Broadband switching and notice period for Post Office

jrcp1908

Evening all,

My Post Office broadband contract finally comes to an end in July, and I'm looking to switch ASAP. Just been looking at the wording around leaving and notice periods and I'm a bit confused. Potentially being a bit thick here, but can't seem to find a clear answer. Per Post Office -
"You will be able to cancel or switch to a different provider without penalty after your current contract ends on 23 Jul 2020. If you wish to cancel your service you will need to let us know at least 15 days in advance"

My two questions
1) Can I start the switch process and give notice before my contract is up if the switch date is after the 23rd? The first sentence seems to read like I have to wait for the contract to be up to give my 15 days notice, so my earliest switch date would be 7th August, not 23rd July.

2) How does the 15 days notice work if I'm switching between openreach providers. From looking at TalkTalk, they would give me a start date in 10 days time, with no option to change the switch date, but that's clearly not enough time for the notice period. For example, would I have to announce to PO I'm leaving on the 8th (15 days before 23rd) and then order my TalkTalk package on 13th so it starts on the day my PO contract ends?

Thank you in advance for any help? Can't help but think I'm overthinking things here.

Neil_Jones

1) You can switch whenever you like.  Early exit fees will apply until the 23rd in your case, so if you want to avoid them, wait until you get into the 14 day cooling off period.  Your broadband will not finish, all the "contract is up" thing means is your price deal will end, not the broadband itself.  You will straddle payment windows like this but you'll get the credit back.

2) If you're moving from one provider to another on the BT network, you don't need to speak to Post Office.  Just pick somebody else and sign up, and they'll do all the work.

The "cancel your service" thing is normally if you don't want broadband from PO but you're not switching to another provider (or if you're moving off the BT Network, say to Virgin).