My landline has been switched without my consent - what can I do?

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Our expert says...

Hi Geoff, I’m sorry to hear of your landline troubles. Having your home phone provider changed without your knowledge and/or consent is a form of mis-selling known as “slamming.”

Ofcom, the UK’s telecoms regulator, said it received an average of 750 complaints a month last year from customers that were mis-sold home phone contracts or had their phone line transferred to another provider without their consent.

There has been a significant crack down on landline scams, and in 2005 Ofcom introduced regulations to protect homeowners from the risks of mis-selling and slamming of fixed-line phone services. These regulations were reinforced earlier this year, so Ofcom can now take swifter and more effective action against suppliers who do not comply with the sales and marketing rules.

If you’ve been a victim of phone line slamming, or have had your phone line transferred without consent, there are several steps you can take. Follow my top tips below:

How can I avoid being mis-sold a phone contract?

You can avoid having your landline switched to a different phone provider by following these simple steps:

1. Always be wary about giving out personal information over the phone.
2. Only agree to something over the phone if you are 100% sure who you are talking to and what you’re signing up for.
3. If you’re not sure, ask the caller to post all the information to you first, so you can read about it before you sign-up to anything.
4. If you are approached by a doorstep seller to switch your home phone service, ask to see their identification, to make sure they are who they say they are.
5. Don’t give out your bank or direct debit details unless you’re 100% certain you want to switch phone providers.

Lastly, don’t sign-up for anything unless you’ve read the small print first. This rule applies to everything, not just landline contracts.

You may feel pressured by a company to sign-up to something, whether it’s a new energy tariff, credit card or broadband contract, but be sure to always read the terms and conditions of any new services you agree to - otherwise you may find yourself locked in a contract that you cannot get out of.

I have been “slammed” - what can I do?

Occasionally people find that their line has been switched without them ever talking to any other companies, a practice known as “slamming”. Ofcom is working to tackle the problem of slamming, and is fining companies that are found to be mis-selling landline contracts to customers or switching their lines without consent.

If you have been a victim of slamming, here is some advice on what to do next:

• You will receive a letter from your old phone supplier, and also one from the new company informing you that you are switching provider.
• If you don’t want to move to a new phone provider, you should call your old phone company to inform them of the “erroneous transfer”. If you do this within 10 days they will be able to put a stop to the switch and you can carry on as before.
• If it has been over 10 days, you should speak to your old supplier and ask them to transfer you back. If there are any problems they should be able to tell you what can be done.

You should also register a complaint using Ofcom’s online complaint form to tell the regulator what’s happened and which providers are involved. Ofcom monitors complaints and is able to take action against companies that engage in “slamming”, fining them up to 10% of their annual turnover if they fail to stop the unlawful practice.

I hope this helps Geoff - follow the steps above and file a complaint with Ofcom, to help the regulator crackdown on landline mis-selling.

Ask us a question

If you have a general switching or provider query please email us at ourexpert@homephonechoices.co.uk

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