Phone and Broadband ISP in Top 20 Things Brits Hate to Change

A new survey commission by UK ISP TalkTalk has claimed that 69% of British people may be “losing out” due to an unwillingness to change and 25% agreed that they’d lost money as a result. Meanwhile 51% said that stress and anxiety were the main reasons they avoided change.

The study also produced a list of the top 20 things that people hate to change, which sees phone numbers taking the top spot and broadband services (alongside TV) take fifth place. The ISP obviously has a vested interest here and their study has been designed to encourage people to assess their habits to ensure they’re getting the best deal when their current contract comes to an end.

On that point TalkTalk notes that one of the main reasons why people change broadband provider is due to an increase in price (65% agreed) and they singled out recent increases from BT and Sky Broadband as examples. Admittedly TalkTalk has also increases their prices (usually once a year) but they claim to “guarantee no mid-contract price rises on all our broadband packages.”

Top 20 Things Brits Hate to Change

1. Phone number
2. Side of the bed
3. Passwords
4. Where I live
5. TV or Broadband provider
6. My’ chair or spot on the sofa at home
7. Mobile phone brand (iPhone to Android and vice versa)
8. My daily routine
9. The way I have my tea
10. Haircut
11. Favourite team
12. Morning routine
13. Where I do the food shop
14. The Shampoo and soap I use
15. Deodorant
16. Seat at the dinner table
17. The food I eat at my favourite restaurants
18. My job
19. Brand of toilet paper
20. Route to work

As usual we recommend taking surveys like this with a pinch of salt due to the vested interests involved and the fact that their press release fails to clarify how the survey was conducted or by which company, as well as the number of respondents involved and period covered.

Aleks Habdank, Acting MD TalkTalk Consumer, said:

“While refusing to change things like our spot on the sofa may only be costing us a bit of household harmony every now and then, it’s the other things we avoid switching which may come at a heavier price.

Price rises, such as those experienced by BT and Sky customers recently, means we are paying far more than we need to. The majority of consumers are also unaware that they can switch provider penalty free if their price increases mid-way through a contract, so the power is in customers’ hands to make a change.”

At this point it’s worth remembering that service quality and reliability are also important factors for consumers and if the price remains fair then switching just to save money, particularly for a highly variable service like broadband connectivity, can still carry some risk. Plus if a problem you are experiencing is related to Openreach’s underlying network then moving to another ISP on the same platform may not resolve it.

Meanwhile phone numbers are most often lost when moving into a new home (i.e. you have to get a new line and number installed), which typically occurs because you’ve either shifted to a completely different area code or physically separate network infrastructure, never had a fixed line phone number before or you’re still in the same region but are being covered by a different telephone exchange.

However if you do plan to move then Ofcom’s changes (A Guide to Switching UK Broadband and Phone Provider) mean that it’s now a lot easier to switch ISP (you usually just need to contact the new provider), although it’s often worth discussing the possibility of a discount with your existing provider first (Tips for Cutting Your Broadband Bill Without Switching ISP); assuming you’re still happy with their service.