Broadband slamming

With One Touch Switching (OTS) only a month away, it seems a good time to talk about how it changes broadband slamming.

Summary: I believe slamming, and particularly malicious slamming, will be a lot easier.

I believe the details are correct, but will update if necessary.

What is slamming and why does it happen?

Slamming is simply changing provider on a service without the customer's permission. It dates back to US phone systems and long distance carriers being changed to get the new provider the business. For broadband, in the UK, it is changing the communications provider (CP) on a service without permission, and we see it for a few possible reasons:-

1. Traditional slamming: Basically a CP getting business. Surprisingly we do see this, mainly with door to door salesmen.
2. Mistake: This is where someone orders a service but gets their address wrong, which is easier than you might realise. We have one example of a customer who has had someone try to migrate his line four times!
3. IT consultant: Changing a clients broadband to his preferred supplier (maybe to get a kick back).
4. Accounts department: Thinking it is like gas/electric and just changing to a cheaper supplier without asking IT (not actually slamming but same problems).
5. Fraud: mainly for telephone to allow calls to be made and received on someone else's number.
6. Malicious slamming: Changing provider to cause a victim problems. 

Existing safeguards

Slamming to a new technology is not that helpful - it means a new service installed, but they can't cease the old service - so you end up with two services, and can tell the new provider to piss off if it was not you that ordered it.

For the same technology, and in this case I mean a BT circuit, it can be migrated from one CP to another CP. This is where the problems lie, but there are safeguards:

• 14 day lead time.
• BT tells existing CP.
• Existing CP has to tell customer (OFCOM rules).
• Customer can cancel by telling existing CP (who tells BT).

This works well, and there are even anti slamming services to automatically cancel a migrate (useful for that customer that has had it tried 4 times already!).

New safeguards

One Touch Switching changing things, but is not without safeguards:

• The old CP has to match, which means address and surname and possibly more details like account number. However, an exact correct address and correct surname are good enough.
• The old CP tells the customer on match, and when it starts. 

But there are other changes:

• No 14 day delay, it could be next day even, so customer has to on the ball.
• Customer can only cancel by talking to new CP. But if not them, the customer will not know account, login, password, email, or even first name used, so may have a challenge getting new CP to even talk to them.

So yes, there are some safeguards, and the most benefit I can see is handling the mistake type slamming, as the surname match should solve wrong addresses in most cases. It is also possible for a customer to tell their CP they have a new surname, which then needs to match, though can mean an engineer asking for Mr Antislamming when there is a fault :-) 

But it is worse!

One Touch Switching only applies to consumer switching. For business, a simple BT circuit migrate happens as before. But that is OK, surely? That is how it has always worked.

Well, no...

• BT are removing the 14 day lead time, so customer has to be on the ball.
• There may be little, or no, advance notice any more (not entirely clear).
• It will no longer be possible for the old CP to cancel the order.

It is not even clear if the old CP will know who the new CP is. If slamming, the customer might not know until they get a letter in the post asking for money.

No, worse than that!

You might be thinking that, at least, consumers are protected by some safeguards (One Touch Switching)?

Well,  no...

BT don't know if the end customer is a consumer, and neither does a new CP. You can order a business service on a circuit, and migrate it next day with no One Touch Switching, even if the victim is a consumer. They will just have broken internet (no idea of new router login). So consumers are not protected at all from malicious slamming - the slammer only needs the address, not even surname, as no match is done on a business order.

No, worse even than that!

Yep, it is worse. If the victim had an old fashioned landline still, broadband migration will kill the phone line. And whilst getting the broadband back may be possible, and maybe even quick, the landline won't come back. The victim has to sort a right to port on the ceased number, finding a suitable provider, and getting suitable VoIP equipment all set up.

Example

DON'T DO THIS, IT IS ILLEGAL IN MANY WAYS!

Imagine you have an annoying neighbour. If you know address and surname you can do a proper One Touch Switching migrate to a new service. It means lying to the new CP, obviously. Yes, if they are quick, they can contact new provider, and maybe get it stopped, but may be tricky if next day switching. This could kill their internet.

But you don't need to do One Touch Switching, just order a business service. Maybe from a business only provider that is not even part of One Touch Switching. You can lie to them, and provide real business details, so passing credit checks and so on, and give phoney bank details for direct debit. But the migrate could be next day, with no notice, and the victim not even knowing who the new CP is. And, as I say, losing a landline number in the process.

Now imagine it is not a neighbour, but a celebrity you don't like, or a politician. All you need is the address!

What about a restaurant that gave you bad service. Slam them, and suddenly no internet; no credit card machine; no online orders; no VoIP phones. Chaos, even if only for a day whilst they get it back.

And not so nice on the victim for costs - the old CP may be chasing early termination charges. Getting service back may also have a cost, and minimum term.

And not so nice on the CPs - who have a customer who (rightly) says it was not their fault, so won't be paying early termination charges, etc, and if the CP argues the customer goes to ADR (Alternate Dispute Resolution) which costs the CP as well.

Once again, DON'T DO THIS! I am not trying to incite anything, just giving some examples of the risks.