The connection that often lags behind the van
Broadband is one of the first services people want working in a new home, and one of the most common causes of moving-day frustration. This article summarises the Citizens Advice page on cancelling a phone, TV, internet or mobile contract, which states that it applies to England, the Ofcom page “Automatic compensation: What you need to know”, published on 12 March 2024 and last updated on 20 July 2026, and Ofcom’s “Contracts” page, last updated on 1 May 2026. Ofcom is the regulator for broadband across the United Kingdom, while Citizens Advice publishes separate advice for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This article is general information, not legal advice.
Moving with a contract (England)
Citizens Advice says a household should check whether its provider offers the same service in the new area. If it does, the household might pay a small fee to move the service to the new address. Citizens Advice says a cancellation fee might be payable to leave a contract early if the provider does not offer the same service in the new area, or if the household is renting and the service is included in the place it is moving to but it already has a separate contract for that service. It suggests explaining the situation to the provider, which might reduce or remove the fee.
Citizens Advice also lists situations in which a customer might be entitled to cancel without a fee: signing up less than 14 days ago online or by phone, a price rise where the provider has given 30 days to cancel, a problem with internet speed, or a contract that has expired. A move is not on that list.
Automatic compensation for delays (United Kingdom)
Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme covers residential fixed broadband and landline services from the providers signed up to it. Ofcom lists BT, EE, Hyperoptic, Plusnet, Sky (including NOW Broadband), TalkTalk (with restrictions for customers not on the Openreach network), Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Zen Internet. The amounts shown on Ofcom’s page, last updated on 20 July 2026, are:
- £6.46 for each calendar day of delay where a provider promises to start a new service on a particular date but fails to;
- £32.31 for each missed engineer appointment, including one cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice; and
- £10.34 for each calendar day a service that has stopped working is not fully fixed after two full working days.
Ofcom says the amounts increase each year in line with inflation, so the figures on its page should be checked at the time of a move. The wording about a provider that promises to start a new service on a particular date and fails to do so is the one most relevant to a connection at a new address.
How payment works (United Kingdom)
Providers pay automatically, and the customer does not need to claim. Unless the customer agrees otherwise, compensation appears as a credit on the bill, no later than 30 calendar days after the loss of service is resolved or the service ends, the date of the missed appointment, or the resolution or cancellation of a delayed new service. Ofcom lists exclusions, including problems caused by equipment or activity within the customer’s home, breaches of the contract terms, and a customer who caused a failure or prevented its repair, for example by asking for a later engineer appointment. Providers can limit payments through a “cease notification” after 30 days, but must take reasonable steps to provide a suitable alternative service, and entitlement continues if none is available.
Changes to price and terms (United Kingdom)
Ofcom says phone and broadband providers can change contract terms but must give at least one month’s notice and a right to exit without penalty if the change does not benefit the customer. There is no exit right where a change is exclusively to the customer’s benefit, purely administrative, or directly imposed by law. If a specific in-contract price increase was not made clear when the contract was signed, the customer has the right to exit without penalty. Citizens Advice adds that a contract starting on or after 17 January 2025 should say exactly how much the price will increase each year.
When a provider will not resolve a dispute (United Kingdom)
Customers should first complain to the provider. Ofcom says that if the problem is not resolved and at least six weeks have passed since the complaint, or the provider has sent a deadlock letter, the complaint can go to an alternative dispute resolution scheme. The two schemes are the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS) and the Communications Ombudsman. Both are free to use, and all providers must belong to one.
Practical steps for a move
Citizens Advice’s advice to check early whether the provider offers the same service at the new address, together with a written record of the promised start date and any missed appointments, gives the best footing for a claim. The site’s change-of-address checklist lists other services to notify, and the moving house budget guide shows where connection charges fit.
Common questions
Will a house move let me leave my contract free? Citizens Advice says a fee might be payable if the provider cannot offer the same service at the new address, so the terms and the provider’s response matter.
Do I need to claim delay compensation? Ofcom says providers in the scheme pay automatically.
Does the scheme cover mobile phones? Ofcom describes the scheme as covering residential fixed broadband and landline products.
The bottom line
A household moving with a broadband contract may face a move fee, or a cancellation fee if the provider cannot supply the same service at the new address, so the position should be checked before giving notice. Where a provider in Ofcom’s scheme promises a start date and misses it, compensation of £6.46 per calendar day (the figure on Ofcom’s page in July 2026) is paid automatically, and unresolved disputes can go to an Ofcom-approved ADR scheme after six weeks.