• Introduction
• Official ISP Complaint Handlers and Procedures
• Unofficial ISP Complaint Handlers and Legal Counsel
• Common ISP Complaints and Advice
• Helpful ISP Complaint Tips

1. Difficulty Gaining a Broadband Migration Authorisation Code (MAC).
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2. Tag on Line (Broadband Connection Ownership Conflict).
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3. Slamming (Mis-Selling).
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4. Serious and Persistent Declines in Broadband Speed.

Extremely significant and unexpected drops in service speed that continue for longer than a few days can be a serious matter (e.g. real-world daytime rates of 6Mbps drop to 1Mbps). It’s important to make sure that natural peak usage trends or traffic management policies (heavy users be warned – P2P and online video services are often targeted with specific restrictions) are not to blame. Don’t be afraid to change ISP if it underperforms.

Broadband is a variable “best efforts” service but you should not accept a dramatically slower speed than your line is PREDICTED to cope with, especially if the problem occurs throughout the day and no traffic or fair usage policies are being deliberately applied (ask your ISP). Some BT based ISPs will consider anything below 400Kbps to be a line fault requiring investigation, though internal policies do vary.

Under Ofcom’s voluntary Code of Practice (CoP) on speeds, which 95% of UK ISPs have already agreed to (CoP ISP LIST), broadband providers must:

• Provide consumers at the point of sale with an accurate estimate of the maximum speed that their line can support.

• Explain clearly and simply how technical factors may slow down speeds, while also offering help and advice to consumers to improve the situation at home.

• Offer an alternative package (if there is one) without any penalties, if the actual speed is a lot lower than the original estimate.

• Explain fair usage policies (FUP) clearly and alert consumers when they have been breached.

UPDATE August 2010

Ofcom has moved to toughen its Voluntary Code of Practice on Broadband Speeds ("the Code") by issuing a new Version 2.0 edition of the code (here) that is even stricter. However, at the time of writting, fewer ISPs had agreed to the v2 code than for v1 (v2 ISP Members). ISPs have been given 6-12 months to adapt to the new code. The key additions follow:

• Greater consistency and accuracy of information on speeds achievable by consumers: instead of getting a maximum line speed estimate in the form of a single point estimate, consumers will be given a range which is more likely to be accurate than the single point estimate.

• Giving customers the option to be released from their contracts: consumers will have a new right to be able to leave their contracts without penalty if they receive an maximum line speed which is significantly below the bottom of the estimated range and ISPs are not able to resolve the problem (e.g. by sending an iPlate).

• Ensuring consumers are given their estimated maximum line speed early in the sales process, well before being asked for a firm commitment to sign-up.

• Ensuring consumers are given clear written information that actual speeds may be below both advertised headline speeds and maximum line speeds, as well as information about the other factors affecting actual speeds, including the ISP's fair usage and traffic management policies.

Customers experiencing problems like this with their ISP should run a series of Broadband Speed Tests at different times of the day over several days to see if they can spot any trends. It’s also worth trying to see if performance varies between different services or websites, as this may signal a problem with the remote site (or traffic management) rather than your ISP. When reporting a problem with speed to your ISP it is a good idea to have screenshots of your speedtest results (make a note of the date and time they were conducted).

Problems with speed can also occur due to physical line problems, environmental electrical interference (Christmas tree lights, AC adaptors, microwave ovens etc.) or an issue with your broadband router/modem ; it may not be the fault of your ISP. The ‘Broadband ADSL Connection Tips’ article we wrote should be helpful in diagnosing most problems.

More advanced users should also consider running a traceroute, which tests the flow of traffic between your connection and another server. Problems can be identified by any servers in the chain that either time-out (fail to work), run very slowly (500ms/miliseconds+ is usually quite bad) and or experience noticable packet loss.

It’s very important to be aware that most of these rules and situations relate to traditional land based telephone providers. Do not apply the same principals to Mobile Broadband (T-Mobile, Vodafone etc.) services, where dramatic fluctuations in speed are to be expected.

5. Frequent and Lengthy Broadband Connection Problems.
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6. Billing and Cancellation Errors.
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7. Unreachable Customer Support Departments.
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8. Lengthy Critical Service (Email, Website Browsing etc.) Outages.
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