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Uswitch: Five million UK households are overpaying for broadband instead of switching

Paul Lipscombe
January 8, 2021

A lack of confidence in switching providers is costing consumers 

Five million UK households are paying £804 million more than they should on their broadband due to a reluctance to switch providers.

The price comparison service revealed the figures, as consumers have lost confidence in switching.

According to Uswitch, non-switchers have been out of contract for 19 months on average.

And on average households that don’t switch are paying £149 more than they should during this time.

In the latest report from Uswitch it has also been revealed that a fifth of consumers have never changed broadband provider, with many under the perception they will be worse off.

An additional 10 per cent of consumers said they don’t know when they last switched their contract.

Disruption

Consumers cited loss of connection as their biggest fears over switching broadband provider.

A third (37 per cent) say that switching broadband will leave them without internet connection for at least a day, but the reality is different as 72pc of those households that switch said they saw little to no loss when switching over.

Nearly half of consumers (49pc) that have switched in the last 18 months said the process is easier than expected, compared to 10pc who found it harder.

Commenting on the latest report, Uswitch head of regulation Richard Neudegg said: “It’s deeply disappointing that five million people are missing out on big savings and faster broadband speeds because they don’t have confidence in the switching process.

“Lots of people have been put off getting a better deal by the fear that they will be left without a broadband connection, but in most cases these concerns are unfounded. The majority of switchers see no, or very little interruption to their service.”

However Neudegg has called on Ofcom to make the process of switching provders easier for consumers.

“Ensuring the process is consistent and easy in all circumstances will help boost the consumer confidence in taking better services,” he added.

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