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Hidden costs of broadband
By Rachel Williams
Broadband providers are quick to advertise high-speed broadband at cheap prices, but if you look closely at their contracts you might find some surprise charges.
More than half of all broadband users fail to check the small print for hidden fees, according to Moneysupermarket.com. It says that Be, Madasafish, Direct Save Telecom and AOL have the most transparent contracts while BT, Sky and Orange need to make their contracts more user-friendly.
Some broadband providers offer monthly contracts where there is no need to commit to a term, but if you check contracts offered by Direct Save Telecom and Be, you'll find there is a £50 charge if you cancel within 12 months. Similarly, some suppliers charge you for late or missed payments, terminating your contract early, going over the download limit, moving home or calling the technical helpline.
Helpline costs are an important thing to look out for. Virgin Media recently upped the cost of calling its customer services number to 25p a minute, while Orange technical support costs a massive 50p a minute. BT, on the other hand, offers its customers an 0845 number costing just 3p a minute to call during the day and less at evenings and weekends.
As far as speed goes, many broadband customers are not getting what they pay for. Most service providers advertise speeds of 'up to' a certain amount, but few customers actually get the top speed as it's influenced by the distance you live from the telephone exchange as well as how many people in your area are online at the same time.
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