How to cancel home broadband

Cancelling a contract tends to be a far bigger deal to the individual than the company.

Car breakdown providers won’t lose any sleep if an existing customer departs, and nor will utility providers, mobile phone networks…or broadband companies.

There’s no reason to feel uncomfortable or awkward telling a service provider you no longer want or need their services.

Here’s what to do when it’s time to cancel home broadband services.

A little housekeeping

Firstly, check your existing broadband contract to make sure you’re free to leave. There can be various associated costs if you’re still under contract, as we’ve previously explained.

Providing you’re not under contract, you’re free to serve notice at any time, though if you’re simply switching to another ISP on the Openreach network, you don’t even need to do that.

It’s now the responsibility of a new ISP to manage the switch from an existing provider, meaning you don’t have to inform the incumbent of your plans to leave.

Nonetheless, there are still scenarios where you may want to cancel home broadband yourself.

These might include a house sale, a separation, a forthcoming absence from the UK or a decision to switch to mobile broadband rather than an existing hardwired broadband service.

To simplify the process, it’s important to be organised before you ring your ISP – this isn’t something we’d recommend doing through web chat, given its lack of reliability.

You’ll need to be the main account holder, since they probably won’t speak to anyone else.

Questions and answers

Even if you’re determined to leave, prepare to receive various entreaties and offers of discounted service if you’ll reconsider.

ISPs may not cherish their customers, but when a contact centre agent is talking to an existing policyholder, they often have latitude to negotiate a cheaper or better deal.

If you’re not interested, be polite but firm about wanting to leave. If you’re emigrating, for instance, there’s no reason to remain a customer.

If you’ve experienced poor service, now isn’t the time to complain about it. The agent wasn’t personally responsible and can’t retrospectively fix any issues which tainted your experience.

However, it is the right moment to raise any unresolved billing issues, which often rumble on until your contract has ended and a final settlement can be calculated.

Ask when your service will be disconnected and note the date in your diary or electronic calendar – Outlook, Family Wall, etc.

There may be router hardware to return. If so, the agent will ask for the best address to send packaging to, after which it’s your responsibility to dismantle and return any equipment.

Check what needs to be returned (cables, instruction manuals, etc) and ask if a returns label will be included alongside the packaging.

Brands with high street outlets like BT/EE may accept returned hardware in-store, but check this before breezing in with a second-hand router in a box.

Also check whether bundled services are affected; Virgin Media customers might also lose TV services, for instance. Are you cancelling these as well, or just broadband?

Email provision through an ISP-hosted service might also be withdrawn, or restricted, or charged for after your broadband contract is terminated.

If you’re not a fan of using the phone, it may be possible to cancel home broadband in writing, though some companies (including TalkTalk) will write back and ask you to call and confirm your decision.

One thing you must get in writing is a final bill, to ensure you haven’t overpaid – or underpaid, which could lead to a request for repayment at a later date.