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Ever been on the wrong end of poor customer service or treated badly by a business or other organisation? If so, KentOnline’s consumer champion wants to hear from you.
In this regular feature, Elli Hodgson aims to help with ongoing consumer problems - from unfair treatment and unreasonable behaviour to a problematic product purchase.
Internet is something which is crucial for most of us in our lives.
But what happens when you are unhappy with your internet provider, but there is no other option available in your area?
For residents living on the Mascalls Grange Estate in Paddock Wood, this is exactly the predicament they are facing.
Made up of around 375 new-build homes by developer Persimmon, internet supply comes from a company called FibreNest, which is both the service provider and network provider.
A quick search of the postcode on Ofcom’s mobile and broadband checker and it becomes clear these residents really have no choice but to stick with FibreNest.
Although the company tells me there is no exclusivity agreement and others can use its network if they wish to do so, no other service provider is using its network and no network provider accesses FibreNest duct and boxes, or has overbuilt once the site is complete.
So the question is, if FibreNest are serious about allowing access to its network, why is nobody doing it?
I contacted Openreach which said: “If a developer chooses not to install with Openreach, we are effectively locked out from that location.
“In this case, the developer elected to use a different provider, so residents of this estate are only able to buy a service through that provider.
“Retro-fitting infrastructure to the estate would require significant, disruptive civil engineering work and would be cost-prohibitive.”
As it stands, FibreNest confirmed no other providers have come forward to ask for access to its network, which means residents only have one option for broadband.
Now, this wouldn’t be a problem if the service was consistent and effective, but on January 7 one parent got in contact with me to say her internet had been down for more than 24 hours – and this wasn’t the first occasion.
Sophie Kemp has lived in Dumbrell Drive since 2020 and says when she moved there was no other provider available except from FibreNest.
The mum-of two, who pays £47 a month for the service, said: “Most were told that within a year of living here we’d be able to move to another provider. But it seems that FibreNest are not willing to give over the land to different providers.”
In response, a spokesperson for FibreNest said it would like to apologise for the disruption, adding that “good quality connection is our highest priority” but that it invites other providers to offers it services.
But, throughout her time living on the estate, the 26-year-old says internet has been cut off multiple times for a number of days.
“People are losing out on days’ wages; people are not able to make calls or be in contact with family members of friends and when we make communication with FibreNest we’re not getting any response back or any updates that we’re happy with,” she added.
Having not heard of internet exclusivity agreements before, I asked FibreNest what was going on.
A spokesperson told me it was happy to speak to other providers to explore the opportunity but said it would ultimately be a “commercial decision for them”.
So, for now, any hope of switching broadband provider doesn’t appear to be on the cards, and residents like mum-of-one, Lois Gray, say the situation is a “nightmare”.
The 24-year-old said: “From the start, it became clear FibreNest’s monopoly on the estate was more of a burden than a convenience. We don’t have a choice. If we want internet, it has to be through FibreNest.
“One of the biggest issues is the frequent outages. On January 7, the entire estate lost internet for more than 35 hours.”
As a result, Lois says she pays £47 a month as well as an additional charge of £27 this month to align it with her payday, for a service that “barely works”.
In addition, she says outages happen at least two or three times a month and causes problem because “internet is essential for my day-to-day-life”.
“These outages are more than just an inconvenience—they disrupt my routine and add unnecessary stress,” she added.
Despite complaining to the broadband provider, Lois says emails to the company go unanswered for “days or weeks”.
She said: “It feels like FibreNest don’t care because they know we’re stuck.
“We have no other providers to turn to, so they have no incentive to improve. This lack of accountability and the poor service has driven me, and others in my community, to escalate the issue.”
As a result, many residents have complained to their local MP Mike Martin (Lib Dem) and Lois has even complained to the Communications Ombudsman.
She added: “The reality is FibreNest’s monopoly is hurting our community. In 2025, reliable internet isn’t optional— it’s essential.”
Meanwhile, for George Rowlands, who has lived on the estate since July 2022, the internet problems are impacting her role as an operational manger for an educational support company.
Because she works with children’s data, she is unable to work from a public place when there is an internet outage because it needs to be a private place.
“The impact is huge as I can’t work then it has a knock-on effect to my team who support schools,” she added.
But it’s not just work that is suffering, Matthew Purcell says the biggest impact is on his family life.
The 47-year-old said: “We want a solid internet connection but ropes are tied behind our backs. It’s poor service and it’s just about reliability and fairness.”
With no current plans to retrofit infrastructure on the Mascalls Grange Estate, Openreach tells me it intends to upgrade other parts of the Paddock Wood telephone exchange area before the end of 2026.
But where does this leave the residents on the estate, who will continue to have only one option for broadband? Surely, consumers deserve options when it comes to their internet provider.
I contacted Mike Martin MP to find out how he plans to look into the arrangement.
He said: “It’s outrageous residents are forced to put up with poor broadband connection, and have no choice of supplier.
“I will be raising this with the relevant government minister and will be working with Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and Openreach to improve the situation.”
A FibreNest spokesman said: “Fundamentally, we were created to ensure there is a high-quality broadband service immediately available when people move into their new home.
“The value of this service is reflected by our customer satisfaction scores which are significantly higher than other large national providers.”
I will be keeping an eye on how this situation evolves.
Have you got a consumer issue or problem which needs highlighting? Not sure on your rights? Contact reporter Elli Hodgson on ehodgson@thekmgroup.co.uk