Survey Claims Fear of Email Loss Stops 2 Million UK Homes Switching ISP

A new Opinium survey of 2,000 UK adults, which was commissioned by Uswitch, has claimed that more than 2 million UK households have chosen not to switch broadband ISP because they fear it would result in a loss of access to the email address supplied by their existing internet provider.

As a general rule we’ve always advised our readers to never rely upon the email services provided by your ISP, not least because it can make it harder for you to switch broadband providers (i.e. you run the risk of losing access to your address). In general, it’s far better to sign-up with one of the many free email providers (e.g. Gmail, Hotmail/Outlook) and thus avoid ever getting into that situation.

However, the new survey found that 23% of respondents (estimated at 13 million people) still use an email address supplied by their broadband provider, with BT remaining the most popular. On average, those with such an email address have had it for almost 8 years and 46% have had it for more than 10 years! Such people would probably be generally very nervous about switching, regardless of email.

Some 30% of those with an email address from their broadband ISP would not change that address as they believe they will miss important information or messages. Older people are particularly afraid of losing access to their provider-owned email, which is true for 32% of those aged over 65.

The survey then makes the point that those who don’t switch tend to pay more because they’re unlikely to benefit from the same initial contract discounts as those who move to a new ISP. However, a lot of the bigger ISPs may allow you to retain your existing email after leaving, albeit often at an extra cost, which may counteract some of the benefits of switching. The experiences between ISPs can vary.

How the big ISPs handle emails post-switch

➤ BT

BT’s website states that customers with BT email who stop their broadband have three options:

— Keep your email but with more basic features by getting Basic email, which is free
— Keep your email with the same features by getting Premium email, which costs £7.50 a month
— Keep your email with the same features, by linking it to a friend or family member’s BT Broadband, which is free

➤ Virgin Media

Virgin simply says your email address will be deleted after 90 days.

➤ TalkTalk

According to Ofcom’s May 2021 statement, TT are expected to provide ex-customers with 2-years of “free” access (web-based only) to your email, but after that you’ll need to pay for ‘Mail Plus‘, which costs £5 per month or £50 per year. But oddly, the Mail Plus page on TT’s website makes no mention of the 2-year period.

➤ Sky Broadband

Sky allows you to keep your email after leaving, but it’s never wise to assume that this policy will be indefinite, as maintaining such services does carry a cost and approaches do change.

➤ Plusnet

PN also allows you to keep your email after leaving, but we’d echo what is said above.

Customers stuck in this boat would be well advised to create a digital address book of their contacts and plan ahead for a future switch. Swapping personal contacts then becomes a simple matter of sending out a single message to multiple addresses (using BCC rather than CC because.. privacy), although updating key services (e.g. banks, insurance etc.) is a more complicated affair and requires some planning.

A useful tip for reducing the stress of all this is to start the transition long before you take the decision to finally switch broadband ISP, that way you’ll have completed the hard work before that day arrives. Admittedly this does mean running two emails side-by-side for a while, but these days most people already have multiple communication channels.

At the end of the day, the safest course is to never expect that a commercial ISP will indefinitely retain your email after you leave, since they no longer have any financial obligation to maintain something that the customer is no longer paying to receive. In addition, Ofcom does not regulate email services, so you shouldn’t expect much help.