will put in a comparison table. A comparison of monthly tariffs is a different page, and only where a reviewed catalogue actually contains an offer. These pounds are a remedy, dated, and easy to confuse with a deal if a page is careless. This page is not careless on that point.
Questions
- Do I have to apply?
- The scheme is meant to pay without you having to build a case. You still need the dates. If it does not arrive, ask the provider, and keep a record of the ask.
- Are these your prices?
- No. They are Ofcom’s published scheme amounts for new issues from 1 April 2026. We do not pay them and we do not sell broadband.
- Is every provider included?
- No. Ofcom lists the signatories. Absence from that list means you ask. Do not assume.
- Does a missed switch date count?
- If the provider promised a start date and missed it, the delayed-start rule is the one to read. A date you inferred is not a promise.
- Will the rate change again?
- The code uprates amounts on 1 April for new issues. This page is tied to the July 2026 statement of the April 2026 figures. Check Ofcom if you are reading this later.
- Can you claim it for me?
- No. We cannot see the ticket. The provider pays where the scheme applies.