Ofcom calls for "Try before you buy" broadband

Also calling to make it easier to get out of your contract

12 October 2007 12:13 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Ofcom has called on broadband ISPs to allow customers to try out broadband connections before they sign up to lengthy contracts in an attempt to combat customers ending up with a product that isn't as good as advertised.

Following recent campaigns to have more clarity over broadband speeds available to customers, the "Try before you buy" scheme was one of a range of options proposed to address "widespread concern" among consumers over deals offering speeds that are then never achieved.

The regulator has also suggested that customers should be able to exit from contracts early if they were disappointed with the package.

In a letter to the six largest ISPs, including BT, Carphone Warehouse, Orange, and Tiscali, the Ofcom Consumer Panel said: "People need to be able to see what they are buying, what influences the performance of the product, and how to do something about it".

"Against these tests, we believe that broadband customers are not getting enough information."

In august Which? reported that although many packages advertise speeds of "up to" 8 megabytes per second, the average speed for such connections was 2.7Mbps.