Early termination of contract

[SixtiesFan]

On moneysupermarket.com it states the following about early termination of contracts;-

"Sometimes, your provider may increase the cost of your monthly bill – even if you’re mid-contract. They should let you know about any price hikes in writing.

Luckily, thanks to Ofcom rules, once you’ve been notified of a price change, you’ll have 30 days to cancel your existing contract without paying a penalty.

It’s quite common for providers to increase their prices at least once a year. So, you can use this as an opportunity to leave your contract early."

So, according to the above statement, if BT raises my monthly charges next Spring (which is likely to be a big increase given the way inflation is going), I should be able to switch to a new provider at that point, rather than have to pay the higher monthly fees until my contract ends in December. Is that correct?

[rbz5416]

No.

That relates to a time before BT (& others) started including the price rises in their contract terms.

[-Richie-]

As already stated that's old info or relates to other ISP's terms, BT along with most other major providers have it wrote into the terms that the price can increase by the rate of CPI +3.9%, BT will apply this each year in March.

[zulu17 · Accepted solution]

I believe the Ofcom guidance is as described in

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0027/29682/guidance.pdf

So  the BT Annual Price changes would typically fall into  the example given 

“The subscriber agrees and enters into a 24-month contract on terms that the agreed core subscription price will be £X per month for the first 12-months (or some other period) and £X + RPI10 for the second 12-months (or some other period). On the basis that the relevant price terms are sufficiently prominent and transparent that the subscriber can properly be said to have agreed on an informed basis, at the point of sale, to the relevant tiered price(s), Ofcom would not regard the application of the agreed price in the second period as a modification of the contract capable of meeting GC9.6's material detriment requirement.”

[SixtiesFan]

Thanks for  clarifying the legal situation. I'll just have to wait then until my contract nears the end and then "vote with my feet". Just one other question if I may - to make the change to my new ISP, do I have to inform BT that I'm leaving or is the process handled in its entirety by the provider? If the former is correct, then how much notice do I need give BT and does it have to be in writing or can I just call a Customer Services Advisor to let them know?

[-Richie-]

That would depend on which ISP you moved to, if they use the same Openreach network, you can do a working line transfer, the switch is seamless (gaining provider controlled) if your new provider follows process, the switch is for the new provider to organise and BT will send comfirmation that you're leaving, that's BT's only involvement.
If it's not part of the Openreach network, you would have to call BT and give the required 30 days notice.

Another thing to mention is BT will send you offers to stay, including matching the current price of a new customer (without any incentives or setup costs), if it's purely for financial reasons you might find an offer that suits your budget, it's called end of contract notification or Annual Best Tariff Notifications (ABTNs).

[VeteranISPUser]

Hi @SixtiesFan   It is a bad idea to notify BT that you are leaving. You risk a period of no service and losing your telephone number (if you have one). Always allow your new provider to handle the switch over completely. If there are any early termination charges, BT will bill you.

[SixtiesFan]

Thanks Guys. Much appreciated.

[iniltous]

Most mainstream providers now build in a yearly price increase that is in some way based on a formula x%+CPI inflation, because this increase is specifically mentioned in the T&C’s , these increases don’t provide a penalty free option to leave , for those few providers that do still guarantee a no increase during the minimum term , they obviously charge more than is necessary at the start of the contract , to ameliorate the effects of inflation over the entire term, if they didn’t they would lose money , and that’s a unsustainable business model
…..if you prefer to overpay at the start of a contract on the basis that by the end of the contract it will have have worked out as not costing any more over the entire term, than a provider that would increase prices annually, that’s obviously up-to you, as long as you realise you are in effect overpaying in the first place, and not that naive to think the fixed price is as cheap as it can be , and that the ISP absorb the inflation costs.

With the ISP provider you suggest in another post that you intend to join , their  current price for the same products  is more expensive than BT , but a 12 month contract , compared to a 24 month BT contract, that obviously will have two increases in price in the minimum term , without knowing that other company’s  price ( or inflation ) in 12 months time , and assuming you renew with them, ( to give a proper comparison) it’s impossible to currently know which will prove to be the better value , but obviously you would know that the price stays the same for 12 months…for some , this way of budgeting, even if it proves to be more expensive, this may be sufficient incentive .