Consumers are being caught out by broadband packages that can cost four times as much as the headline monthly rate because of “stealth” charges buried in a firm’s terms and conditions.

The cost of technical support alone can cost more than £30 in some cases, according to research by BT. Other hidden fees include the cost of itemised billing, not paying by direct debit, line rental and even making an insurance claim.

The Orange broadband and mobile starter pack, for example, is advertised as costing just £7 a month. However, you need to sign up to an 18-month mobile contract costing at least £15 a month – making the minimum cost £22.

This gives a broadband speed of up to 2 megabits (Mb) with an 18-month mobile contract. However, with further additional fees, the bill could go up by an extra £38.50 – more than four times the headline rate.

You will be charged £1.50 a month for itemised bills and £3 a month if you want to pay by cheque. A typical 17-minute call to technical support can cost £8.50 while line rental will cost you at least £10.50 a month.

If you also have mobile insurance, which costs another £6 a month, you could face a £15 administration fee whenever you make a claim.

A recent survey by the comparison firm Uswitch found that consumers were losing £237m a year in additional charges on their phone bills.

There are 13 different “hidden” charges, according to research firm Broadband Choices.

Michael Phillips of Broadband Choices said: “If customers don’t do their research they could find that their annual broadband charges skyrocket beyond their initial monthly costs. Too many providers bury information on technical support call rates, data over usage and payment methods in small lettering and inaccessible terms and conditions pages.”

Technical support can get expensive with charges as high as 50p a minute for Orange broadband. Virgin Media charges 25p a minute.

Research by BT shows the typical call to technical support lasts 17 minutes, although Orange said its average is about five minutes. It also points out calls made to technical support using an Orange mobile are free.

The telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has announced proposals to rein in hidden charges. Ed Richards, chief executive, said: “Consumers are benefiting from greater competition and lower prices, but for consumers to get an all-round fair deal they need to know the full costs of the services.”

Here are some of the fees to watch out for.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Steve Weller, telecoms expert at Uswitch, said: “Most consumers suffer some service problems when they set up their broadband so high rates for technical support mean they are in effect paying an additional set-up fee.”

Some providers, such as Virgin Media, send an engineer round to set up the system so you are less likely to use technical support when you start the service.

From this month BT has made all technical support calls free. However, the sweetener comes with increases in fees for customers on the Anytime Weekend package, who pay 1.5p per minute for evening calls instead of the previous 4.5p per hour – a 1,900% increase for a one-hour call.

PAPER BILLING

Virgin Media’s broadband and phone deal costs £15.50 a month and comes with a 2Mb broadband speed and free weekend calls to landlines.

However, you will pay £5 a month if you don’t pay by direct debit and £4.35 for a 17-minute call to technical support, which costs 25p a minute after a 10p set-up fee. You will also be charged 50p to receive paper bills and £1 to have the bill itemised.

The total additional fees every month could be £10.85 – an extra 70% on the headline monthly rate.

SPEED RESTRICTIONS

While some providers, such as Virgin Media, start to restrict the speed of your broadband if you go over a “fair usage” limit – even if it is an unlimited download package – others will charge you for the additional downloads.

Eclipse Option 1 customers, for example, are charged £1.75 per giga-byte (GB) over their agreed limit while BT Broadband customers pay 30p per GB over the limit. Madasafish Max customers are charged £2 per additional GB.

FREE MODEMS THAT AREN’T

Another sneaky fee to look out for is the offer of a “free” modem. PlusNet’s free modem, for example, has a £6.99 delivery charge. Eclipse charges £4.99 for delivery on its Options 1 and 2 packages.

CONNECTION FEES

Customers who are thinking of saving by signing up to one-month contracts will have to pay a one-off “connection fee”.

Eclipse, for example, charges £47 while PlusNet charges £40. This is more than two months’ worth of charges on a longer-term deal. In the case of PlusNet, the fee is worth four months worth of subscription.

INTRODUCTORY OFFERS

Another bugbear for consumers are introductory deals which make comparisons difficult. Tiscali, for example, offers a telephone and mobile deal costing £6.49 for the first three months after which you pay £12.99 a month. The total bill over 12 months would therefore be £136.

In contrast, Talk Talk’s 8Mb broadband with its Talk 2 International deal costs a flat £5.89 a month – a total of £101 over 12 months.

“Introductory broadband price offers are an unhelpful marketing device that confuse customers,” said Phillips.

“Most customers do not select a broadband provider on the basis they intend to switch a year later. Introductory prices should reflect the long-term price a customer will pay.”

Though all providers have additional fees, Phillips said that the most transparent provider which offers good value for money is PlusNet, which charges £9.99 for an 8Mb broadband service with 1GB worth of downloads.

LOST MOBILE RINGS UP A HUGE BILL

ILAN SCORAH, 22 a philosophy student at Leeds University, lost his Orange mobile handset after a night out. He reported it missing the next day at 9am.

Despite paying £6 a month to cover the phone, he had to pay a £15 ‘administration charge’ to get a replacement. The insurance did not cover calls made between the time he lost the phone and the time he reported it missing.

Ilan’s father, David, 56, a pharmacist from Altrincham, Cheshire, who pays the bills, said: ‘It means we have to pay over £400 worth of calls made to places like Cameroon and Switzerland.’

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