Response to Ofcom call for inputs on Communication Services and SMEs
Small businesses often have the same problems and concerns in regulated markets as domestic consumers, and operate at similar levels of market engagement and understanding. They are not necessarily better equipped to take forward a complaint when things go wrong and can enjoy fewer protections and less access to third-party redress than domestic consumers.
Research into small business behaviour across a number of regulated sectors such as energy, water, finance and communications reveals that small businesses are consistently less engaged in markets than larger businesses.