Leave contract early no early termination charges within 31 days but not sure of timing

Yorkshire_Pud

Now TV hiked monthly cost for rubbish adsl contract by £3 but I can leave without early termination charges within 31 days of email received informing me of this.

I would like to clarify if that means I can sign up to a contract with a new provider within the 31 days even though the switch date will likely be beyond the 31 days or has the new provider got to be supplying the new service BEFORE the 31 days is up?

Still have 10 months to run on existing contract so it’s important to get this right!

Thanks for any advice, experiences doing this breaking contract due to price increase mid contract.

flavione74

You have to sign up with the new provider and they have to switch your line within 31 days.
I'm not completely sure about this, but I believe that you must also inform NOW that you are switching because of the cost increase. If you don't do that (tell them this specific reason of your switch), they might charge you the early termination fees. You'd better call NOW to get that right.

Yorkshire_Pud

flavione74 said:

You have to sign up with the new provider and they have to switch your line within 31 days.
I'm not completely sure about this, but I believe that you must also inform NOW that you are switching because of the cost increase. If you don't do that (tell them this specific reason of your switch), they might charge you the early termination fees. You'd better call NOW to get that right.

Thanks. Still not clear however about the 31 days, as in if I tell Now TV I want to leave on day 26 of the 31 day period the switch to a new provider will happen beyond the 31 days. Is the action of notifying them within the 31 days the important bit to avoid et charges and the switch then happens in due course?

iniltous

If you have a get out of jail free card , why the worry about exact dates , simply find a new provider and sign up immediately, they should migrate you ( presuming it’s another Openreach provider ) within 10-14 days , that way both the notice and actual migration are well within the 31day window you have to act upon the correspondence you received …I don’t seem the advantage of delay, simply do it as soon as possible.
FWIW , with some providers, in the past , that had this escape clause ( before they advised in advance that the price would go up by a certain amount annually ) there was a specific process to follow so that the automated systems wouldn’t simply generate early termination charges , personally I would enquire how they differentiate between this exception to the normal quitting early customers 
Also , if you simply tell Now you are quitting because of the price increase , and the new provider try’s to take over a line that Now have started the cessation process you will have a break in service, it won’t be a seemless transfer, as the new provider will have to allow the cessation to complete before ‘providing’ their service ( all this assuming it’s Openreach based providers .

If you do call Now you need to ensure they don’t say OK , we’ve ceased your service , unless that’s what you want , if you were moving to Virgin or an Alternative Network it wouldn’t affect them , if it’s Openreach you simply want them to note that any migration is penalty free because of the price increase 

Yorkshire_Pud

iniltous said:

If you have a get out of jail free card , why the worry about exact dates , simply find a new provider and sign up immediately, they should migrate you ( presuming it’s another Openreach provider ) within 10-14 days , that way both the notice and actual migration are well within the 31day window you have to act upon the correspondence you received …I don’t seem the advantage of delay, simply do it as soon as possible.
FWIW , with some providers, in the past , that had this escape clause ( before they advised in advance that the price would go up by a certain amount annually ) there was a specific process to follow so that the automated systems wouldn’t simply generate early termination charges , personally I would enquire how they differentiate between this exception to the normal quitting early customers 
Also , if you simply tell Now you are quitting because of the price increase , and the new provider try’s to take over a line that Now have started the cessation process you will have a break in service, it won’t be a seemless transfer, as the new provider will have to allow the cessation to complete before ‘providing’ their service ( all this assuming it’s Openreach based providers .

If you do call Now you need to ensure they don’t say OK , we’ve ceased your service , unless that’s what you want , if you were moving to Virgin or an Alternative Network it wouldn’t affect them , if it’s Openreach you simply want them to note that any migration is penalty free because of the price increase 

I have, due to various reasons, left it late it’s now five days to end of the 31 day period for quitting/switching. Hence my queries about this.

Yes both NowTV and Shell/talktalk are openreach, just checked.

It just seems there are potential pitfalls which if I get it wrong will cost me £230 ET charges. For peace of mind and less hassle I may be better off asking for a better deal and upgrade to fibre and begin another twelve month contract and then at the end perhaps move or not!

JSmithy45AD

Yorkshire_Pud said:

iniltous said:

If you have a get out of jail free card , why the worry about exact dates , simply find a new provider and sign up immediately, they should migrate you ( presuming it’s another Openreach provider ) within 10-14 days , that way both the notice and actual migration are well within the 31day window you have to act upon the correspondence you received …I don’t seem the advantage of delay, simply do it as soon as possible.
FWIW , with some providers, in the past , that had this escape clause ( before they advised in advance that the price would go up by a certain amount annually ) there was a specific process to follow so that the automated systems wouldn’t simply generate early termination charges , personally I would enquire how they differentiate between this exception to the normal quitting early customers 
Also , if you simply tell Now you are quitting because of the price increase , and the new provider try’s to take over a line that Now have started the cessation process you will have a break in service, it won’t be a seemless transfer, as the new provider will have to allow the cessation to complete before ‘providing’ their service ( all this assuming it’s Openreach based providers .

If you do call Now you need to ensure they don’t say OK , we’ve ceased your service , unless that’s what you want , if you were moving to Virgin or an Alternative Network it wouldn’t affect them , if it’s Openreach you simply want them to note that any migration is penalty free because of the price increase 

I have, due to various reasons, left it late it’s now five days to end of the 31 day period for quitting/switching. Hence my queries about this.

Yes both NowTV and Shell/talktalk are openreach, just checked.

It just seems there are potential pitfalls which if I get it wrong will cost me £230 ET charges. For peace of mind and less hassle I may be better off asking for a better deal and upgrade to fibre and begin another twelve month contract and then at the end perhaps move or not!

I've not long had the same argument with Sky as their email states that you can cancel within 30 days of the email. Of course that would leave me without broadband if changing to another Openreach provider which would be to my disadvantage. This would be I believe, illegal.

I finally got them to admit that I could switch to someone else (and it took a few agents and the executive team to do this) and even if it went over the 30 days from the email being received, I wouldn't be due any ETC's as I had informed them that I was leaving as per the T&C's.

I switched to Virgin and as I was taking the landline number they actually managed the switch and Sky turned off the FTTP on the same day.

True to form however a week or two later I get an email that if I don't re-subscribe I'll get charged ETC's of fifty odd quid and they added the charge on the same day as I got the email. I phoned up and sent an email to the executive team the same day and despite the agent on the phone saying he'd have to pass it on, the charge was credited back later that night.

So, as long as you tell them why you are leaving (not cancelling) you should be good to go. Just make sure to keep an eye on your charges. Do keep the receipt if sending the router back as well.

Yorkshire_Pud

JSmithy45AD said:

Yorkshire_Pud said:

iniltous said:

If you have a get out of jail free card , why the worry about exact dates , simply find a new provider and sign up immediately, they should migrate you ( presuming it’s another Openreach provider ) within 10-14 days , that way both the notice and actual migration are well within the 31day window you have to act upon the correspondence you received …I don’t seem the advantage of delay, simply do it as soon as possible.
FWIW , with some providers, in the past , that had this escape clause ( before they advised in advance that the price would go up by a certain amount annually ) there was a specific process to follow so that the automated systems wouldn’t simply generate early termination charges , personally I would enquire how they differentiate between this exception to the normal quitting early customers 
Also , if you simply tell Now you are quitting because of the price increase , and the new provider try’s to take over a line that Now have started the cessation process you will have a break in service, it won’t be a seemless transfer, as the new provider will have to allow the cessation to complete before ‘providing’ their service ( all this assuming it’s Openreach based providers .

If you do call Now you need to ensure they don’t say OK , we’ve ceased your service , unless that’s what you want , if you were moving to Virgin or an Alternative Network it wouldn’t affect them , if it’s Openreach you simply want them to note that any migration is penalty free because of the price increase 

I have, due to various reasons, left it late it’s now five days to end of the 31 day period for quitting/switching. Hence my queries about this.

Yes both NowTV and Shell/talktalk are openreach, just checked.

It just seems there are potential pitfalls which if I get it wrong will cost me £230 ET charges. For peace of mind and less hassle I may be better off asking for a better deal and upgrade to fibre and begin another twelve month contract and then at the end perhaps move or not!

I've not long had the same argument with Sky as their email states that you can cancel within 30 days of the email. Of course that would leave me without broadband if changing to another Openreach provider which would be to my disadvantage. This would be I believe, illegal.

I finally got them to admit that I could switch to someone else (and it took a few agents and the executive team to do this) and even if it went over the 30 days from the email being received, I wouldn't be due any ETC's as I had informed them that I was leaving as per the T&C's.

I switched to Virgin and as I was taking the landline number they actually managed the switch and Sky turned off the FTTP on the same day.

True to form however a week or two later I get an email that if I don't re-subscribe I'll get charged ETC's of fifty odd quid and they added the charge on the same day as I got the email. I phoned up and sent an email to the executive team the same day and despite the agent on the phone saying he'd have to pass it on, the charge was credited back later that night.

So, as long as you tell them why you are leaving (not cancelling) you should be good to go. Just make sure to keep an eye on your charges. Do keep the receipt if sending the router back as well.

Ah thank you. This is just the real experience response I was hoping for and illustrates that my reservations about how the company spins the whole cancel vs switching and ETC that do get charged wrongly, all quite predictable in this industry. So you have to keep tabs on them and not fall into the trap of ‘cancelling’ your service when it’s obvious nearly 100% of customers would just want to move to another provider by switching which of course they do not mention at all. Ditto the 31 days to tell them and not telling you that’s to state your intention to switch and then the date can be outside the 31 days because how can anyone predict exactly how long it will take to switch, ridiculous.

Not sure about shell energy/talk talk mind although a good deal get bad reports, but then most do, they are all sharks.

I will go back to Now and see if they can give me a deal even if it’s not as good as shells just to avoid their propensity to screw things up just because you don’t want to pay an unjustified probably 15% rise in cost.

Yorkshire_Pud

I phoned NowTV and have upgraded from adsl to fibre, they did their I will see what discount I can do routine and it was £25 pm and start an 18 month contract. This two months into my 12 month contract before they hiked the price. Said I’d been offered £24 yesterday but he said there’s no note on the system of that just that you phoned to discuss. Eventually offered a £12 credit off first bill so £24 and agreed 12 month not 18. And said there would be no mid term price rise.

This £25 seems standard lowest price they will offer and on a par with new customer sign up which seem to be 24 month contracts.

Basically I couldn’t face moving and all the hassle I would no doubt endure. At the end of the 12m I will look to move as only new customers get the cashback, voucher and lower rates as with all providers. Somehow I don’t seem to be able to get away from Now/Sky!

Broadband seems very expensive to me considering £25 is a bargain rate and that’s £300 a year normal price £45 pm for what? No inclusive calls anymore at what I think of as affordable, payg extortionate. Rip off Britain. Will be looking at smartphone and data bundles in the future I think which I have already so paying double in a way.

iniltous

I’d disagree with the relative value aspect, when I fist became a house owner , (  many decades ago , so figures are hazy ) but my water rates ( as they were then ) annually were around £50 , I now pay  that every month  ( so 12 times increase )  Gas and Electric, £300 a month now , maybe £70-£100 back then , so 3 to 4 times more , the phone bill ( no such thing as internet so  one service , and only  used infrequently on calls maybe a couple of hour per month , say  10 mins a day , 30 days a month  ) £20 a month , now with 24/7 broadband as well as infrequent calls , £30 a month , so 1.5 times more and used constantly, its pretty clear that out if all the home utilities which one is the least of a rip off 

timdiecast

JSmithy45AD said:

Yorkshire_Pud said:

iniltous said:

If you have a get out of jail free card , why the worry about exact dates , simply find a new provider and sign up immediately, they should migrate you ( presuming it’s another Openreach provider ) within 10-14 days , that way both the notice and actual migration are well within the 31day window you have to act upon the correspondence you received …I don’t seem the advantage of delay, simply do it as soon as possible.
FWIW , with some providers, in the past , that had this escape clause ( before they advised in advance that the price would go up by a certain amount annually ) there was a specific process to follow so that the automated systems wouldn’t simply generate early termination charges , personally I would enquire how they differentiate between this exception to the normal quitting early customers 
Also , if you simply tell Now you are quitting because of the price increase , and the new provider try’s to take over a line that Now have started the cessation process you will have a break in service, it won’t be a seemless transfer, as the new provider will have to allow the cessation to complete before ‘providing’ their service ( all this assuming it’s Openreach based providers .

If you do call Now you need to ensure they don’t say OK , we’ve ceased your service , unless that’s what you want , if you were moving to Virgin or an Alternative Network it wouldn’t affect them , if it’s Openreach you simply want them to note that any migration is penalty free because of the price increase 

I have, due to various reasons, left it late it’s now five days to end of the 31 day period for quitting/switching. Hence my queries about this.

Yes both NowTV and Shell/talktalk are openreach, just checked.

It just seems there are potential pitfalls which if I get it wrong will cost me £230 ET charges. For peace of mind and less hassle I may be better off asking for a better deal and upgrade to fibre and begin another twelve month contract and then at the end perhaps move or not!

I've not long had the same argument with Sky as their email states that you can cancel within 30 days of the email. Of course that would leave me without broadband if changing to another Openreach provider which would be to my disadvantage. This would be I believe, illegal.

I finally got them to admit that I could switch to someone else (and it took a few agents and the executive team to do this) and even if it went over the 30 days from the email being received, I wouldn't be due any ETC's as I had informed them that I was leaving as per the T&C's.

I switched to Virgin and as I was taking the landline number they actually managed the switch and Sky turned off the FTTP on the same day.

True to form however a week or two later I get an email that if I don't re-subscribe I'll get charged ETC's of fifty odd quid and they added the charge on the same day as I got the email. I phoned up and sent an email to the executive team the same day and despite the agent on the phone saying he'd have to pass it on, the charge was credited back later that night.

So, as long as you tell them why you are leaving (not cancelling) you should be good to go. Just make sure to keep an eye on your charges. Do keep the receipt if sending the router back as well.

I'm in the same position with Now broadband.

   I phoned them up today to tell them I wanted to leave due to the price increase. After a bit of bartering I told them I still wanted to leave. The operative told me there would be a £50 charge. I told him I disagreed and that I should be able to leave penalty free. I quoted the price rise email 'If you’re within your minimum contract period, give us a call on 0330 041 2498 within 31 days of getting this email to avoid early termination charges' but he still insisted that I could not leave without incurring a fee. He even said that lots of companies charge a fee for leaving mid contract.

   I'm going to phone them again to see if I get an operative who is aware of the rules.

Now broadband has been fairly hopeless since I joined in Feb so I'm glad I can (hopefully) leave early.

  Update-   I've phoned them up for a second time and was again told that I would be charged an ETF. I explained the wording in the price rise email and stressed that I was moving to somebody else and didn't want a cessation of service. 

   I was then put through to the retention department and after explaining what I wanted to the operative he said that I would have to ring them back once I got confirmation of a switch date from the new provider. Any ETF's would then be waived.

   I don't think I should have to phone them with a switch date, but I'm just glad to be moving from them.