Forget Santa – it’s the get-out clause you want
With bills rising across the board at the moment, it’s a good idea to keep your eye on the news if you want to cut costs. You might have missed it, but this week it was announced that rising inflation could put 3-4% on your broadband or telecommunications bills mid-contract.
Not exactly what most of us want to hear at this time of the year.
When a business raises your monthly payments mid-contract, it has to let you know in advance. The good news though is often there’s the option to break the contract early if you’re not happy and avoid the prohibitive exit fees that drive thousands of complaints to Resolver every year.
It’s easy to miss these reminders though, so I’d contact your phone/broadband/TV streaming service providers and ask them if they are planning a mid-contract increase and ask them how they will contact you. That way you can do a bit of research on the better deals out there in advance.
Astoundingly, you can save around £150 a year on broadband costs alone by switching. Here’s how to switch mid-contract even if prices don’t go up.
How to leave earlier than planned
When you enter into a contract with a mobile phone or broadband provider but you want to leave the contract early, you’ll have to pay a fee for doing so. These ‘early termination’ or ‘exit’ fees are standard across all contracts – sometimes even pay as you go.
Early termination fees are calculated by working out how long you have left on your contact then billing a fee for the remaining months. With most providers, you’ll need to pay a monthly charge too, though this will depend on the tariff you’re on and will vary quite a bit.
The service changed
The contract binds the firm as much as you. So if the business has changed the way it operates, withdrawn services or introduced significant changes, you can ask to walk away and have the exit fees dropped.
You’ll need to establish there has been a significant change though. So explain why you feel that the firm’s service has changed for the worse. Remember you can go to a free Ombudsman service if you’re unhappy.
Poor service
Sometimes the relationship breaks down between you and your phone or broadband company.
As with any relationship, it pays to be honest with yourself about where the blame lies. If a business has treated you badly and refuses to listen, list the things they’ve done wrong, make a formal complaint and threaten to go to the Ombudsman.
Moving mishaps
If you’ve moved to another part of the country, you might not have the signal you need from your service provider.
The fact of the matter is, if your service isn’t available in your new home you shouldn’t have to pay an exit fee. Yet some firms are still digging their heels in over this. Don’t take no for an answer.
Poor signal and speed
Where service is patchy, it’s a bit more complicated. If your mobile phone signal is now poor, tell the firm, take regular broadband and signal speed tests using one of the many free apps or screenshots of the bars of signal on your phone and if you can demonstrate that there’s a problem the firm should let you go without charging you.
There are lots of rules the businesses have to follow on regulator OFCOM’s website. Read up on the rules and make a complaint with copies of your screenshots to the business.
You can also claim compensation for missed engineer appointments and service outage issues too.
If you’re having a problem leaving your telecommunications service provider, get free help from resolver.co.uk