Hanging on the technical support line

Calling technical support lines can be a costly business, says Which? Computing - particularly if you're a Tesco broadband customer.

Which? Computing found that 32 of the 45 technology companies it investigated use higher-cost numbers for their helplines and some are charging significantly more than others for responding to technical breakdowns.

Four companies - Tesco broadband, Supanet, Nero and Roxio - use premium rate 090 helplines, which are the most expensive numbers available. A ten-minute call to Tesco broadband's 090 number costs £5 from a landline plus any connection charges.

At the other end of the scale, only six companies offer a freephone 0800 number: BT, Waitrose, O2 (home broadband), UK Online, Corel and Sony (software).

Frustration with customer support is felt by nearly a third of broadband users, says the magazine. Dissatisfaction with the time it takes to get through to customer support is one of the factors.

Which? Computing also found that the average wait to speak to someone on an ISP technical support line is 1 minute 33 seconds. Plusnet customers have the longest average wait of nearly eight minutes; though one researcher waited nearly 12 and a half minutes.

There's a growing demand for technical support. Security software manufacturer Norton calculates that, on average, one million people in the UK call its technical support helpline every month.

Sarah Kidner, Editor, Which? Computing says: "Some companies are using higher-cost numbers at their customers' expense. It's particularly galling to see a huge company like Tesco broadband using such expensive lines. If other companies can offer a freephone number, so can Tesco. After all, every little helps."