Home phone News

Ofcom: 'Switching home phone provider should be easy'

Thursday 9 February, 2012

By Anthony Hill

Regulator says process needs simplifying to prevent confusion.

Telecoms watchdog Ofcom has put forward proposals to make switching landline provider easier and more reliable, while protecting consumers from being switched without their consent.

The regulator said enabling customers to switch between companies is "important" to ensure they can choose the home telephone service that best suits their needs. To help people find the best deals, Ofcom accredits a number of online price comparison calculators.

Only websites that are put through a rigorous independent audit can use the Ofcom price accreditation scheme logo. Homephonechoices.co.uk is one such example.

But Ofcom's research shows that once consumers find the right deal, they sometimes run into problems during the process of actually changing provider.

Chief executive, Ed Richards, said: "Smooth switching processes are essential to ensure that consumers can change providers with confidence. Many people think the current systems are too difficult and unreliable, which is why we have made it one of our priorities to tackle this problem."

Another issue is "slamming" - where home phone customers have their service switched without their knowledge or consent. An estimated 520,000 households had their landline or broadband service slammed last year.

Ofcom's proposals are designed to benefit consumers in a number of ways:

• Ensuring switches are verified by an independent third party to protect against "slamming"
• Simplifying the process so consumers are not confused by different methods of switching
• Giving all providers equal opportunity to compete so consumers can benefit from innovation, choice and real value for money
• Fixing technical problems when switches take place to prevent temporary loss of service
• Making sure consumers have accurate information on the implications of switching so they can make informed decisions on whether to change provider

Richards added: "Today’s proposals are designed to make the process easier, more reliable and safe from slamming. We believe that the proposals would improve consumers’ experience of switching and ensure that they continue to benefit from competition."

The Ofcom price accreditation scheme logo is awarded to websites that have had their price comparison services put through tough independent checks. Auditors ensure the information they give consumers is accessible, accurate, transparent, comprehensive and up to date.

Homephonechoices.co.uk is one of just a few sites accredited by Ofcom.