Landline - service problems

A case study in which a consumer suffers a loss of service.

Complaint

The consumer experienced a loss of service and while they have been given a temporary line, they feel that having to pay £75 per month for the service is unfair.

The consumer says that they have been without a full working service for over four months and would like compensating for this. The provider told the consumer that the problem would be resolved swiftly but a new pole was required which can take some time to arrange. The consumer says that they felt they were being lied to and regular updates were not forthcoming. There were also complaints that manager call backs were not fulfilled.

The consumer requested a goodwill award of £1000.

Provider response

The provider is sorry for the service issues experienced. There was a total loss of service which was not repaired in the timeframes set out in the scheme.

The provider says that they provided a temporary line and while it was not ideal due to the location it meant the consumer did have a working service. The provider sent a letter to advise that the automatic compensation payable would stop after the 30 days notice as the alternative service had been provided. The service was restored 12 weeks later and the provider gave 60 days automatic compensation. The provider acknowledged that there were some shortfalls in customer service and offered a goodwill award of £50 by way of an apology.

Our decision

We agreed there had been a total loss of service and so automatic compensation would apply as the provider is a signatory to the scheme. We appreciated that the temporary line installed was slightly inconvenient as it trailed across some hedges but we were satisfied that it did mean the impact of the loss of service was significantly reduced compared to if the line was not provided. We were satisfied that the provider did write to the consumer to advise of its intention to cease automatic compensation payments as allowed under the scheme and so while we appreciate the temporary service was there for some time, the provider was only obliged to pay 60 days automatic compensation, which it did.

We acknowledged the shortfalls in customer service with missed call backs and lack of updates and we agreed with the provider that a goodwill payment of £50 was adequate along with a written apology.