Broadband customers have suffered a slump in customer service this year, but a new survey helps users distinguish the best from the worst.

More than 1.5m people have signed up for broadband in the past 10 months, thanks largely to the advent of “free” packages from the likes of Talk Talk and Orange.

However, many providers have been unable to cope with the surge in demand and customer service has taken a dive. Satisfaction has dropped 9 per cent across the industry, according to a survey of 11,000 internet users by research group Yougov for Uswitch.com, a comparison service.

Talk Talk, which launched “free” broadband with its home-phone packages in April, topped the survey for value-for-money but came bottom for overall customer satisfaction. Only 42 per cent of customers are happy with its customer service and just 37 per cent are satisfied with the technical support they have received. More than 200,000 customers are still waiting for a live connection months after signing up.

Orange came joint bottom with Talk Talk for overall customer satisfaction. It launched “free” broadband for people who spend at least £30 a month on an Orange mobile in June, and since then The Sunday Times has been inundated with letters from people with problems signing up.

At the top of the list for overall satisfaction were Virgin.net and Telewest, scoring 85 per cent and 83 per cent respectively. Both are owned by NTL, which ranks near the bottom of the league tables, but all three still have separate customer-service centres.

Before you sign up for one of the providers with the most satisfied customers, however, always check the small print of the deal. Firms vary widely in terms of connection speeds and the equipment they provide, so the package you go for will depend on how you plan to use the internet.

Below we outline the questions you should ask, and our table shows how the deals compare on both cost and service.

Check customer support

Installation is becoming more complicated with the advent of wireless modems and packages that bundle several services, so check how much it will cost you to call customer services or technical support. Toucan, for example, has a free customer- service number but users are charged 30p a minute if they call technical support.

Comparison services, such as Uswitch and Moneysupermarket, include service ratings in their tables so consumers can choose a provider with a good track record. It may also be worth checking online forums such as Moneysavingexpert.com.

What do you get for your money?

Some deals look very cheap, but there may be additional set-up charges that bump up the cost. Talk Talk, for example, offers free broadband to people who sign up for its Talk 3 package. This costs £19.99 a month, including line rental, and customers get free calls to any UK landline. However, this does not include any equipment. Talk Talk’s starter pack, which includes a wireless router, costs an additional £49.99. You can get a basic modem for £29.99.

Sky charges a £40 connection fee for its basic broadband deal.

Some people prefer to pay a bit extra each month for a more inclusive deal.

BT’s Option 2 package costs £14.99 a month for six months and £22.99 thereafter, compared with £9.95 and £17.99 for Option 1. However, the more expensive option, which BT said is more popular, gives you Norton anti-virus software and a wireless hub that is free if ordered online and will provide television via broadband.

Beware bundles

Low-cost bundles, which offer a number of different services in one package, are becoming popular. However, check that they suit your requirements otherwise you could be paying for something you don’t need.

For example, NTL recently launched Quadplay, which offers home phone, broadband, cable television and mobile for £40.

Bundled packages are attractive to providers because the more services you have, the less likely you are to switch. However, for this very reason you should think carefully before committing yourself. If you sign up and then encounter problems, switching will be more complicated.

Usage restrictions

Some suppliers cap your internet usage. If you exceed your download cap your provider may cut you off. It is more likely, however, that you will be contacted and asked to upgrade to a deal with a higher download limit. If you are a light user, a 1GB or 2GB cap is probably sufficient, but those who use the internet a lot, make Voip phone calls or download music and games will need a deal with a much higher cap, or no limit at all.

As a guide, Uswitch says that it takes about 240 kilobytes (KB) to download an e-mail. Downloading a music track will use about 4 megabytes (MB). If you listen to the radio online it equates to about 25MB an hour and Voip phone calls will use about 40MB an hour.

Check the small print

Always check the terms and conditions. Talk Talk and Orange’s free broadband deals require you to sign up for 18 months. Jason Lloyd at Moneysupermarket said: “Try to avoid signing up for 18 months unless you are confident the deal is the best one for you. The market is so dynamic you could miss out on better products a few months later.”

If you want to get out of your contract early you will either be charged a disconnection fee of up to £70 or have to pay the remainder of the contract. If you move house you may be charged a reconnection fee. You may also have to start a new contract, locking you in for a further year or so.

For the latest broadband and telecoms news and advice visit www.timesonline.co.uk/broadband