9IN BRIEF
Sky and Now have both
launched social-tariff
broadband packages for
people claiming Universal
Credit and Pension Credit.
Sky Broadband Basics
(www.snipca.com/41706)costs £20 a month for 18
months, delivering speeds
of 36Mbps. Now Broadband
Basics (www.snipca.
com/41707) has the same
speed and cost, though it’s a
rolling monthly contract.Plusnet finally joins Ofcom’s
compensation scheme
P
lusnet has confirmed
that it will join Ofcom’s
scheme for compensating
customers for days without
an internet connection and
missed engineer appointments.
The provider was the
biggest firm not to have signed
up to Ofcom’s voluntary
scheme, which began in April
2019, but it told website
ISPreview.co.uk that it willjoin in May.
Plusnet has always argued
that despite not being part
of the scheme, it offers an
equivalent amount as part
of its own compensation rules.
Before Plusnet’s
announcement, Vodafone
had been the latest firm to
sign up – last November –
but only for customers on the
Openreach network.The amount providers
must pay increased by around
4.2 per cent in April in line
with the rate of inflation as
measured on 31 October
last year.
It means you’re now
entitled to £8.40 per day for
a service not working, if the
problem isn’t fixed within the
first 48 hours. You also get
£5.25 per day for a delay to
the start of a new service after
you’ve switched provider, and
£26.24 for every missed
appointment.
This money gets automatically
paid into your bank account,
so you don’t have to chase
your provider for it.Fake reviews and subscription
traps to be made illegal 36 NEW TOWNS TO GET
FULL-FIBRE INTERNET
Accrington, Hounslow and
Pontefract are among 36
locations to have been added
to Openreach’s rollout of
full-fibre 1Gbps broadband.
To see the new towns, visit
http://www.snipca.com/41713 and
download the ‘Full Fibre Build
Programme list’ PDF. Look
for towns highlighted in the
grey-blue heading. Every
other location has already
been added to the rollout.
GET SKY GLASS WITHOUT
BUYING THE TV
Sky has said it will release its
Stream puck (pictured below)
as a separate device, letting
you use features available
on Sky Glass without having
to buy the TV. Currently,
pucks are available only to
customers who buy Glass
and want to beam the service
to another room, but Sky will
start selling them individually
“later this year”. It will come
with Glass’s voice control and
playlists, but not Dolby Atmos
sound.P
aying someone to
write a fake review
online will become illegal
under new laws, as will
offering to write fake
reviews for a fee.
Websites such as
Amazon and Tripadvisor
might be criminally
liable unless they take
“reasonable steps” to
check the reviews are
genuine, the Government said.
It’s part of a raft of measures
designed to “shield the public
from rip-offs and boost
competition”. These include
forcing companies to make
it easier for people to cancel
subscriptions so they are
“not stuck paying for things
they no longer want”.
Firms will also have to
remind customers that a free
trial or cheap introductory
offer is coming to an end, andyou visit a 5 star-
reviewed restaurant
only to find a burnt
lasagne or get caught in
a subscription in which
there’s no end in sight”.
In addition, the
Competition and
Markets Authority
(CMA) will be given
greater powers to
“tackle rip-offs and
bad business practices”.
It will be able to fine firms
up to 10 per cent of their
global turnover for mistreating
customers, replacing a
court process which the
Government said can take
years.
The rules will apply in
England, Scotland and Wales.
Consumer protection is a
devolved issue in Northern
Ireland. Read more at Gov.uk:
http://www.snipca.com/41701.before a contract automatically
renews.
A typical UK household
spends around £900 each
year after being influenced
by online reviews, the
Government claimed, and
spends £60 on subscriptions
they don’t want.
Consumer Minister Paul
Scully said the rules will make
sure “consumer protections
keep pace with a modern,
digitised economy”.
He added: “No longer willIssue 631 • 11 – 24 May 2022SKY & NOW ADD SOCIAL-TARIFF DEALS
PC MONITOR SALES
HIGHEST SINCE 2012
Sales of PC monitors hit a
nine-year high in 2021, as the
growth in working from home
increased demand. Research
firm IDC said 143.6 million
monitors were sold last year,
up from 136.7 million in 2020,
though sales are expected
to fall in 2022 as global
lockdowns continue to lift.
Dell sold the most monitors
(30.2 million), followed by
Lenovo on 17 million (see
http://www.snipca.com/41720).