My broadband contract ends soon. How to renegotiate or switch and avoid the out-of-contract hike?

A_Lert

My broadband contract ends at some point in February. (I found the exact date another day but have lost it again, go figure). As far as I can find out, when it ends Vodafone will hike the price up by £3 (currently paying £25/mth for 45/16 speeds). But if I switch before the contract ends I will be stung with early termination fees. Feels like I'm between a rock and a hard place. What to do?

(On the other hand, might I be better waiting until after the scheduled inflation-linked price rises in April?)

Neil_Jones

Early termination fees are pro-rata to the end of your deal, so by this point it will be one month at the most.

iniltous

Most mainstream providers build in an annual price increase based on an ‘inflation +’  formula, so if you switched to someone else , at an agreed price , chances are the price will go up when that increase is applied, obviously you could try negotiating with VF , but again whatever price you agree will likely increase once their yearly increase is implemented, so unless you have access to a provider that guarantees no yearly increases, you will almost certainly have in term price increases.
As already stated , you are so close to the end of your minimum term , the likely early termination charges will be small, so personally I wouldn’t let that influence my decision to stay or leave.
TBH , there isn’t a perfect answer that will fit everyone’s situation, but if you are ‘happy’ with your provider, it can’t hurt to contact them and say you are thinking of leaving and what can they do price wise to persuade you to stay, but with the caveat that whatever price you agree won’t be fixed , it will go up probably by around 15%.
TBH your current price is probably average, the £3 increase isn’t outrageous for being outside a minimum term ,and in a few months if the VF price inside a minimum term is £28 and outside is £31 ( or more ) that too will probably be industry’average’.

Some have access to Alt Nets , they can have competitive pricing ( or are desperate ) to get punters onto their networks

websurfer

Hi, my 24mth broadband contract with Vodafone was activated on 13 October 2023, and I assumed was ending 2 years later on 12 October 2025. So I was surprised to have an £11 hike in my Sept broadband bill, a month earlier than expected.

Question 1) how come this hike in my last bill under a 24 mth contract ?? Is it somehow a 23 mth period I'd signed up to....

Question 2) If so, can I give Vodafone notice to terminate the contract now, one month or so early, so it would end on 13 October, and get a refund for the “hiked” part of my Sept bill - it's already been paid by DD?

Question 3) If I then decide to replace Vodafone with another provider from October, do service providers allow you to chose a specific start date so you can make sure it coincides with the end date of your previous contract?

The lack of clarity at the end of the contract feels to me like a way for broadband providers to scare you into staying with them, by landing you with a hefty bill which they then reimburse if you stay with them on a new contract - not sure if I'm right.

iniltous

A price hike so close to the expiration of a minimum term isn’t the annual price increase that most providers build into the deal so presumably your current deal has a discount that’s being removed, the first and last bill of any deal like this are often complicated as the billing date and your contractual date are not likely to align ….starting on the 13th of the month it’s possible the increase is for a full month and a later bill will credit 13 days of the higher amount , 
As far as if you switch , can you specify a date , start a migration attempt and see what’s offered , TBH it’s probably not worth the stress of expecting the perfect date to be on offer , a day or so either side of the perfect date is not likely to amount to much , if £11 is  a full month increase,  that’s around 36p a day , so one or two days isn’t ruinous if you switch a day or two before  or after the 2 year anniversary of you joining VF in the first place .

If you do switch , you don’t inform VF yourself, you leave that to the new provider who serves notice on your behalf, if you also call VF its likely to mess things up …personally I’d decide what’s your preference, negotiate a new deal with VF or use a different ISP , once you know , obviously sticking with VF you do nothing after negotiating and accepting their offer , if moving is the best option contact the new ISP  and leave it to them .

If you do switch , it’s possible some of the £11 is refunded (or credited ) on your final bill , same if you renegotiate and stay with VF , 

websurfer

thanks for your sensible answer, iniltous. The hike isn't explained but looks more or less like the discount going (the maths doesn't quite work but only about £1 out). I still don't understand why that should go as you'd expect it to be for the full period of the contract. What irks me much more than the few pounds involved is that this messy end to the contract seems designed to keep customers from switching by making their online suggested "upgrade" replacement deal seems much better than what you're suddenly finding yourself paying. I don't think this is as bad with other utilities, so I'm not sure how the ISPs get away with it

AndyPK

I think they bill one month in advance.  So assuming you will stay with them.  You should get a refund. (don't cancel any DirectDebit's)

It will usually take ~3 weeks for a new provider. (could be a lot longer at present), so don't agree to any date earlier than the contract end, but you do need to get on with things