BT
Householders who receive poor service from their telecoms provider are to get automatic compensation, the regulator Ofcom has announced.
From 2019 they will get £ 8 a day if a fault is not fixed, paid as a refund through their bill.
This is less than the £ 10 that was proposed when Ofcom began its consultation earlier this year.
Providers will also have to pay £ 5 a day if their broadband or landline is not working on the day it was promised.
If an engineer misses an appointment, they will have to give £ 25 in compensation.
Ofcom has estimated as many as 2.6 million (19459009)
£ 142m pay-outs
The agreement with BT, Sky, Talk Talk, Virgin Media and Zen Internet - which makes up around 90% of telecoms customers in the UK.
Plusnet and EE are expected to jo in the scheme at a later date.
How compensation will work
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- Consumers will have to phone up to complain initially
- Service not working, and not fixed after two days: £ 8 compensation a day
- Missed engineer appointment, or less than 24 hours notice of cancellation: £ 25 for each appointment
- Delayed starting date: £ 5 a day
"Waiting too long for your landline or broadband to be fixed is frustrating enough, without having to fight for compensation," said Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom's consumer group director.
"So (19459009)
"People will get the money they deserve, while providers will want to work harder to improve their service. "
Ofcom said the scheme would not come in to operation until early 2019, because of the complexity of the changes.
It said that billing systems and online accounts would (19459009)
Help
In total, customers can expect to get £ 142m in pay-outs every year, according to Ofcom's estimates.
At the moment telecoms users can get compensation in theory, but on ly around 15% of those who complain manage to get a refund
Even then most only get the small amounts, said Ofcom.
Anyone wanting to obtain compensation under the current arrangements can find help on the Ofcom website .
Which? said that those providers who have not already joined the automatic compensation scheme should do so.
