Mobile Contract

MrKilner

My mobile contract ends next April but I am so ready for a new handset... I opted for a 24month contract last time and it was way too long.

Is there any way I can terminate early without a fee?

Nile

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Snakeeyes21

Short answer no.. a contract is a contract..
Either pay the line rental x the number of months remaining, minus VAT.
Or see the contract through to the end.

Mobile contracts are about as watertight as you can get, the only ways
out are payig it off or hoping they make a change to your terms..

grumbler

Snakeeyes21 wrote: »

...pay the line rental x the number of months remaining, minus VAT...

I think the statement about VAT is far too categorical: Paying off contract early....

At some networks you can downgrade a little in the last half of the min term.

Snakeeyes21

grumbler wrote: »

I think the statement about VAT is far too categorical: Paying off contract early....

At some networks you can downgrade a little in the last half of the min term.

Maybe the networks that dont knock off the vat should be reported to HMRC then, where a service is not provided it is not subject to VAT.
No ifs no buts.

grumbler

The HMRC's business is to collect VAT that it is due, not to control what companies charge their customers.
You can sue the network if you think that they charge you more than the actual damages are.

Techhead_2

Snakeeyes21 wrote: »

Maybe the networks that dont knock off the vat should be reported to HMRC then, where a service is not provided it is not subject to VAT.
No ifs no buts.

The regulator says that they may charge an early termination fee calculated as the remaining value of the contract less any amount they can recover by selling the airtime on plus the costs of finding a new customer plus other legitimate costs (eg admin). This can come to no more than the customer would have paid had they not cancelled.
In practice it is expensive to acquire a new customer and so fees are almost always capped at the remaining value of the contract.

If you were paying the value of service then you wouldn't be charged the VAT. But you are paying a fee.

grumbler

Techhead wrote: »

...If you were paying the value of service then you wouldn't be charged the VAT.

I think that I understand what you mean, but others may struggle.