You’ll now get MORE day by day compensation if one thing goes incorrect together with your telephone or broadband

Customers of major phone and internet firms will now get more compensation when something goes wrong with their connection.

Those who use major broadband and landline companies such as BT, Sky and TalkTalk will be able to get more money when things go wrong, without even having to ask for it.

Under the updated Ofcom compensation scheme, you will now get £10.34 per day in compensation if your internet or landline stops working and is not fixed after two full working days, up from £8 previously. 

If an engineer misses an appointment and does not turn up, or if it is cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice you will be eligible for a one-off payment of £32.31. It was £25 before.

And you will be owed £6.46, up from £5, per day if your provider promises to start a new service on a particular date but fails to do so.

The compensation is being increased in line with inflation, with the rise measured by the Consumer Price Index on 31 October last year.

You will now get £10.34 in compensation if your internet or landline stops working and is not fully fixed after two full working days, up from £8, and you will get this for every day that the service is not repaired

The scheme started in 2017 and requires firms to pay compensation as credit on your bill when something goes wrong.

However, the scheme is voluntary and not all providers are signed up. You can see a list of those that are below. 

More than £63million was paid out in 2024 under this system, Ofcom says.

James McCaffrey, from TotallyMoney says: ‘Ofcom has cut the amount of time you’ll need to wait for unresolved landline and broadband complaints, and increased the amount of compensation you’ll receive. 

‘Within 30 days, your provider will automatically pay you £10.34 per day if your service goes down and isn’t fixed in two working days, £32.31 for missed engineer appointments, and £6.46 for delays when a new service should have started.

‘If you’re having ongoing issues with your service, then it might be worth checking the terms of your contract and switching to a new provider – and you could benefit from a cheaper deal as well as better service.’  

Who is eligible?

If you use any of these providers, you will be eligible for compensation when something goes wrong:

• BT
• EE
• Hyperoptic
• Plusnet
• Now Broadband
• Sky
• TalkTalk
• Utility Warehouse
• Virgin Media
• Vodafone
• Zen Internet

How do you claim compensation?

Your provider should pay your compensation automatically if there’s something wrong with your service.

If your broadband or landline stops working, you should report the fault to your provider. If this isn’t fixed within the specified timeframe you should start receiving compensation automatically as credit on your bill.

Your provider can offer you alternative forms of compensation as long as you are made aware of how much you could receive in the form of credit on your bill.

If you haven’t received the compensation you should first make a complaint to your provider. If it’s still not resolved after six weeks, get in touch with the Communications Ombudsman or CISAS, the Ofcom-approved dispute resolution scheme, who’ll give you free support.

When are you not entitled to compensation?

You may not be eligible for compensation if you breach the terms of your contract.

Similarly, if you caused the service failure or prevent the issue from being resolved you will not get any money. For example, if you ask for a later engineer appointment, you will not get any more compensation.

You will also not be eligible for any compensation if the loss of service is caused by equipment or activity in your home.