Broadband and landline auto-compensation
If your broadband or landline stops working and the provider does not fix it within two working days, you are entitled to automatic daily compensation. Same goes for missed engineer appointments and late service starts. The scheme is the Ofcom Voluntary Code on Automatic Compensation. Most major UK providers (BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media, Vodafone, EE, Plusnet, Hyperoptic, Zen) have signed up. Compensation is supposed to land on your bill within 30 days without you having to ask, but in practice many providers under-pay or skip it, and a quick chase usually fixes it.
Last updated April 2026
What the scheme is
The Ofcom Voluntary Code on Automatic Compensation for broadband and landline launched in April 2019. Providers who sign up agree to pay an automatic credit to your account when one of three things happens: total loss of service for more than two working days, a missed engineer appointment, or a delayed start of new service.
It is voluntary in the sense that providers opt in, but every major UK ISP is signed up. The credit goes straight to your bill within 30 days of the qualifying event.
At a glance
- Total loss of service
- ~£9.76 per day, after 2 working days
- Missed appointment
- ~£29.15 per missed slot
- Delayed start of service
- ~£6.10 per day
- Should pay within
- 30 days
- Cost to claim
- Free
- Escalation
- CISAS or Ombudsman Services: Communications
When compensation applies
Three trigger events:
- Total loss of service. Your broadband or phone line stops working entirely and is not fixed within two full working days of the report. Compensation runs from the third working day. A line that drops occasionally but works most of the time does not count.
- Missed appointment. An engineer appointment is missed (no-show), cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice, or rebooked without the right notice. One missed slot is one payment.
- Delayed start. A new service starts later than the agreed date, with the delay caused by the provider. Compensation accrues per day from the agreed date until the service is live.
How much you get
Ofcom publishes the rates and updates them annually in line with CPI. The figures below are the 2024-25 rates; check Ofcom's page for the current year:
- Total loss of service: £9.76 per calendar day from the third working day onward.
- Missed engineer appointment: £29.15 per missed slot.
- Delayed start of service: £6.10 per calendar day until the service is live.
Two calendar weeks of total loss of service is around £100. A missed appointment plus a 14-day delayed start is around £120. These are not life-changing numbers individually, but they add up if you have ever had a problematic switch or repair.
Which providers are signed up
As of 2026, the participants in the Ofcom code are:
- BT
- Sky
- TalkTalk
- Virgin Media
- Vodafone
- EE
- Plusnet
- Hyperoptic
- Zen Internet
- Utility Warehouse (where bundled with broadband)
Smaller and regional providers may not be signed up. Their contracts may include similar terms, but the route is different.
How to make sure you are paid
The scheme is supposed to pay automatically. Reality:
- When the qualifying event happens, make sure you have a dated record. If your service drops, report it as soon as you notice (the provider's call log and ticket number is the start of the clock). If an appointment is missed, save the original confirmation email.
- Check the next two bills after the event. Look for a credit line referring to compensation, automatic credit, service credit, or similar.
- If the credit is not there 30 days after the event, contact the provider. Cite "Ofcom Voluntary Code on Automatic Compensation, [trigger event] on [date], compensation payable within 30 days."
- The provider should add the credit within a few days. If they refuse, escalate.
If your provider refuses
After eight weeks without resolution, you have the right to take the dispute to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme. UK ISPs belong to one of two:
- CISAS (Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media, Vodafone, EE).
- Ombudsman Services: Communications (BT, Plusnet, Hyperoptic, Zen).
Either service is free for consumers. They take six to ten weeks to decide, and the decision binds the provider but not you.
How Untap helps
Broadband auto-compensation is not currently in our automated pipelines because the trigger events are inside the provider's records, not your inbox. This guide is here as a reference; the check is yours, and it is worth doing every few months if you have had any service issues.
Questions readers actually ask
- Is the compensation really automatic?
- In theory yes. The code requires the provider to apply the credit within 30 days. In practice provider systems are imperfect and a meaningful share of qualifying events do not get credited automatically. A quick check of your bills against the events you remember is worth doing every few months.
- My broadband was patchy but never completely down. Does that count?
- No, the scheme covers total loss of service. Slow or unreliable connections that still technically work are dealt with under your provider's separate complaints process and may eventually qualify for goodwill credit, but not under the auto-compensation code.
- My provider is not on the list. Can I still claim?
- Some providers run their own equivalent scheme. If yours does not, your route is the contractual service standards in the Terms and Conditions, then escalation to a relevant ADR scheme (CISAS or Ombudsman Services: Communications). Slower than the Ofcom code but still a route.
- I missed the engineer because something came up. Can I still claim if they do not turn up next time?
- Yes. The scheme covers what the provider does, not what you do. A separate missed appointment from the provider triggers the payment again.
- Are the daily rates the same every year?
- Ofcom updates the rates annually in line with CPI inflation. The figures in this guide are the rates published for the 2024-25 review; check Ofcom's site for the current year if the dates matter.
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This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Always read the scheme's own rules before sending a claim.