Home phone News

‘Brits confused over phone contract cancellation fees’ says Which?

Monday 22 February, 2010

By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk

Some of the UK’s biggest home phone providers, including TalkTalk and Virgin Media, are confusing customers with costly contract cancellation terms, reveals an investigation by Which?.

Many consumers in the UK are not aware of how much it will cost them to leave their home phone provider before their contract is finished, according to a study among 2,000 consumers, by consumer group Which?

Of those who were sure there would be an exit penalty to leave their contracts early, they assumed it would be just a small admin fee.

Research by the group found however, that cancelling a contract early can be very expensive, costing hundreds of pounds in some cases.

Ceri Stanaway, telecoms expert at Which?, said: “A long contract with termination fees is the price we pay for a good deal - but cancellation terms should be fair, easy to find and clear.”

Which? asked 10 researchers to each spend 10 minutes on a home phone providers website looking for information on what would happen if they cancelled their landline contracts early.

The researchers looked at home phone or phone and broadband bundle cancellation terms for AOL, BT, Plusnet, the Post Office, Orange, Sky, TalkTalk, Tesco, Utility Warehouse and Virgin Media. Of the 10 providers, Which? found that:

• The website researchers looking at Orange, TalkTalk, Utility Warehouse and Virgin Media couldn’t find the contract cancellation terms within 10 minutes
• The researchers looking at AOL, Sky and Tesco found the relevant information but it wasn’t clear how much a customer would have to pay
• The researchers looking at BT, Plusnet and Post Office were able to locate terms and work out how much they would need to pay.

Overall BT’s terms were the easiest to find and understand - they were located in just two minutes.

Stanaway added: “A summary box of additional charges, including cancellation fees - like that used in the credit card industry - would be a step in the right direction.”

Simon Piper, business development manager at Homephonechoices.co.uk, said: “This research highlights just how important it is to find out about any cancellation charges or exit penalties for your home phone contract, before switching providers.”

“Be clear that when you sign-up to a new contract, or renew an existing one, you know exactly what it is you’re signing up for,” advised Piper. “Often added extras, such as three months free calls or free broadband, come at a price, and you’ll end up signing up to a new contract with different terms and conditions without realising it.”