Broadband contract buy-out offers: How to switch early

Stuck in a contract with a slow broadband deal? Many broadband providers are now offering a way out through contract buy-outs.

Trying to leave a broadband contract early can result in early cancellation fees that can run into the hundreds of pounds.

But switch to certain full fibre providers and they'll help cover these early cancellation fees for you.

Credit: simona pilolla 2/Shutterstock.com

At a glance: Broadband contract buy-out offers

Here's a run-down of the broadband providers currently offering contract buy-out deals and how much you can expect to get covered.

To benefit from these deals, you'll need to order broadband with one of the above providers, and then make sure to follow their guidelines to remain eligible for the contract buy-out offer.

We've covered each one in more detail below in this guide, however, it's important to double check the details with the provider themselves before relying on any information. To make this easier, we've provided a link to the information on the provider's website.

How do contract buy-out offers work?

Broadband contract buy-outs offer customers a sum of money for switching to a new provider to help cover the costs of any early cancellation fees.

They allow customers to side-step an existing broadband contract without waiting for the end of the minimum term, or incurring hefty early leaving charges.

However, as we'll see, contract buy-outs don't always cover the full leaving charges, and they'll often be strict requirements a customer needs to meet, such as providing proof of any charges and sending these in within a certain time frame.

Broadband contract buy-out amounts will often only cover the cost of cancelling the broadband service itself, and not any early cancellation fees for add-ons tied to the contract, or other services, like WiFi guarantees, a home phone line, or TV plan.

So, if you have additional services that could be worth checking out in advance of relying on a contract buy-out to cover your costs, as you could be left with extra fees to pay.

Exactly how each broadband contract buy-out offer works varies between providers, so, we've detailed the main providers offering these deals below.

Sky

Sky offer a switching credit for moving your broadband and/or TV services to them.

Customers will be credited:

• Up to £100 for moving to Sky broadband
• Up to £100 for moving to Sky TV
• Up to £200 for moving to Sky TV & broadband

While Sky cover early leaving charges for broadband, call plans, and line rental, as part of the switching to Sky broadband offer, the TV side of the contract buy-out deal is restricted to switching TV services only.

So, if you take a Sky TV and broadband deal, but you're only cancelling an existing broadband deal you'll only get up to £100 towards early leaving fees.

New customers have 90 days after activation to send in proof of their final bill showing early leaving fees as well as proof they've paid for them.

If successful, customers will have the amount credited to their Sky account, which can be used towards future Sky bills.

Find the full details of Sky's switching credit offer here.

Vodafone

Vodafone also offer a switching credit for new customers who move their fixed-line broadband services to them on a new 24-month contract but have early leaving fees from their old provider.

Vodafone customers will be credited:

• Up to £25 for moving to Fibre 1, Fibre 2, Full Fibre 74, or Full Fibre 80 plans
• Up to £50 for moving to Full Fibre 150
• Up to £100 for moving to Full Fibre 500, Full Fibre 910, Full Fibre 1.6, 1.8, or 2.2

Vodafone only say customers must provide proof of their early termination charges, so any early leaving fee as long as it relates to the broadband plan cancelled should be covered.

Customers will receive a bill credit up to the eligible amount depending on the Vodafone broadband plan they switched to.

Vodafone say they'll email new customers between 14 and 30 days after their broadband has been activated with details on how to claim. Customers are then given 90 days to send in any proof and apply for the switching credit offer.

Find the full details of Vodafone's broadband switching credit offer here.

Hyperoptic

Hyperoptic offer new customers up to nine months' worth of free service when they move from an existing broadband supplier in-contract.

The Switch Now offer applies to any 24-month Hyperoptic broadband deal, and customers simply need to provide them with proof within 30 days of the service being activated.

Because switching between providers at the same address automatically uses the new One Touch Switch system, the existing service will be cancelled and early cancellation charges are likely to be apply. However, these would then be off-set by the nine months' free broadband promotional offer.

One caveat to this switching deal is that promotional pricing doesn't apply, so after the nine months customers would pay the standard price for the broadband deal.

Find the full details of Hyperoptic's Switch Now offer here.

How much will I be charged for switching early?

Most broadband providers charge early cancellation fees if a customer wants to exit their contract early.

Early cancellation fees can be expensive and will often run into the hundreds depending upon how long is left to run on a contract.

While these fees are regulated, and can't be more than the cost of providing the service, they're usually uncapped and so there is no maximum fee.

We've a full guide on how to leave a contract early here, including example costs, however, what you can expect to pay could be a similar amount, or only marginally less, than the existing monthly charges on your contract.

So, someone paying £35 per month for their broadband, with six months left to go on their contract, could be looking at paying anything from £100 to £200 in early leaving charges.

There could also be other administration fees charged for leaving early, costs for cancelling any add-on services that also had a minimum term contract, and fees if you don't return the router and any provided equipment, so that's another thing to watch out for.

Most broadband contract buy-out offers will only cover the cost of the early repayment fees on the broadband service itself, so customers won't be covered for other services like phone or where they don't return equipment in time.

The switching process

New switching rules have now made switching broadband providers easier than ever, and the new industry-wide switching service, One Touch Switch, is now live.

This means to switch to a new broadband deal all customers need to do is place an order for a new deal and give the new provider their details.

Customers will then automatically be sent information from both their new and existing suppliers, including any early termination charges they'll be subject to if they switch early.

At this point, it's a good time to double check the terms of the contract buy-out offer and whether the amount of the offer will cover the early leaving charges for switching deals.

When that's confirmed, customers can then choose to continue with the switch by giving their consent.

So, it's possible to use the new One Touch Switch service to move to a new provider while still within an existing minimum term contract, checking any early leaving fees, and making use of contract buy-out offers where available.

Other benefits of the new switching system, also mean that a customer's new service and their old service, will begin and end on the same date, so there's no need to pay for existing services after the new plan has begun.

Read more about switching broadband providers in our main guide.

Summary

Broadband contract buy-out offers, or switching credits, are becoming more common, especially as providers want to tempt customers to upgrade to faster full fibre connections.

These offers can be found with both major players, available nationwide, like Sky and Vodafone, as well as with smaller, locally available, full fibre networks, like Fibrus, BeFibre, LightSpeed, and Brsk.

For those stuck in a contract with a slow part-fibre broadband connection who want to upgrade to faster speeds, these deals can be a life-saver to switch to an independent full fibre provider who may have recently built in your area.

However, it's worth bearing in mind many of these deals have terms and caveats, so it's important to make sure you can afford to leave your contract early should the contract buy-out not cover the full cost of any cancellation fees, or where the offer may come more slowly, such as in the case of switching credits where the reimbursement will come off your bill each month instead of sending you a lump sum payment.

Read more on how to cancel a broadband contract; how to leave a broadband contract early; and how to switch broadband deals.