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Home phone News
Watchdog slashes cost of leaving your phone supplier
Thursday 17 June, 2010
By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk
Hefty cancellation charges and long home phone contract lock-ins are now a thing of the past, thanks to new Ofcom rules.
BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk are reducing the fees they charge customers who want to cancel their phone contract.
The move means it will be cheaper and easier for consumers to switch home phone provider.
As a result, charges will be 85% cheaper and more closely reflect the savings providers are making by no longer providing the customers’ service. Customers with a home phone and broadband bundle from the same supplier will also benefit from the cheaper charges.
Telecoms regulator Ofcom said in a statement: “Consumers who end contracts early should never have to pay more than the payments left under the contract - in fact they should often pay less, to reflect the costs providers save because the contract ends early.”
Under the new rules, from October BT home phone customers will pay as little £2 a month for every month they have remaining in their contract if they want to cancel it.
And Virgin Media home phone customers will be charged from £4 a month to terminate their contracts, when the new charges come into force in August.
TalkTalk has already cut its early termination charges, so that home phone-only customers are charged just £3 a month for every month of their remaining contract, and home phone and broadband customers are charged £8 a month.
Ofcom is now calling for other UK home phone providers to follow suit and reduce their early termination charges, and warned that those who didn’t would face “formal enforcement action”.
Michael Phillips, product director at Homephonechoices.co.uk said: “BT, TalkTalk and Virgin Media customers will now find it a lot easier and a lot cheaper to cancel their home phone contracts if they are unhappy with their service or want to switch to a better deal.”
“With these bold new regulations, the British public will be able to vote with their feet when they experience poor customer service, rather than feel trapped if they feel the service on offer is not up to scratch.
“It’s a victory for consumer choice - in our recent home phone complaints survey, 46% of those who have complained about their service did not get any resolution. What I’d now like to see is all the other home phone companies following suit. ”
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