Switching broadband supplier at end of contract

rjmachin

I am currently with TalkTalk for fibre broadband at £24.95

According to my account, the Contract End Date is 28 Nov 2021 and my discount ends on the same date, with the normal price being £38.

I intend to switch supplier, but a little confused as to the timing of when to do it.

Do I need to wait until the 28 Nov 2021 to "initiate" a switch to another supplier to avoid exit fees?
Or, is there something similar to Energy where you can leave 49 days before the contact end date?
If I have to wait until 28 Nov 2021, I assume TalkTalk will charge me the full price of £38, and then eventually refund me the difference except for the time it took to switch?  (e.g. if it takes 2 weeks to switch, my final bill would be 2 weeks worth of £38)

iniltous

You have to give notice , if you expect to move to another Openreach based supplier ( assuming your TT service is OR based ) then it’s a 10-14 day period , so you would ask the new provider on or around the 14th Nov , if you were leaving to a non OR based provider you would need to advise TT on around 28 October ( this wouldn’t be a switch, it would just be ceasing the TT service ).
IMHO, the small amount ££ switching a few days early or later than the actual 28th Nov is not worth the hassle of trying to get it done on any exact date,  if you end up paying a month to TT and are only a TT customer for a few days of that month , they refund you, if you leave a few days early , the ETC will be a small amount, and even if your new provider ( assuming OR based ) says the switch will be 28th Nov, there is always the chance it gets done a bit later anyway depending on OR’s workload, the final bill is the actual change date , not the date your new provider gives for the changeover ,in your case  it may work out to be the 28th , but if it’s physically  done by OR on the 29th or 30th , that’s the date the last TT bill will be for anyway…in other words it’s mainly luck if you get the change done on the exact date your ‘contract’ expires , plus the way final bills are generated, there will be some adjustments anyway , it’s not like on the 28th , even if that’s the date they change you over , that will be the last TT bill, or the last communication you get from them, the final invoice will take a little while to be generated and any payment or refund sorted out then.
The difference between TT full price and your discount price is about 0.43p a day , if the change is a week later than absolutely necessary, that’s only £3.50

rjmachin

I will be switching to another Openreach based supplier.

I understand the new provider will handle the communication with TalkTalk.

If I can save money by switching 10-14 days before so that the switch occurs shortly after the 28th November, I would prefer to do so, but obviously do not want to do that if I incur a early exit penalty, wiping out any savings or even costing more.

neilmcl

Bear in mind you pay in advance for broadband so any time after 28 Oct you will have paid the final amount of your minimum contract term so you can initiate pretty much after that and you "shouldn't" receive any penalty or just do it 14 days before Nov 28 if you want to be totally safe.