BT Criticises uSwitch Commission Fee
Posted: 30th Mar, 2006 By: MarkJ
BT has criticised the commission fee uSwitch charges for operators and ISP's to be listed on its "free, impartial... comparison and switching" consumer website service:
uSwitch - which was snapped up by US outfit EW Scripps for £210m ($366m) earlier this month - describes itself as a "free, impartial...comparison and switching service that helps customers compare prices on a range of services including gas, electricity, home phone, broadband providers and personal finance products".
But documents obtained by the Mirror suggest uSwitch was prepared to offer BT the chance to recruit more punters for a fee - something that is strenuously denied by uSwitch. Quoting from the letters, the Mirror reports that uSwitch wanted a £40,000 a month "advertising" fee to add BT and its logo to the uSwitch website. It also proposed a commission of £50 for each new punter it signs up to BT.
The story has prompted John Robertson MP, chairman of the all-party telecoms group, to contact regulator Ofcom about the allegations amid concerns that switching sites should be more open about the fees they charge.
One quick look at uSwitch's list of broadband providers certainly shows that it isn't exactly the most comprehensive tool around, perhaps somewhat restricted by the fact that only providers willing to pay a high fee are included. More @ The Register.
uSwitch - which was snapped up by US outfit EW Scripps for £210m ($366m) earlier this month - describes itself as a "free, impartial...comparison and switching service that helps customers compare prices on a range of services including gas, electricity, home phone, broadband providers and personal finance products".
But documents obtained by the Mirror suggest uSwitch was prepared to offer BT the chance to recruit more punters for a fee - something that is strenuously denied by uSwitch. Quoting from the letters, the Mirror reports that uSwitch wanted a £40,000 a month "advertising" fee to add BT and its logo to the uSwitch website. It also proposed a commission of £50 for each new punter it signs up to BT.
The story has prompted John Robertson MP, chairman of the all-party telecoms group, to contact regulator Ofcom about the allegations amid concerns that switching sites should be more open about the fees they charge.
One quick look at uSwitch's list of broadband providers certainly shows that it isn't exactly the most comprehensive tool around, perhaps somewhat restricted by the fact that only providers willing to pay a high fee are included. More @ The Register.
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