UK advertising watchdog cracks down on misleading broadband ads

Chris Price Broadband, Telecoms
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The UK advertising watchdog has cracked down on marketing campaigns by telecoms companies including BT, EE, Virgin Media and O2 for misleading consumers about price rises added to their bills during their contracts.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has issued a batch of rulings against ads run by BT, its subsidiaries EE and Plusnet, as well as TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media broadband.

The ASA ruled that the ads must not appear again and told all six providers to ensure they make sufficiently clear that broadband contracts would be subject to mid-contract price increases, and that information about the nature of such rises is presented prominently.
 

Says Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy:

“Unpredictable mid-contract price rises are confusing enough for consumers without telecoms firms burying important information about them. It is positive that the ASA has made this ruling and the fact that it applies to most of the UK’s big broadband providers only serves to highlight how routine it has been for them to try and sneak these unwelcome hikes past their customers.  

“Which? spearheaded the campaign for Ofcom to ban unpredictable mid-contract price hikes so that customers would have more certainty about pricing and could compare deals more easily. As these new rules take effect, telecoms firms must ensure any fixed yearly increases are featured upfront and clearly when customers sign up for new contracts and that any price increases are set competitively.”

Adds Lutfu Kitapci, CCO and MD of ISP at Hyperoptic comments:

“The UK advertising watchdog is cracking down on marketing campaigns from telecoms companies for misleading consumers with vague pricing information. This step is exactly what we need to make the industry fairer and provide the essential transparency that customers deserve. At Hyperoptic, we believe in fairness, which is why we have offered clear and transparent pricing since day one.

“Ofcom data from December 2023 revealed that 11 million broadband and 36 million mobile customers were on contracts subject to inflation-linked price rises, leaving them unable to exit without paying early termination fees if they haven’t completed the contract’s minimum term. The recent introduction of ‘One Touch Switching’ across the industry means that customers no longer need to tolerate this. It’s the ideal time for consumers to switch to providers who are in their corner.”

Chris Price
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