The Top UK Consumer Reasons for Not Switching Broadband ISP

Consumer magazine Which? has published the results of a new survey, which asked over 8,000 UK respondents about their broadband ISP switching habits. Overall a third said they were considering a change of provider but nearly half have NEVER switched and here are the top reasons why.

Overall the top reason for nearly half of respondents having never switched broadband provider is because consumers were happy with their current service (43%), which is fair enough. However Which? are quick to remind that customers who remain loyal to their provider (i.e. after the initial contract term) will often end up paying more for their service than new subscribers.

The above tends to be true for only the biggest providers, where heavy discounts on your first 12-24 months of service (minimum contract term) are par for the course just like in any aggressively competitive service market. On the other hand not all ISPs are the same and smaller providers tend to stick to a flat level of pricing, while another option here is to try haggling for a better price (see our Retentions Tips article).

The Top Six Reasons for Not Switching ISP

1. 43% were happy with their current service.

See above.

2. 37% didn’t want to lose their email address.

ISPreview has always recommended that consumers take a free email or hosted email (paid) as opposed to using the email service provided by your broadband provider and this is the reason why. Some ISPs may allow you to keep your address after a switch, while others could charge a fee to retain it or you may simply be given a period of grace before it’s removed. Generally it’s best not to get into this situation in the first place. Keep your email separate.

3. 32% feared the whole process would be “too much hassle“.

In fairness there are occasions where switching can create extra costs or downtime, such as when moving to a physically separate network platform. Nevertheless most of the major ISPs still predominantly use Openreach’s national network and thus switching is usually a much smoother process. The same survey noted that only 12% of those who did switch actually faced difficulties, which is arguably still too high but as usual the level of fear is greater than the reality.

One often overlooked aspect is the hassle that comes from having to set everything up again (e.g. all your wifi devices) when installing a new router. Sometimes it’s possible to get around this by setting your new network up (e.g. IP address assignment, password, SSID) to be the same as the old (requires some IT skills) but another way is to simply use your own third-party router, where possible and supported.

4. 20% say they haven’t found a better deal.

The result here is interesting and somewhat depends upon whether “better” is a perceived factor of price, service quality or possibly a combination of both. Equally it’s possible that those responding may well be on the cheapest deal for their service at present and so would have no desire to switch, which assumes that price is their key consideration.

5. 14% are afraid they’ll suffer slower speeds.

Arguably there’s some crossover here with no.3 above. Which? suggests that most providers use Openreach’s network and so the only real difference between ISPs would, they say, be in Traffic Management measures. In reality it’s more complicated than that because differences can also exist in capacity, network routing/peering, bundled router choice and unbundled LLU networks add in a few extra considerations.

Suffice to say that a fear of slower speeds is not necessarily unfounded, although equally if you choose a higher quality provider, upgrade your package / connection type where possible (e.g. ADSL to FTTC) or switch to a completely separate network infrastructure (e.g. Openreach to Virgin Media or an alternative FTTP provider) then this concern could be getting in the way of an improvement.

6. 13% said they felt loyal to their current ISP.

Don’t be silly. Loyalty usually only has value to the provider that delivers your service and not yourself. Granted if you’re loyal for a reason, such as a long history of good service quality, then that’s one thing but sticking around purely for the sake of loyalty itself it a waste. Broadband providers aren’t political parties, friends or family members, they’re businesses.