Three_Mobile_Broadband - Early termination fees

If you find yourself wanting to cancel your contract early, check the small print of your terms and conditions. Resolver recommends you always check whether you have a right to cancel a contract early, and at what stage, when signing up with a new mobile broadband service provider. If you choose to cancel before the minimum contract term is up, it’s likely you'll have to pay an early termination fee. For example, if you signed up to a 12 month contract and want to cancel after two months, you may have to stomp up 10 months worth of fees. This is often known as "buying-out" your contract.

However, Ofcom guidance says that if your provider has not provided the service it promised for a period of time, then you may have the right to cancel your contract early without having to pay any exit fees - and you may also be entitled to compensation.

• The customer services department of your mobile provider should acknowledge receipt of your issue within 14 days
• You can take the case to an ombudsman eight weeks after you've raised your issue

What next

If you are unhappy with your dongle provider’s initial response, you should contact their customer services department via Resolver, giving clear details of your case - such as what happened, when, and why you are complaining.

Once you have submitted your information to the company, they should acknowledge your case with 14 days.

If the company does not respond to your issue, then you should raise your case to the next level. The resolver system knows the next steps to take to escalate your issue and will remind you what to do and when, so that your voice is heard and hopefully your issue is addressed.

Your case is officially registered with the company as soon as the email is delivered and so you can escalate your case to an ombudsman after 8 weeks.

If you cannot resolve the issue

If the matter is still not resolved after eight weeks or if you receive a deadlock letter, you can send your case to the ombudsman. There are two ombudsmen in the telecoms market - CISAS or Ombudsman Services. resolver knows which one to send your case to. It will package your communications and all supporting documentation and send to the ombudsman.

The ombudsman will then independently undertake an investigation of your case for free. You can still take your telephone provider to court if you still do not agree with the outcome, but only use this as a last resort.

If you need additional assistance

If you need additional advice and guidance on the issue you can contact your local Citizens Advice.

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