In today’s contemporary world, no human can survive without the internet. We need the internet for buying apparel, booking hotels, ordering food, reserving flight tickets, paying bills, connecting with our friends, sharing pictures, for work, for our entertainment, and whatnot? And, hence, high-speed Wi-Fi has become as essential as oxygen to us.
Although several internet service providers promise lightning speed (check your internet speed), very few stand true to their words. Most broadband providers charge you a bomb, but what they provide runs at a snail’s pace. And, the world knows that nothing could be more annoying than slow internet.
If you are stuck with such a broadband provider, we know you might be looking for ways to get out of your contract. But is it possible? Let’s find out.
Is it possible to cancel my broadband contract early?
Of course, you can. But you must consider a few things before terminating your broadband contract early. Most service providers render a contract length. If you cancel your contract before the minimum contract length, you may have to pay an early cancellation fee.
However, under some circumstances, you can cancel your contract without having to pay the fee. Scroll down to know about them.
How to cancel a broadband contract without paying any cancellation fees?
Under four circumstances, you can cancel the broadband without paying a cancellation fee or any other additional charge.
Cancelling the contract within the 14-day cooling-off period
Most broadband providers offer a trial period. If you are using the broadband service for the first time, and you are within the two-week cooling-off period and not happy with the services, you can cancel the contract without paying a cancellation fee.
Your minimum contract period has ended
If you have completed the full duration of the contract with your broadband provider, you can decide whether or not you want to continue with the broadband service provider.
If you want to continue with the same service, make sure you check the price as the service may increase the charges before renewing your contract.
Your service provider has hiked the price
If your service provider has increased the price without giving you a one-month written notice (as per Ofcom rules), you can back out from the contract.
- You can cancel the broadband without paying any cancellation charge if,
- You entered into a contract with the service provider after 23rd January 2014.
The hike is over the rate of inflation.
It is not voluntary. It applies to all broadband providers. So, call your service provider and mention the price hike as a reason to cancel the contract. You can also reach out to Ofcom and register a complaint. Mention the problems you have with your service providers. However, the hike was already mentioned in the contract, you will have to pay the cancellation fee.
You are not getting the desired speed
If your broadband is much slower than what was promised, you have all the right to cancel your contract without a cancellation fee.
According to new Ofcom regulations, when you buy any broadband service, the service provider should provide you with information on the broadband speed. The service providers should advertise the speed the users would get between 8 and 10 pm for home users and 12 and 2 pm for business services, i.e., the busiest hours of the day. The average speed should be the speed that 50 per cent of the customers get. Also, the service provider should mention the minimum speed, giving you the right to terminate if the speed goes below the promised speed.
Ofcom allows the customers to cancel broadband without fees if they are dealing with slow, underperforming, and unstable broadband.
If you want to cancel the contract, call the provider and give your service provider a month to resolve the problem. If they fail, you are allowed to cancel the contract.
Providers including BT, Zen Internet, Vodafone, Talk Talk, Plusnet, EE, KC, Virgin Media, and Sky are bound by the code.
Other ways to cancel the contract without paying fees
Apart from these 4 ways, you can cancel your contract without paying a cancellation fee if-
You are moving to a new place
If you are moving to a new place where your service provider could not provide their service, you can walk out of the contract. It will be at your service provider’s discretion.
In some instances, the new place may have their service but at a slow speed. In this case, you may have to pay an early exit fee.
After a complaint
Your broadband service provider may let you walk out of the contract without a cancellation charge after a complaint. Tell them that you want to cancel the contract.
If you have other reasons
If you want to terminate the contract due to any other reason, you will have to pay a cancellation fee. The provider may ask you to pay the fee for the months remaining on your contract. Some providers also charge for their hardware. Some allow you to return the hardware instead of an additional fee.
For more broadband realted guides and troubleshooting, visit Check My Speed BroadBand Guude page from here.
How to switch the broadband provider?
If you are using the broadband of any Openreach provider, including SSE, Shell Energy, Post Office, Origin, Onstream, Vodafone, Plusnet, NOWTV, Talk Talk, EE, BT, or Sky, you can switch the service.
If you want to switch between any two Openreach providers, just order a new package. If you do this, the new provider will take care of setting up, switching, as well as cancelling your current broadband.
In case you are moving to an area with a non-Openreach provider, reach out to the existing service provider and cancel your services.
Guides on cancelling specific broadband provider:
Here we are listing down some guides of broadband providers (if you wish to cancel), please check according to your broadband provider:
