Are ISP's (Hyperoptic) allowed to offer "Loss Leader" discounted broadband rates to New Customers?

Bronco_uk

I am a very upset and disgruntled customer of Hyperoptic. What I have a severe problem with is the off-handed way they treat their existing customers. I currently pay £35 per month including VOIP phone for 500Mb of download speed, which to be honest is about 95% reliable, although it has dropped out on the rare occasion. I recently had a leaflet posted into my letterbox offering the same service to "New" customers for £25 per month, this is basically a loss-leader to entice new customers in. When I called customer services to ask them to reduce my monthly payments to the discounted price they went into mantra mode and said that this was the price at the start of my contract and it could not be reduced. This is a kick in the teeth to loyal customers basically saying we've got you tied up for 2 years in my case and you no longer matter. I was led to believe that under new Govt. legislation that ISP's are not allowed to do this. Can anybody let me know if I am within my rights to request a rate reduction to what they are offering new customers and if I am what my next steps should be to rectify the above?

iniltous

Are you still within the agreed minimum term ?, if you are , then they are under no obligation to renegotiate, at the end of the minimum term you can ask for a better deal , perhaps one that is similar to ‘new’ customers….if you are not within a minimum term , and their new customer deal is better than what they are offering you as a renewal ( if you accept a new minimum term )  then you cannot force them to make a better offer, your only sanction would be to leave ( or at least threaten to leave ) ,
If  £35 includes anything , like the phone service  , that the ‘new customer’ offer doesn’t have , or if your £35 is in effect an out of contract price and you don’t want a new minimum term , then it isn’t really a fair comparison.
I think the ‘existing customers should get the same deal as new customers’ is for primarily car insurance customers ,that at renewal get quotes much larger than new customers, even when they haven’t made a claim of any type on the insurance policy, and  not broadband/phone company customers.

southsidergs

No you're not entitled to it if you're in contract, that would change if at end/out of contract.

Why do you think you're entitled to it? Do you go back to the supermarket asking for a lower price on something the next week that you bought the previous one? You signed up to a deal at a price which is what you're getting & deals can change

Uxb1

It's not about next week's prices  that the OP is complaining about
It's at the same time.
It's like you going into Tesco and buying some milk for price X and at the same time a "new customer" comes along and is offered a cheaper price.
Indeed for all sorts of insurance quotations this sort of game has been outlawed - not sure about other consumer purchases.

[Deleted User]

It only applies to insurance - but people seem to have misinterpreted the rules to include everything they buy. Differential pricing is allowed in virtually all  areas, including ISPs.

Bronco_uk

Bronco_uk said:

I am a very upset and disgruntled customer of Hyperoptic. What I have a severe problem with is the off-handed way they treat their existing customers. I currently pay £35 per month including VOIP phone for 500Mb of download speed, which to be honest is about 95% reliable, although it has dropped out on the rare occasion. I recently had a leaflet posted into my letterbox offering the same service to "New" customers for £25 per month, this is basically a loss-leader to entice new customers in. When I called customer services to ask them to reduce my monthly payments to the discounted price they went into mantra mode and said that this was the price at the start of my contract and it could not be reduced. This is a kick in the teeth to loyal customers basically saying we've got you tied up for 2 years in my case and you no longer matter. I was led to believe that under new Govt. legislation that ISP's are not allowed to do this. Can anybody let me know if I am within my rights to request a rate reduction to what they are offering new customers and if I am what my next steps should be to rectify the above?

I just think it is bang out of order to undercut existing loyal customers and if it can happen for car insurance, why not ISP's? Still, I have my answer so at the ned of my term I will be finding an alternative ISP.

LittleMissDetermined

There is nothing in the regulations to stop the ISPs doing this, it's happened for years and in the past the majority of consumers have benefitted from new customer deals when joining a new company for products and services. 

Yes, the FCA have made this a thing of the past for insurances, and we saw everyone getting the existing customer prices so nobody actually benefitted from the change.

Ofcom encourages competition between networks and communications companies so that customers can engage with the market and get the best deal for their needs, so ISPs will naturally have new customer offers to encourage people to switch. 

Not sure why this is something to be disgruntled about. Once your contract term is over, leave and go elsewhere.

LittleMissDetermined

Bronco_uk said:

 I was led to believe that under new Govt. legislation that ISP's are not allowed to do this. Can anybody let me know if I am within my rights to request a rate reduction to what they are offering new customers and if I am what my next steps should be to rectify the above?

No.  You're not entitled to a rate reduction.

You agreed to the contract length and price at the start of your service.  They may let you 'buy out' of your contract, but I can't see that there would be much point as it will probably cost the same as the rest of your contractual period and then you'd have to pay your new provider.

iniltous

I dare say that when Hyperoptic or any new network provider offer service in an area , the first tranche of customers will be those that want FTTP desperately, or those hacked off with the current available suppliers , so those customers are easy pickings, after the first rush it becomes more difficult, if potential customers are satisfied with the speed they have ,or the service they get , so to make HO attractive to those people the price needs to be more attractive.
When the OP signed up , presumably the price was acceptable, and agreed to that price for the minimum term, just because others can get the same for less doesn’t change that agreement 

brewerdave

Off topic - but I've recently had two renewal quotes for insurances, one car and one home. Going thru comparison sites I got (much) better quotes elsewhere, but the interesting thing was that my existing insurance cos. were also coming up with lower quotes via the site ! So ,not much faith in the "existing customers get as good as new " line !!

Nsteel

I've had this battle with Hyperoptic every year. They are a great ISP except for this which is frustrating as it's entirely their own doing. I've found the best thing is to wait until a particularly good new customer promotion (normally around Easter and Black Friday) and leave them an honest review on Trust Pilot about their poor retention pricing. Then keep arguing until you get the new customer deal. Last time I wasted time on this they said new customer deals didn't exist and the price was impossible. Right up until the point I provided the offer leaflet. I wish they'd sort this dumb policy out.