avoiding internet early termination fee

leire

Hello,

I would like to run something by the forum to see if I'm making sense. I'm moving out of the country next month, my broadband contract expires next year and I would like to avoid the early termination fees. The company have said that I can pass on the contract to someone else, which would be free of charge and that way I can avoid the early termination fees. I'm considering passing it onto a helping friend (who's not interested in switching to a different company) and then my friend can cancel it during the 14 day cooling off period so that he doesn't get charged ever but neither do I? Would this make sense? The company in question is EE. 

Thank you!

powerful_Rogue

leire said:

Hello,

I would like to run something by the forum to see if I'm making sense. I'm moving out of the country next month, my broadband contract expires next year and I would like to avoid the early termination fees. The company have said that I can pass on the contract to someone else, which would be free of charge and that way I can avoid the early termination fees. I'm considering passing it onto a helping friend (who's not interested in switching to a different company) and then my friend can cancel it during the 14 day cooling off period so that he doesn't get charged ever but neither do I? Would this make sense? The company in question is EE. 

Thank you!

I very much doubt there would be a 14 day cooling off period as it's not a new contract.

Neil_Jones

leire said:

Hello,

I would like to run something by the forum to see if I'm making sense. I'm moving out of the country next month, my broadband contract expires next year and I would like to avoid the early termination fees. The company have said that I can pass on the contract to someone else, which would be free of charge and that way I can avoid the early termination fees. I'm considering passing it onto a helping friend (who's not interested in switching to a different company) and then my friend can cancel it during the 14 day cooling off period so that he doesn't get charged ever but neither do I? Would this make sense? The company in question is EE. 

Thank you!

It defeats the whole point of a contract if you can farm it off onto somebody else and they then cancel it and walk away scot-free.

The easiest solution if you don't want to pay termination fees is not to move, in a nutshell.  Your contract is for your current address, not wherever your friend happens to live so unless you're going to sell your house to them as well, its bit of a non-started.

Very much doubt cooling off period exists, in this situation as all you're doing is putting it in a new name.  That doesn't mean its a new contract.

onomatopoeia99

Your helpful friend won't get a cooling off period, that's new contracts only, not taking over an existing one part way through.  So you could cunningly avoid the early termination charge by passing it on to your helpful friend to pay.

Or you could learn from your mistakes, suck it up and pay for breaching the terms you agreed to and never enter into a contract with an minium term if you have no intention of agreeing to the terms you agreed to. 

leire

I’m surprised with the rudeness and the condescendence of some of these answers. 

EE have said my account can be given to someone else who lives in a different address. They also confirmed that as they would be creating a new contract there will be a 14 day cooling off period. 

Finally, I have no mistakes to learn from as I am in every right to move out of the country (and even more with the current situation). I intended to agree to the terms but life has its own plans and I’m not staying here for the sake of a broadband contract, that’s just ridiculous.

The only reason I posted was to double check and to see if someone had been in my situation before, maybe that was the mistake, expecting kind and appropriate answers from a sarcastic and patronising group. Good day.

JJ_Egan

EE may be wrong , get your friend to post back and let us know .

PRAISETHESUN

leire said:

I’m surprised with the rudeness and the condescendence of some of these answers. 

EE have said my account can be given to someone else who lives in a different address. They also confirmed that as they would be creating a new contract there will be a 14 day cooling off period. 

Finally, I have no mistakes to learn from as I am in every right to move out of the country (and even more with the current situation). I intended to agree to the terms but life has its own plans and I’m not staying here for the sake of a broadband contract, that’s just ridiculous.

The only reason I posted was to double check and to see if someone had been in my situation before, maybe that was the mistake, expecting kind and appropriate answers from a sarcastic and patronising group. Good day.

If you have that in writing from EE then go for it. I personally wouldn't have thought it'd work like that. In any case once your friend takes over the contract then it's no longer your problem!

mjm3346

leire said:

I’m surprised with the rudeness and the condescendence of some of these answers. 

EE have said my account can be given to someone else who lives in a different address. They also confirmed that as they would be creating a new contract there will be a 14 day cooling off period. 

Finally, I have no mistakes to learn from as I am in every right to move out of the country (and even more with the current situation). I intended to agree to the terms but life has its own plans and I’m not staying here for the sake of a broadband contract, that’s just ridiculous.

The only reason I posted was to double check and to see if someone had been in my situation before, maybe that was the mistake, expecting kind and appropriate answers from a sarcastic and patronising group. Good day.

If they do allow a cooling off period for your friend then the obvious thing would be that the original contract reverts to you, I cannot see them allowing people just to sidestep the charge.. 

Neil_Jones

leire said:

I’m surprised with the rudeness and the condescendence of some of these answers. 

EE have said my account can be given to someone else who lives in a different address. They also confirmed that as they would be creating a new contract there will be a 14 day cooling off period. 

Finally, I have no mistakes to learn from as I am in every right to move out of the country (and even more with the current situation). I intended to agree to the terms but life has its own plans and I’m not staying here for the sake of a broadband contract, that’s just ridiculous.

The only reason I posted was to double check and to see if someone had been in my situation before, maybe that was the mistake, expecting kind and appropriate answers from a sarcastic and patronising group. Good day.

This sort of response is quite common actually from people who post, don't get the support/praise/encouragement/"go for it" they're expecting and decide to leave because of that.

The moral of the story is simple:  You agreed to broadband for 12/18/24 months and you decide to move out of the country.  That's fine.  But the point of your post was you wanted to avoid termination fees.  And the easiest way to avoid them is not to move.  Simple as that.  If it was just a case of everybody could avoid early exit fees by passing the buck to their best friend, then everybody would be moving contracts to being in the name of their friends/parents/relatives/next door's dog, etc.

If you didn't like the answer then, well sorry, don't ask.  Simple as.  We don't do "yeah, they deserve it, sock it to 'em" here, we do "that's what you agreed to, so accept consequences".

brewerdave

UNLESS the deal transfer offer is in writing , I would have serious doubts. Sounds like a Customer Service agent making it up on the fly over the phone !!
 I've never heard of it happening for a different property- even transferring an account to a different name at the same property can be a nightmare !!

iniltous

As far as the original question, could you pass on your contractual obligation to someone else and then they use a ‘cooling off ‘ period to avoid their obligation as well, is , frankly, bonkers….why would the provider agree to that ?,
AFAIK, the only way an account is passed between different customers is bereavement, and even then it’s not universal ( some will have process in place some won’t ) and it’s main ‘aim’ is that the phone number isn’t lost  or a break in service , in your position the choice is quite clear , you pay the ETC as it’s yourself that is ending the contract before serving the minimum term , or don’t, and risk the possible credit file default and possible debt recovery from EE or whoever they sell the debt onto.
You don’t say if you intend to return to this country , but if your move is permanent , then ( assuming debt recovery isn’t international ) then it may be nothing more than a moral question , but TBH I doubt the first stage of your plan ( transferring your account to someone else ) will be possible , rendering the second stage moot.
I’m sure company’s of this size have already closed what you suspect is a loophole  in the T&C’s, and if an EE customer service rep has indicated that you could pass on your account to someone else , then they are mistaken, and this would come to light when you attempted to transfer your account to someone else.
Your plan is most likely to result in yourself being pursued for the ETC and your friend locked into a contract themselves that they didn’t want , as already stated , I would get this offer in writing from EE before you attempt this