What is a broadband cooling off period?
Sign up for broadband online, over the phone, or at your door, and UK law gives you a cooling off period: 14 days in which you can cancel the contract and get any money back, no explanation required. It comes from the Consumer Contracts Regulations, not from your provider being generous.
The cooling off period exists because you signed up without physically inspecting anything, unlike walking into a shop and buying a router off a shelf. The law assumes you might change your mind once the excitement of a good deal wears off, so it builds in a fortnight to do exactly that.
When does the cooling off period start and end?
The clock starts on the day you agree the contract, not the day your broadband goes live. That catches people out. If installation is booked for three weeks after sign up, your cooling off period can run out before an engineer has even visited.
Count 14 calendar days from the date you signed up, weekends included. Mark it in your phone. Providers are not required to chase you with reminders, and most will not.
Say you sign up on a Tuesday for a full fibre deal with installation booked three weeks out. Your cooling off period still ends 14 days later, on the following Tuesday, regardless of the fact your router has not even arrived yet. Plenty of people assume the clock only starts once the service is actually working, and that assumption costs them the right to a free cancellation.
Key takeaways
- Your cooling off period is 14 calendar days from the date you sign the contract, not the go live date.
- Cancelling inside the cooling off period should mean a full refund of anything already charged.
- If you ask for service to start immediately, you may owe a small amount for what you actually used.
- Once the cooling off period ends, you are back to standard contract terms and exit fees apply.
Can you cancel once you’re past the cooling off period?
Yes, but it gets more expensive. Once the cooling off period has passed, you are into the ordinary terms of your contract, and leaving early usually means paying an early termination charge based on the months you have left.
There are exceptions. If your provider fails to deliver the speed it promised, or hikes the price mid contract beyond what was disclosed at sign up, you may have the right to walk away without a penalty even outside the cooling off period. That is a separate consumer right, not the 14 day one, so check your provider’s own terms or Ofcom’s guidance before assuming either way.
Does starting service early affect your cooling off period?
It can. If you ask your provider to start the broadband before the 14 days are up, and you then cancel within the cooling off period, you can usually still get a refund, but the provider is allowed to deduct a fair amount for the days you actually had service.
If you would rather keep the full refund option completely open, tell the provider not to activate anything until the cooling off period has passed. Most will do this if you ask, though it means a slightly later start date.
What should you check during the cooling off period?
Treat the cooling off as a second chance to read the small print you skimmed at sign up. Check the actual monthly price after any introductory discount ends, since a lot of broadband deals hide fees that only appear once the discount ends.
Check the contract length too. An eighteen or twenty four month term looks similar to a twelve month one on the front page, but it changes how long you are locked in if a cheaper deal appears next year. Look at the promised speed against what a postcode checker actually suggests for your address, since the two do not always match.
If anything looks different from what you were told on the phone or in a chat window, this is the window to query it or walk away, before the cooling off period closes and you are relying on goodwill rather than a legal right. If you would rather avoid a lock in altogether, a rolling no contract deal sidesteps this question completely.
What if you switched using one touch switching?
One touch switching, the process that moved most broadband switches to a single call with your new provider, does not remove it. You still get 14 days to change your mind on the new contract, and your old provider is not allowed to charge you for time after the switch date even if you cancel the new deal.
Roo’s advice here is the same as always: read the contract before you sign it, not during the cooling off period while you are already regretting the router colour. A minute of checking upfront saves the phone call later.
Frequently asked questions about the broadband cooling off period
- Does the cooling off period apply to in store broadband sign ups?
- No. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations applies to distance sales, meaning online, phone, or doorstep sign ups, not contracts signed in person in a shop.
- How do I actually cancel within the period?
- Contact your provider in writing, by email or through their online account, stating clearly that you are cancelling. Keep a copy or screenshot as proof of the date.
- Will I get my deposit back if I cancel in time?
- Any deposit or upfront charge should be refunded in full if you cancel within the cooling off period and service has not yet started.
- Does the cooling off period reset if I change my package?
- Generally yes. Agreeing to a materially different contract, such as a faster speed tier, usually starts a new 14 day cooling off on those new terms.
- What happens if my provider ignores my cancellation?
- Escalate through the provider’s formal complaints process first, then to the relevant ombudsman if it is not resolved, since cooling off rights are a legal entitlement rather than a goodwill gesture.
