Avoid unnecessary download penalties this Christmas

People planning to watch online TV services over the Christmas period should take care not to exceed their broadband usage limits, warns Broadband Choices.

The price comparison site said a survey it conducted of 1,000 broadband customers showed that more than a third of these people (35 per cent) planned to watch more online TV shows using services such as the BBC's iPlayer.

These people, however, face a real risk of incurring "excess download" penalty charges from their broadband provider for breaching their agreed broadband usage allowance.

Even if people have an ‘unlimited' package, most internet service providers' (ISPs) terms and conditions include a ‘fair usage' policy with a download cap.

Despite this, almost a fifth (18 per cent) of broadband customers had no idea what their monthly download limit is, and more than a quarter (28 per cent) did not know how much they downloaded each month.

Four in ten (39 per cent) said they were concerned about penalty charges but they also admitted that they had never checked their monthly bill to see if they had been charged for going over their monthly limit.

Michael Phillips, the product director at Broadbandchoices.co.uk, said: "Christmas is already an expensive time of year, so the last thing consumers need is a hefty ‘excess downloads' charge being added on to their broadband bill."

He said these penalties were "entirely avoidable" and it was crucial that people checked the terms and conditions of their broadband contract. Some ISPs include a download monitor on their site.

There are also free download monitors people can use on the internet.