Consumers lose faith in internet service providers

British consumers are losing trust in internet service providers (ISP), research by ISPreview has found.

In a survey of 526 people, the broadband advice site found that only a quarter had a high level of trust in their ISP and just under half had a lower level of trust now than they did a year ago. Just under a tenth said their trust had increased.

The biggest cause cited by consumers was poor service, with two fifths saying this had a negative impact on their trust. This was followed by customer support (one fifth), and sudden or unexpected service changes (just under a fifth.)

A tenth of those surveyed also said dishonest advertising was a cause of their lack of trust.

Mark Jackson, founder of ISPreview, said: "Loss of trust is not something to be taken lightly. Regaining the support of a disgruntled customer is often far harder than holding on to it in the first place.

“It’s important for ISPs to make sure that the service they provide doesn’t fall too far short of expectations and avoids making unexpected negative changes to existing packages. If a provider really must make a change then it should give customers at least one month’s warning, preferably a lot more.”