{"id":10405,"date":"2015-10-22T08:15:37","date_gmt":"2015-10-22T07:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=10405"},"modified":"2015-10-22T08:15:37","modified_gmt":"2015-10-22T07:15:37","slug":"government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html","title":{"rendered":"Government Propose New Principles for Easier Telecoms Switching"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Government has today called for consumers to give their feedback on a new set of “Switching Principles<\/em>“, which among other things proposes that you should able to switch your electricity, gas, bank accounts, telephones, broadband and or TV providers both “quickly<\/em>” and “without charge<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Eagle eyed consumers will no doubt be aware that Ofcom<\/a> recently harmonised the process of switching broadband and phone providers around a single Gaining Provider Led<\/strong> (GPL) solution, which we have already explained in a lot of detail (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The regulators solution was an improvement, although it had some limitations. For example, the system only works on BTOpenreach’s national UK telecoms network and KC’s (KCOM<\/a>) similar platform in Hull (East Yorkshire). On top of that it still struggles to cope with quad-play bundles where Pay TV<\/strong> and Mobile<\/strong> services may also be involved.<\/p>\n

One other annoyance is that the switching process can still attract all sorts of cancellation charges. The Government appears to be mindful of this and so they’ve today set out a batch of new Switching Principles<\/strong> for the entire industry to follow and are calling for consumers to give their feedback.<\/p>\n

The Switching Principles<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

* Switching should be free to the consumer unless they are aware of and have consented to reasonable restrictions and charges to do so.<\/p>\n

* The switching process itself should be quick, at an agreed date.<\/p>\n

* The switching process should be led by the organisation with most interest in making the switching process work effectively \u2013 the gaining provider.<\/p>\n

* Consumers should have access to their consumption or transaction data. This should be in a format that can be easily reused (e.g. Midata) and they should be able to authorise third parties such as comparison sites to access their data to help them to switch.<\/p>\n

* Sites and tools providing comparisons to consumers that receive payments from suppliers should make clear where this affects the presentation of results.<\/p>\n

* There should be an effective process for consumers to get redress if anything goes wrong in the switching process.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Admittedly there are some conflicting messages here, such as with calls for switching to be “free<\/em>“, but only unless you happen to be aware of and have consented to “reasonable restrictions and charges<\/em>“. The last part could be a problem because far too many ISPs continue to bury some of their fees and charges in the small print and thus consumers often overlook them.<\/p>\n

Nick Boles, Business Minister, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“By setting out clear principles for switching suppliers, this government will make it simpler and easier for consumers to shop around for the best deals.<\/em><\/p>\n

All too often families miss out on hundreds of pounds of potential savings because they think it will be too complicated or take too long to switch.<\/em><\/p>\n

Consumers have a key role to play in driving firms to be more competitive so we also want to hear from them and industry on how businesses can be more responsive to customers<\/em>.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The new principles are being fuelled by similar changes to EU rules. Meanwhile Ofcom<\/a> are already considering various enhancements, not least in respect to the problem of improving the migration process for those with quad-play bundles (e.g. Ofcom’s mobile switching proposals<\/a>).<\/p>\n

A related Call for Evidence<\/a> page has been setup where consumers can share their experiences with the current switching processes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Government has today called for consumers to give their feedback on a new set of “Switching Principles“, which among other things proposes that you should able to switch your electricity, gas, bank accounts, telephones, broadband and or TV providers both “quickly” and “without charge“.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[36,38],"class_list":["post-10405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uk_isp_news","tag-ofcom-regulation","tag-politics"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"yoast_head":"\nGovernment Propose New Principles for Easier Telecoms Switching - ISPreview UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Government has today called for consumers to give their feedback on a new set of "Switching Principles", which among other things proposes that you\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Government Propose New Principles for Easier Telecoms Switching - ISPreview UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Government has today called for consumers to give their feedback on a new set of "Switching Principles", which among other things proposes that you\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ISPreview UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-10-22T07:15:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Jackson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ispreview\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ispreview\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Jackson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Jackson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/de66a8b4e937c21c80e443d1bf9c35d5\"},\"headline\":\"Government Propose New Principles for Easier Telecoms Switching\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-10-22T07:15:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html\"},\"wordCount\":563,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Ofcom Regulation\",\"Politics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"ISP News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html\",\"name\":\"Government Propose New Principles for Easier Telecoms Switching - ISPreview UK\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-10-22T07:15:37+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Government has today called for consumers to give their feedback on a new set of \\\"Switching Principles\\\", which among other things proposes that you\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Government Propose New Principles for Easier Telecoms Switching\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"ISPreview UK\",\"description\":\"Top Broadband ISP and Mobile Provider Information Site\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ISPreview.co.uk\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"ISPreview.co.uk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/ispreview\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/ispreview\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/mjack\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/bsky.app\\\/profile\\\/ispreview.bsky.social\",\"https:\\\/\\\/mastodon.social\\\/@ispreview\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/de66a8b4e937c21c80e443d1bf9c35d5\",\"name\":\"Mark Jackson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/nggallery_import\\\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/nggallery_import\\\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/nggallery_import\\\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Mark Jackson\"},\"description\":\"By Mark Jackson Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/ispreview\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/ispreview\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ispreview.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/markj\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Government Propose New Principles for Easier Telecoms Switching - ISPreview UK","description":"The Government has today called for consumers to give their feedback on a new set of \"Switching Principles\", which among other things proposes that you","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Government Propose New Principles for Easier Telecoms Switching - ISPreview UK","og_description":"The Government has today called for consumers to give their feedback on a new set of \"Switching Principles\", which among other things proposes that you","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html","og_site_name":"ISPreview UK","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview","article_published_time":"2015-10-22T07:15:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mark Jackson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ispreview","twitter_site":"@ispreview","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Jackson","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html"},"author":{"name":"Mark Jackson","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/de66a8b4e937c21c80e443d1bf9c35d5"},"headline":"Government Propose New Principles for Easier Telecoms Switching","datePublished":"2015-10-22T07:15:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html"},"wordCount":563,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#organization"},"keywords":["Ofcom Regulation","Politics"],"articleSection":["ISP News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html","name":"Government Propose New Principles for Easier Telecoms Switching - ISPreview UK","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-10-22T07:15:37+00:00","description":"The Government has today called for consumers to give their feedback on a new set of \"Switching Principles\", which among other things proposes that you","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2015\/10\/government-propose-new-principles-for-easier-telecoms-switching.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Government Propose New Principles for Easier Telecoms Switching"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/","name":"ISPreview UK","description":"Top Broadband ISP and Mobile Provider Information Site","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#organization","name":"ISPreview.co.uk","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ispreview_uk_logo.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"ISPreview.co.uk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview","https:\/\/x.com\/ispreview","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/mjack\/","https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/ispreview.bsky.social","https:\/\/mastodon.social\/@ispreview"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/de66a8b4e937c21c80e443d1bf9c35d5","name":"Mark Jackson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/nggallery_import\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/nggallery_import\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/nggallery_import\/Mark-Jackson-96x96.jpg","caption":"Mark Jackson"},"description":"By Mark Jackson Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ispreview","https:\/\/x.com\/ispreview"],"url":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/markj"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}