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Broadband Outage

Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme requires participating broadband and landline providers to pay set amounts, without the customer having to ask, when a repair is delayed after a total loss of service, when an engineer appointment is missed, or when a new service is activated late. Separately, you can complain to your provider and, if it is not resolved, take the complaint to an independent ADR scheme.

Last checked 2026-10-143 scenarios

What is this?

Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme requires participating broadband and landline providers to pay set amounts, without the customer having to ask, when a repair is delayed after a total loss of service, when an engineer appointment is missed, or when a new service is activated late. Separately, you can complain to your provider and, if it is not resolved, take the complaint to an independent ADR scheme.

Who can use it

Residential and small business customers of providers that have signed up to the scheme — which covers the large majority of UK fixed-line and broadband providers. Mobile-only services and larger business contracts are not covered by the automatic scheme.

What problems it addresses

A total loss of service that drags on for days; repeated missed engineer appointments; no service after a promised activation date; a provider that blames your internal wiring without evidence; a bill that keeps charging for a service you cannot use; a vulnerable household left without a working line.

When it is appropriate

You have lost your broadband or landline service entirely and the repair has gone past the period the scheme allows, or an engineer did not turn up, or your service started late. Compensation under the scheme is automatic where the conditions are met — but it is often missed, so it is worth checking and asking.

How the procedure begins

Report the fault to your provider and get a reference number and the date the fault was reported. Ask in writing, quoting the automatic compensation scheme, whether compensation applies and when it will be credited. If the answer is unsatisfactory, raise a formal complaint.

What the decision-maker can do

The provider applies the scheme and pays the money as a credit or payment. If it refuses, an independent ADR scheme — CISAS or Ombudsman Services, depending on the provider — can decide the dispute. Ofcom sets the rules and can take enforcement action against a provider but does not handle individual complaints.

Remedies and outcomes available

Compensation for each day of delayed repair, a fixed sum for each missed appointment, and compensation for a delayed start of service, credited automatically where the scheme applies. Beyond the scheme, an ADR decision can order a payment or a bill correction, and Ofcom's rules give you the right to exit a contract without penalty where your promised speed is not delivered or where the provider increases prices mid-contract.

When to consider a different route

If you are a larger business on a leased line or contract with a service-level agreement, the automatic scheme does not apply — your remedy is the service-credit clause in your contract, followed by commercial negotiation or litigation. If the problem is your mobile signal rather than a fixed line, the scheme does not cover it and the route is a complaint plus the provider's own code of practice. If the issue is a price increase you did not expect, the relevant route is your right to exit the contract without penalty within the notice period.

Costs, fees and timeframes

The automatic compensation scheme and ADR are free to the customer. Ofcom sets the daily and fixed rates centrally and reviews them, so check the current amounts on Ofcom's automatic compensation page rather than relying on a figure quoted in older articles. Providers must handle complaints within eight weeks before you escalate to ADR.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Report the fault and get a reference

    Report it as soon as the service is fully down and note the date. The clock for automatic compensation starts from the day after the fault was reported.

  2. 2

    Ask about automatic compensation explicitly

    Providers are supposed to apply it without being asked, but it is frequently missed. Ask in writing, quote the scheme, and ask for the credit date.

  3. 3

    Keep a simple service diary

    Record outages, missed appointments, call times, names and reference numbers. A short factual log is far more persuasive than a long account.

  4. 4

    Complain formally, then escalate

    Raise a formal complaint. If it is not resolved after eight weeks, or you get a deadlock letter, take it to CISAS or Ombudsman Services.

  5. 5

    Check whether you can leave the contract

    If speeds are consistently below what was promised, or the price has been increased mid-contract, check whether you can exit without penalty before committing to a new term.

Evidence and documents

Your account and fault reference numbers, the date and time the fault started and when it was fixed, records of missed appointments, screenshots of speed tests and router status, notes of every call with dates and names, and confirmation of any vulnerability registration.

  • • Account number and fault reference
  • • Date and time the service was lost and restored
  • • Records of missed or failed engineer appointments
  • • Speed test results and router status screenshots
  • • Notes of calls: date, time, who you spoke to
  • • Bills showing charges during the outage
  • • Confirmation of any priority services or vulnerability registration

Authoritative sources

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to ask for automatic compensation?+

In principle no — it is meant to be applied automatically. In practice it is often missed, so ask in writing, quote the scheme and ask for the credit date. If you are refused, escalate the complaint.

How much is the daily rate?+

Ofcom sets the daily and fixed amounts centrally and reviews them, so the correct figure is the one published on Ofcom's current automatic compensation page. Check it there rather than relying on a rate quoted in an article.

The provider says the fault is inside my house — what then?+

Ask for that in writing with the engineer's findings. If the fault is genuinely with your own equipment or internal wiring, the scheme may not apply — but if the provider's own network or equipment is at fault, it does.

Can this go to the ombudsman?+

Broadband complaints go to an independent ADR scheme — CISAS or Ombudsman Services, depending on your provider — after the provider has had eight weeks to resolve it, or sooner if it issues a deadlock letter. The decisions are free and binding on the provider.

Can I claim for lost earnings if I work from home?+

The automatic scheme pays set amounts rather than your actual losses. If your losses are larger, take advice on whether a separate contractual claim is realistic — it depends on your contract terms and how much you can evidence.

This is general information about broadband and landline complaints in the United Kingdom, not legal advice. The automatic compensation scheme applies only to participating providers and to certain faults, and Ofcom up-dates the payment rates — always confirm the current rate and your eligibility with your provider or on Ofcom's page.

The scenarios

Different circumstances, decisions and outcomes for the same service — from a clean-cut case to one where this route is not the right fit.

Scenario A
Straightforward case
United Kingdom (Ofcom automatic compensation scheme)

Nine days offline, two engineers who never came, and no compensation mentioned once

A typical case — fictional illustration

The situation

Tomás works from home in Reading as a translator and lost his broadband completely on a Monday morning. He reported it the same day and got a fault reference. An engineer was booked for the Wednesday and never arrived; a second appointment the following Monday was also missed, with no text and no explanation. The service came back late on the Wednesday evening — nine days after he reported it. Throughout, the provider's chatbot said 'your issue is being looked into', his bill was charged in full, and not one message mentioned compensation. He spent £72 on mobile data to keep working.

The problem they face

Tomás lost nine working days of productivity, paid for a service he could not use, bought data out of his own pocket, and was never told that the provider's own industry scheme may owe him money automatically. The provider's silence makes the money look like something he would have to argue for.

Why this service may help

Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme requires participating providers to pay set amounts when a total loss of service is not repaired within the period allowed, when an engineer appointment is missed, and when a new service is activated late. The scheme is designed so that customers do not have to claim: the payment is supposed to be applied automatically, as a credit or a payment. Ofcom sets and up-dates the amounts, so the correct figure is the current one published on Ofcom's page.

How the process works

Tomás asks the provider in writing, quoting the automatic compensation scheme and the fault reference, whether compensation applies and when it will be credited. He keeps the diary of dates — fault reported, engineer appointments missed, service restored. If the provider refuses or fobs him off, he raises a formal complaint; if it is not resolved after eight weeks, or he receives a deadlock letter sooner, the complaint goes to the independent ADR scheme that covers his provider, where the decision is free and binding on the provider.

Evidence and documents

The account number and fault reference, the date and time the service failed and was restored, records of both missed appointments, screenshots of the provider's outage messages or chatbot replies, mobile data receipts, a bill showing the full charge during the outage, and his own notes of calls with dates and names.

Possible outcomes

The likely outcome is a credit for the days of delayed repair plus fixed amounts for each missed appointment, and in many cases a goodwill credit for the inconvenience on complaint. It is also possible the provider disputes the dates if the fault was reported late or part of it was outside its network, which is why the fault reference date matters so much — the clock starts from the day after a proper report.

Costs and timescales

Asking for the compensation costs nothing, and the ADR process is free to the customer. Providers are expected to resolve complaints within eight weeks. Payment, once agreed, is usually applied to the next or following bill, so it is worth asking for the date it will appear.

Important limitations

The scheme applies only to participating providers and to defined events — a total loss of service, missed appointments, delayed activation — and it excludes faults caused by the customer's own equipment or wiring and events outside the provider's control. It does not pay for your actual losses, such as lost earnings or mobile data, even though those may be larger than the fixed sums. Ofcom itself does not handle individual complaints; the ADR scheme does.

Practical next steps

Tomás should ask in writing today for automatic compensation, quoting the fault reference and the two missed appointments, and keep the mobile data receipts in case a goodwill claim is offered. He should diary eight weeks from his complaint, and if the provider has not resolved it by then, escalate to its ADR scheme with the diary attached.

Sources

Scenario B
More complex situation
United Kingdom (Ofcom scheme and ADR)

Sixteen days without a phone line — "the fault is inside your house"

A typical case — fictional illustration

The situation

Fiona is 67 and lives in a rural part of Aberdeenshire, caring for her husband, who has dementia. When their phone line and broadband died, she reported it immediately. Sixteen days later the service was restored, but only after two contradictory visits: the first engineer said the cable in the road was corroded, the second wrote that the fault was 'within customer premises wiring' and left without fixing anything. In between, Fiona used her mobile to call the GP, paid £140 for a mobile hotspot, and missed two calls from the hospital. She is registered on the provider's priority services list for vulnerable customers, which nobody mentioned or used.

The problem they face

Fiona has conflicting engineer findings, a provider stance that shifts the blame onto her own wiring, and a household where a working phone line is a safety matter rather than a convenience. She is also dealing with it alone while caring for her husband.

Why this service may help

The automatic compensation scheme turns on how long a total loss of service lasts and on the provider's own conduct, and providers are supposed to apply it without being asked. Where the provider attributes the fault to the customer's premises, the evidence has to be tested: two contradictory engineer reports, one of which contradicts the other on the very point relied on, is a weak foundation for a refusal. The provider's duty to treat vulnerable customers fairly, and its priority services register, are also directly relevant to how the complaint should be handled.

How the process works

Fiona needs the engineer reports in writing — a subject access or simple written request to the provider usually produces them. She then raises a formal complaint setting out the dates, the mobile costs, the missed medical calls and her priority services registration, and asks for compensation under the scheme plus a goodwill payment for the handling. If the provider does not resolve it within eight weeks, or issues a deadlock letter, the complaint goes to its ADR scheme. Because she is a vulnerable customer, she can also ask a family member or an advice agency to act on her behalf with her written authority.

Evidence and documents

The fault reference and dates of report and restoration, both engineers' written reports, her priority services registration, mobile and hotspot receipts, a note of the medical calls missed, and the provider's written explanation of why it says the fault was her responsibility.

Possible outcomes

A realistic outcome is compensation for the delayed repair plus the fixed sums where appointments were missed, and often a goodwill payment for the way the vulnerability was handled — particularly once the conflicting reports are put in front of an adjudicator. It is also possible the provider maintains that the fault was inside the property, in which case the ADR scheme decides on the reports, and the outcome may be limited to a goodwill credit for the delay rather than the full scheme sum.

Costs and timescales

The scheme and ADR are free. Complaints take up to eight weeks with the provider before escalation, and ADR decisions usually follow within weeks to a few months. Given the medical circumstances, it is worth asking the provider's priority team to handle it urgently rather than waiting out the eight weeks — a deadlock letter can shorten the process.

Important limitations

If the fault genuinely is in the customer's own internal wiring, the scheme may not apply, so the reports are decisive. Mobile data, missed calls and distress are not covered by the automatic sums, and the ADR scheme's ability to pay for distress and inconvenience is limited compared with a court claim. Fiona should also be alert to any attempt to charge her for the engineer visits while the cause is disputed.

Practical next steps

Fiona should ask in writing for both engineer reports and for confirmation of her priority services registration, then complain formally with a single-page timeline, ask for a deadlock letter if the provider will not resolve it quickly, and involve a family member or advice agency under her written authority. Photographs and a dated note of every call should be kept with the complaint.

Sources

Scenario C
Limitations and an alternative route
United Kingdom (commercial SLA alternative)

The agency on a leased line — where the consumer scheme does not reach

A typical case — fictional illustration

The situation

Ashford Digital is a seven-person design agency running its studio on a leased line with a signed service-level agreement. When the circuit failed for three days, the whole team worked from a coffee shop on tethered phones, and a client deadline slipped. The owner, Nia, sent the provider a complaint quoting Ofcom's automatic compensation rates she had read about online, expecting daily payments. The provider replied that the circuit is a business service governed by the contract's service-credit clause, and offered a credit of 5% of one month's line rental — around £19 against a three-day outage that cost the agency a client.

The problem they face

Nia has a real trading loss and a provider whose contractual credit is trivial, and she has been pursuing a scheme that does not govern this service. The gap between what she was promised in the sales process and what the contract's remedy actually gives her is the real issue.

Why this service may help

This is the scenario where the consumer-facing scheme is the wrong instrument. The automatic compensation scheme covers residential and small-business fixed-line and broadband services on standard terms; a leased line on a negotiated service-level agreement is governed by its contract instead. That shifts the analysis to what the contract promised, what the service credits are, whether availability targets were met, and whether anything said during the sale expanded those promises.

How the process works

Nia should read the service-level agreement carefully: the availability percentage, the measurement method, the credit mechanism and — crucially — whether liability is capped or consequential loss excluded. Then she puts a written complaint to the provider's business account team, referencing the specific SLA clauses and the credit due, and asks for a named account contact. If the contract has an escalation or dispute clause, follow it. Where the loss is material, a commercial negotiation supported by a solicitor's letter is usually more effective than a complaint, and mediation is available before litigation.

Evidence and documents

The signed service-level agreement and order form, the contract's liability and credit clauses, the provider's fault and incident reference with timings, evidence of the outage's business impact (client correspondence, the missed deadline, staff time), the provider's credit calculation, and any sales emails describing the service's resilience.

Possible outcomes

Realistic outcomes are a larger negotiated credit or goodwill payment, a service-credit calculation corrected upwards, or — if the provider holds firm and the contract caps liability — nothing beyond the contractual credit, which may be less than the outage cost. If the outage was caused by the provider's failure to meet a specific committed availability level, that is the strongest lever, and a dispute under the contract is the route to press it.

Costs and timescales

A complaint costs nothing. Commercial negotiation or a solicitor's letter involves professional fees but is far cheaper than litigation, and it often produces a settlement within weeks. Litigation should be a last resort and only after advice on the contract's cap and any arbitration clause, which can be mandatory.

Important limitations

The Ofcom automatic compensation sums do not apply to this service, so claiming them will be refused and can weaken an otherwise strong commercial complaint. Consequential losses such as a lost client are frequently excluded by the contract, and liability is commonly capped at the charges paid. Service credits are usually the contractual remedy, and a court will generally enforce the contract as written unless a term is challenged as unreasonable.

Practical next steps

Nia should map the contract's SLA clauses against the actual outage timings, calculate the correct credit, and put a specific settlement proposal to the business account team rather than a general complaint. She should also record what was said during the sale about resilience and availability, in case the promises went beyond the written terms.

Sources

Where to go next

If this looks like your situation, find the body that handles it in your country, or check whether another route suits you better.

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