Storm Took Your Broadband Out? You Are Probably Still Owed Compensation
The UK has just been through another spell of extreme heat, with the Met Office provisionally recording 38.1°C at Kew Gardens on 13 August 2026, which it called the fifth hottest day on record for the UK. Heat, storms and fire all damage networks, and when they do, a widely held assumption kicks in: that this one is nobody's fault so nobody pays. That assumption is wrong, and it costs people money. This guide sets out exactly what Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme pays, when the clock starts, how the money reaches you, the three genuine exclusions, and the provider list that decides whether any of it applies to you at all.
The short version
- Extreme weather is expressly covered. Ofcom names it, alongside strikes and third-party acts.
- You do not have to claim. Ofcom: "you don't need to take any action." It arrives as a bill credit.
- But you do have to report the fault, because the two working day clock starts from your report.
- Three exclusions apply, and the one to watch is preventing the fault from being resolved.
- The scheme is voluntary. Eleven providers are in it. If yours is not, none of the above binds them.
The rule most people get wrong
Direct answer: weather is not a get-out. Ofcom says so in terms.
Ask most households whether they would expect compensation after a storm took their broadband out for four days, and the answer is usually no, on the reasonable-sounding grounds that the weather is not the provider's fault. It is one of those beliefs that feels fair and happens to be wrong.
Ofcom's guidance on automatic compensation contains this sentence: "Unless an exclusion applies, you should get compensation even when the problem is caused by an event beyond your, or your provider's, control. This includes extreme weather, strikes and third-party acts."
Read that carefully, because each part is doing work. Extreme weather is named, so heat, storms and flooding are in scope. Third-party acts covers a great deal of real-world damage, including a contractor cutting a cable or a vehicle taking out a pole. And strikes removes the other excuse people expect to hear.
The logic behind it is sound. The scheme is not a fault-finding exercise, it is a service guarantee. You are paying for a working connection, and if you do not have one for days, you are compensated for that regardless of whose fault it was. Blame is beside the point.
What you actually get, and when
Direct answer: three payments, three triggers, and one clock that starts when you report the fault.
| What happened | What you get | When it starts |
|---|---|---|
| Delayed repair following loss of service | "£10.34 for each calendar day the service is not repaired" | After two full working days from your report, then the same amount for each full day it remains unfixed |
| Missed appointment | "£32.31 per missed appointment" | Per appointment missed |
| Delayed start of a new service | "£6.46 for each calendar day of delay" | From the day the service should have started |
Two details in that table matter more than the amounts.
The first is that the daily payment runs on calendar days while the waiting period runs on working days. A fault reported on a Friday afternoon therefore has a longer runway before payments begin than one reported on a Monday, but once they begin, weekends count.
The second is that the clock starts from your report, not from the moment the service failed. If the power went out on Saturday and you reported it on Tuesday, you have given away three days. During a widespread weather event when your provider already knows there is a problem in your area, reporting it still matters, because that is what attaches the fault to your account.
How the money reaches you
Direct answer: automatically, as a credit on your bill, within 30 calendar days.
This is the part that makes the scheme genuinely useful rather than theoretical. Ofcom is unambiguous that you do not have to chase it: the compensation is automatic and "you don't need to take any action".
It arrives as "a credit on your bill" rather than a cash payment, and Ofcom says it should reach you "no later than 30 calendar days" after the service issue is resolved or the appointment is missed.
That 30 day deadline is the one to diarise. An automatic scheme that quietly fails to pay is the most common way people lose out here, and the only way to notice is to look at the bill after an outage. If the credit has not appeared within 30 days of the fix, that is the moment to ask, and you are asking about something you are owed rather than requesting a favour.
The three exclusions, and the one that catches people
Direct answer: something in your home, breaking your contract, or getting in the way of the repair.
Ofcom lists the exclusions plainly: "If the loss in service is caused by equipment or activity within your home; if you break the terms of your contract; or if you caused the service failure or if you prevent it from being resolved."
The first two are what you would expect. A fault caused by your own equipment is your own problem, and if you are in breach of your contract the protections change.
The third is the one worth reading twice, specifically the phrase "or if you prevent it from being resolved". In practice that covers being unreachable when the provider tries to arrange a visit, refusing or repeatedly rearranging access, or not being in for an appointment you agreed. During a widespread outage, when engineers are working through a backlog, being easy to reach is not just good manners. It protects your entitlement.
Note what is not on that list. Weather is not an exclusion. Neither is a third party damaging the network, nor a strike. If a provider tells you otherwise, Ofcom's guidance is the thing to quote back.
First, check your provider is actually in the scheme
Direct answer: it is voluntary, eleven providers are in it, and this is the first thing to establish.
Everything above depends on one condition that rarely gets mentioned. The automatic compensation scheme is voluntary, and it binds only the providers who signed up. Ofcom lists them as BT, EE, Hyperoptic, Plusnet, Sky, NOW Broadband, TalkTalk, Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Zen Internet.
If your provider is on that list, the rules in this article apply to you and the payments should be automatic. If it is not, you are relying on that company's own compensation policy and your general consumer rights instead, which may be perfectly reasonable but is not the same guarantee.
That is worth knowing at the point of choosing a provider, not at the point of an outage. A cheaper monthly price from a company outside the scheme is a slightly different product from the same price inside it, and almost nobody factors that in. Our guide to Ofcom's automatic compensation rates goes into the scheme in more detail.
What to do when the weather takes your line out
Direct answer: report it, record it, bridge it, then check your bill.
The two working day clock starts from your report. Every day you delay is a day of compensation you have given away, even if your provider already knows the area is affected.
If the automatic payment does not arrive, this is the evidence that settles it in about a minute. Our broadband not working guide also covers how to check whether it is a wider outage rather than a fault in your home.
Remember the exclusion for preventing a fault being resolved. Answer the phone, keep any appointment you agree, and do not make yourself the reason the repair slipped.
If the damage is outside your home there is nothing at your end to fix. Mobile data or a 4G home broadband hub covers the gap without any installation.
The credit should be there. Our compensation calculator works out what the figure should look like, so you can compare it against what actually landed.
If the payment does not arrive
Direct answer: complain, then escalate free of charge after six weeks.
Automatic does not mean infallible. If the 30 days pass and no credit appears, raise it with your provider in writing, quoting the date you reported the fault and the date it was fixed. Most cases end there.
If it does not get resolved, you can take it to an independent alternative dispute resolution scheme, free of charge, and the waiting time is shorter than most published advice still says. Ofcom confirmed it is "reducing the timeframe before consumers can access ADR from eight weeks to six", and that "This change will come into effect from 8 April 2026". Our guide to complaining and escalating to the ombudsman covers the route.
One honest limit. The automatic scheme pays fixed daily amounts, not what the outage actually cost you. If four days without broadband cost you far more than the daily figure, the automatic payment will not cover it, and that is a complaint rather than an entitlement.
Free. And once the service is back, it is worth seeing what else your postcode offers.
Adrian's take
I sat down to write this expecting to deliver bad news. My assumption, and I suspect most people's, was that a storm or a fire is exactly the situation where a provider shrugs and points at the sky. Then I read Ofcom's own wording and found the opposite: extreme weather named explicitly as still covered. It is a genuinely good rule and it is buried where almost nobody will ever see it. The bit that nags at me is the reporting clock. During a big weather event thousands of people sit tight for a few days assuming the company already knows, and every one of those days is money quietly forfeited. So if the line goes down in the next storm, report it that day even though it feels pointless, write down the reference, and look at your bill a month later. That is about four minutes of effort for something you are already owed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get compensation if a storm knocks out my broadband?
Yes, in most cases, and this surprises people. Ofcom's guidance states that unless an exclusion applies, you should get compensation even when the problem is caused by an event beyond your, or your provider's, control, and it names extreme weather, strikes and third-party acts specifically. So a storm, a flood or a fire damaging the network does not let your provider off. The payment is automatic and arrives as a credit on your bill.
How much compensation do I get for a broadband outage?
Under Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme the current rates are £10.34 for each calendar day the service is not repaired, £32.31 per missed appointment, and £6.46 for each calendar day of delay to the start of a new service. Ofcom notes that compensation amounts increase each year in line with inflation, so check the current figure if you are reading this some time after publication.
When does broadband compensation start counting?
For a loss of service, after two full working days from when you report the fault. If it is not fixed after two full working days you receive the daily amount, and then the same amount for each full day it is still not fixed after that. This is why reporting the fault promptly matters: the clock does not start when the service fails, it starts when the provider knows about it.
Do I have to claim broadband compensation?
No. Ofcom is explicit that the payments are automatic and that you do not need to take any action. Compensation is paid as a credit on your bill, and Ofcom says this should reach you no later than 30 calendar days after the issue is resolved or the appointment is missed. If that window passes and nothing has appeared, that is the point to raise it with your provider.
When is broadband compensation not paid?
Ofcom lists three exclusions: if the loss in service is caused by equipment or activity within your home; if you break the terms of your contract; or if you caused the service failure or if you prevent it from being resolved. That last one matters in practice, because refusing access for an engineer visit or being unreachable can count as preventing resolution. Weather is not an exclusion.
Which providers are in the automatic compensation scheme?
Ofcom lists BT, EE, Hyperoptic, Plusnet, Sky, NOW Broadband, TalkTalk, Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Zen Internet. The scheme is voluntary, so a provider not on that list is not bound by it. If yours is absent, you would be relying on its own compensation policy and your general consumer rights instead, which is worth knowing before you choose a provider on price alone.
How is broadband compensation paid?
As a credit on your bill rather than a cash payment, and Ofcom says it should arrive no later than 30 calendar days after the service issue is resolved or the appointment is missed. Keep an eye on the bill after an outage, because a credit that never appears is the most common thing that goes wrong with an otherwise automatic scheme.
What should I do when a storm takes my broadband out?
Report it to your provider straight away, because the compensation clock starts from the report rather than from the failure. Note the date and time you reported it and any reference number. Check whether it is a wider outage in your area rather than a fault in your home. Then use mobile data as a stopgap if you can, and leave the network repair to the people with the vans, because there is nothing at your end to fix.
Does compensation cover my mobile data costs during an outage?
Not specifically. The automatic scheme pays fixed daily amounts rather than reimbursing what an outage actually cost you. If you have suffered a larger loss than the automatic payment covers, that is a complaint to your provider rather than an automatic entitlement, and if it is not resolved you can escalate it free of charge to an independent dispute resolution scheme.
What if my provider refuses to pay compensation?
Complain to the provider first, in writing, setting out the dates and what you are owed. If it is not resolved you can escalate free of charge to an independent alternative dispute resolution scheme. Ofcom reduced the waiting time before you can escalate from eight weeks to six, a change that came into effect from 8 April 2026.
Does the heat itself damage broadband?
Extreme heat is more likely to affect the equipment in your home than the network outside it, and there are simple things that help, such as keeping the router ventilated and out of direct sunlight. A genuine loss of service during hot weather is more often caused by damage to the network, including fire, than by the temperature affecting your own kit. If your service is still working but feels sluggish in the heat, that is a performance question rather than an outage, and our guide to hot weather and Wi-Fi covers what to do about it.
Is compensation different if the fault is on the network rather than at my house?
Not for your purposes. The scheme is built around loss of service and how long it takes to restore, not around where the fault sits. What does matter is the exclusion for faults caused by equipment or activity within your home, so a problem inside your property that you caused is treated differently from damage to the network outside it.
References
- Ofcom. (2024, March 12; last updated 2026, July 20). Automatic compensation: what you need to know. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/service-quality/automatic-compensation-need-know
- Ofcom. (2025, July 8). Quicker complaints resolution for telecoms customers, under new Ofcom rules. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/service-quality/quicker-complaints-resolution-for-telecoms-customers-under-new-ofcom-rules
- Met Office. (2026, August 13). Latest heatwave peaks with 38.1°C recorded and rain on the horizon in the south. https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2026/latest-heatwave-peaks-with-381c-recorded-and-rain-on-the-horizon-in-the-south
- Ofcom. (n.d.). Making a complaint and using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/service-quality/adr-schemes
Written by Adrian James, Broadband Editor at BroadbandSwitch.uk (LinkedIn). Reviewed by Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith (LinkedIn). Published 14 August 2026, Ofcom guidance verified 11 August 2026. Compensation amounts rise annually with inflation, and the scheme is voluntary, so check Ofcom's current guidance and whether your own provider participates. This guide is information, not advice.