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New contract, different household member?

Hi I wanted to understand how getting a new fibre broadband contract would work. 

Right now we are with Vodafone with contract due to expire next month. This is on my wife's name. 

If I sign up for Vodafone to get a new customer discount on our address, will that work and does she need to give notice / report a house move etc first or can I just take over? 

I ask because I recall if you just give notice and don't replace, you have to pay some disconnection fee? Alternatively, I guess she can sign to with another provider. Would she need to give notice then to Vodafone first or just have a takeover date around the time of contract ending?

Thanks! 

Comments

  • Rodders53
    Rodders53 Posts: 2,540 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I doubt you can sign up as new on the same fibre connection and would need to give notice / cancel.  Just negotiate a new deal at the same rate as a new customer, or even less? (Rolling over onto the standard tariff is always going to be stupidly expensive.
    Less work for Voda to do that than cancel and sign someone up after a break in service. 
    If finances are connected a credit search may reveal what you are trying to do anyway.

    Check the online account for any renewal offers from Vodafone?

    ISP switching transfer should be relatively painless and is initiated by the new ISP ... some suggest you get called by old ISP retentions with a better deal at that point?
  • phillw
    phillw Posts: 5,631 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 5 October 2023 pm31 9:14PM
    avgjoe said:
    If I sign up for Vodafone to get a new customer discount on our address, will that work and does she need to give notice / report a house move etc first or can I just take over? 
     
    Your best option is to phone up vodafone and ask them. Tell them she is leaving you. She can always change her mind, or maybe it was a misunderstanding.

    You're unlikely to get away with it, but they might offer you a retentions deal. Though I'd do a comparison on topcashback before deciding whether to stay with vodafone. They have a cracking offer on shell energy broadband that I'm leaving vodafone for (cheaper than anything listed on MSE). You can at least mention it when speaking to vodafone. Don't hold out much hope as many ISP's have tried to retain me, until I tell them the deal I'm leaving for.

  • avgjoe
    avgjoe Posts: 73 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks, so best for her to sign with another provider such as shell? 

    Does she have to give notice to Vodafone first or just sign with shell? 
  • wongataa
    wongataa Posts: 2,675 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    If you are switching ISPs that use the Openreach infrastructure then all you do is sign up with the new ISP.  You do not contact your current ISP.  The new ISP tells your current one you are leaving them.  It has been this way for years now.

    So just sign up with Shell.  It takes about 2 weeks to switch so time the sign up with the new ISP so the switchover will be around the time your current minimum term ends.
  • iniltous
    iniltous Posts: 3,507 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    TBH , most providers will attempt to match the ‘new customer’ price of a competitor, if it means retaining an out of contract customer , I’m not suggesting sticking with VF ( personally I think they are sh*t ) but if they have been OK for you , and things like email addresses ( if they have them and you use it ) may be worthwhile seeing what they will do to keep your custom, if they can’t or won’t match the best deal you could get from a new provider, you can still move .
    As far as you signing up with VF as a new customer, chances are you would have to do that as a working line takeover, so basically you imply that you are moving into the property ( coincidentally you have the same last name as the current occupant ) but the person who moved out didn’t advise their provider ( coincidentally also Vodafone )
     TBH , if you did this online there is no human involvement, so no one to say ‘that’s unusual’ but  your Mrs could end up being chased by VF for not giving notice and paying a penalty as they would say to her you had to give 30 days notice but you didn’t , and obviously she wouldn’t be using VF home mover service because she didn’t actually move out .
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