MSE consultation response to Ofcom

Former_MSE_Aileen

Ofcom issued a call for inputs in July 2014 on consumer switching.

MoneySavingExpert.com has responded to this call for inputs (5 page PDF).

We conducted a poll on retention offers, which was raised in the call for inputs, and we included the results in our response: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/poll/23-09-2014/should-the-regulator-prevent-broadbandmobile-firms-from-cutting-their-price

We also asked you for your switching experiences and to send these to Ofcom:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5051417

If you have any thoughts on our response please share them below.

G6JPG

I agree that, until "new customer only" deals are banned (that's not exactly how you put it but is in effect what you meant), the right to haggle should remain.
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However, I take issue with a sentence in your final paragraph: "We believe introducing a process where consumers do not need to contact their existing provider in order to switch will significantly reduce consumers’ negotiation power". While I agree with you that the option to haggle should remain, I see no problem in introducing a scheme whereby customers don't have to contact their existing provider if they don't want to: they might just be fed up of poor customer service, or feel like a change, or just don't want to deal with a retention attempt which they fear might turn into an argument. If people thus want to switch with minimum hassle, I don't think it is MSE's place to campaign to remove that right, however much you think they're taking the wrong path.