Growing Anger Over Misleading Broadband Claims

It seems that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Ofcom, which have plans to scrutinize broadband advertising which is sometimes ‘too good to be true’, might be onto something, as new research shows how British customers lose a lot of money by being locked into contracts that have hidden costs.

According to recent research by the wireless broadband provider Relish, made in partnership with financial expert and Moneymagpie.com founder Jasmine Birtles, a customer can end up paying £156 extra each year, by being locked into price hikes, once the 12-month sign-up offer expires. That amounts to a total of £2.6 billion every year, the research suggests.

We recently reported how the ASA and Ofcom plan to control how broadband providers advertise their deals to new customers. According to the bodies, new customers are often confused by shining deals, filled with complicated wording, and sometimes end up paying more money than it was originally advertised.

“It’s very pleasing to see that the Advertising Standards Authority and Ofcom are taking radical steps to regulate how these shiny broadband deals are advertised,” Jasmine Birtles commented on the ASA / Ofcom move.

“Our research has demonstrated that these supposed offers are not good deals. We need clarity on the true cost of a broadband package and what the ‘deal’ actually means. Relish and Moneymagpie are both supporting the move for more transparent advertising in order to make pricing breakdowns simpler and clearer, much like Ofgem has done with gas and electricity in recent times.”

Author: Sead Fadilpašic
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