Broadband will cost £20,000 after developer fails to install it

Andrew Dickinson, a 45-year-old technical consultant for an IT company, has been quoted £20,000 for decent broadband - after his developer decided not to bother installing it.

Andrew moved into the Moat House Field Development in Marston Green in May 2014. As someone in the technology business, he always knew he'd need decent broadband - so he could work from home. It would also prove useful for his wife Bridget, 37, and their young daughter to stream HDTV. He says he was assured Virgin fibre broadband would be installed, so he went ahead and bought the property.

Andrew told AOL: "One of the first discussions I had with the developer was over what was happening with broadband, and they said Virgin would be putting fibre broadband in, which offers 150 MB. It was only when I had bought the house that problems emerged."
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The problem

Andrew called Virgin before moving in, who told him that although they had approached Persimmon, they had not been asked to install Virgin broadband on the estate. In fact the only available broadband was a standard BT service through copper wires, which delivers between 4 and 5 MB.

This speed means Andrew cannot work from home, and it is not fast enough to stream HD channels.

Persimmon has not been responding to emails from Andrew. Andy Peters, managing director at Persimmon Homes South Midlands, told AOL that Persimmon never told Andrew he would receive a Virgin connection. He said: "We can confirm that properties at our Moat House Fields development were sold on the basis that the homes would be fitted with a standard BT line. We endeavour to make sure customers are fully informed when making their house purchase and are naturally disappointed to hear about Mr Dickinson's concerns."

When asked why Persimmon would choose to offer such a slow and outdated form of broadband when the surrounding area has all had Virgin cable laid, providing a far faster service, he chose not to reply.

Nobody can help

Andrew didn't give up easily. He went back to Virgin, who explained that the rules surrounding new estates mean that companies cannot dig up and install new services like Virgin until two years after the new roads have been adopted by the council - so their hands were tied.

He then contacted CSW Superfast Broadband, an organisation that installs fibre broadband in areas where it's not commercially viable for companies to operate. However, because the surrounding streets are laid with Virgin cable, the area is considered outside their scope.

He also contacted BT Openreach to see if fibre broadband could be installed on the estate. Andrew told Cable.co.uk: "Openreach said as Persimmon didn't install a new cabinet to the estate, the nearest cabinet around 500-700 metres away will never be upgraded to fibre as it's too small. They said the only way to upgrade would be to privately pay £20,000 to get a new cabinet and fibre via the local estate grouping together."

Andrew points out that a number of properties on the estate are affordable housing, so asking his neighbours to pay for broadband "would be the difference between them eating or not." It must take a great deal of restraint for Andrew simply to describe the situation as: "extremely frustrating".

Common problem

Dan Howdle, consumer broadband expert at broadband advice website Cable.co.uk says that the huge price Andrew is being asked to pay is shocking, especially as this is due entirely to the fact the developer didn't arrange for broadband to be installed.

However, he says Andrew's experience is not all that uncommon. He says: "For the past year we have been contacted by new homebuyers on a weekly basis regarding their poor, or sometimes non-existent, broadband. When buying a brand new home, purchasers have come to expect all the modern utilities, including fast broadband, as standard. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be what they're getting in some cases."

He suggests: "We recommend prospective buyers ask the developer about broadband speeds before purchasing and request a response in writing. If you have the postcode of the property you can use an online Ofcom-accredited postcode checker which will give you an idea of what existing speeds are like in the area."