What is Ofcom’s new Consumer Hub?
The Ofcom Consumer Hub is a free advice tool the regulator launched this month at ofcom.org.uk/onyourside, built to help mobile, broadband and pay-TV customers understand what they’re actually paying for and where they might be overpaying. It’s not a comparison site and it won’t switch anything for you. Think of it as the rulebook, in plain English, for a market that mostly relies on you not reading the small print.
For mobile customers specifically, the Ofcom Consumer Hub covers contract lengths, what counts as a fair mid-contract price rise, how complaints and cancellations are supposed to work, and what to check before you renew.
Why Ofcom launched a Consumer Hub now
Because a lot of households are quietly overpaying and don’t realise it. Ofcom’s research found that customers who are in contract spend between £7 and £9 a month less than out-of-contract customers, which works out at somewhere around £84 to £108 a year for doing nothing. Ofcom notes that gap narrowed last year, but it hasn’t closed.
That’s the pattern behind almost every switching story we write: the loyalty penalty isn’t a myth, it’s just quiet. Nobody sends you a letter saying “you’re now on the expensive tariff.” Your bill just is one, from the day your contract ends until you notice.
Key takeaways
- The Ofcom Consumer Hub is a free advice tool at ofcom.org.uk/onyourside, launched September 2026.
- It covers mobile, broadband and pay-TV: contract terms, price rises, complaints and cancellation rights.
- Ofcom found in-contract customers spend £7 to £9 a month less than out-of-contract ones, roughly £84 to £108 a year.
- It’s guidance, not a comparison tool, so you’ll still need to check prices yourself once you know your rights.
- Checking your contract end date takes about a minute and is the single biggest lever most people have.
The real saving behind the Consumer Hub
The saving is indirect, and only shows up if you actually use it. The Hub itself doesn’t hand you cash. What it does is remove the excuse of not knowing your rights, which is genuinely the thing that keeps a lot of people on an expensive tariff longer than they mean to. Knowing you can cancel penalty-free after a mid-contract price rise, for instance, is worth nothing if you never check whether your provider just applied one.
The most useful part for a mobile customer is probably the plain-English breakdown of what counts as an acceptable price rise versus one that lets you walk away. That single fact is buried in provider terms and conditions most people never open.
Worth knowing that Ofcom’s headline figures cover telecoms bills broadly, including bundled broadband and TV, rather than mobile alone. The principle holds for a SIM-only plan, but the pounds involved will be smaller on a single mobile line than on a full household bundle.
What should mobile customers actually check first?
Start with your contract end date. If you’re not sure, it’s usually in your online account or on a recent bill, and it takes less time to find than this paragraph took to read. Out of contract on a SIM plan almost always means you’re free to leave with no penalty, so there’s no reason to sit on an old tariff once that date has passed.
Next, check whether your provider raised prices mid-contract in the last year. If they did, and it wasn’t clearly disclosed at sign-up, that can be grounds to leave without an exit fee under Ofcom’s rules, the exact kind of thing the new Consumer Hub is meant to make easier to spot.
What the Consumer Hub actually tells you to do
Mostly it boils the advice down to three habits: know your contract end date, check for a mid-contract price rise you might have missed, and compare before you renew rather than after. None of that is new advice exactly, the Ofcom Consumer Hub’s real job is putting it all in one plain-English place instead of scattered across separate complaints pages, switching guides and tariff terms that nobody enjoys reading.
It also spells out what “acceptable” looks like from a provider. A price rise that was clearly disclosed at sign-up, in cash terms rather than a vague percentage, is one you’re generally stuck with until your contract ends. One that wasn’t disclosed properly is a different matter, and that’s the distinction most people never think to check.
There’s also a section on complaints, covering how long a provider has to respond before you can escalate to an ombudsman. That timeline used to live only in each provider’s own terms, which is exactly the kind of detail the Ofcom Consumer Hub is meant to surface without you having to go digging for it.
Frequently asked questions about the Ofcom Consumer Hub
- Is the Ofcom Consumer Hub a comparison site?
- No. It’s guidance and rights information only. You’ll still need a comparison tool to actually find and switch to a cheaper mobile deal.
- Does the Ofcom Consumer Hub cover SIM-only deals?
- It covers mobile contracts broadly, including what a fair mid-contract price rise looks like, which applies whether you’re on a SIM-only plan or a handset contract.
- How much could I actually save by checking my contract?
- Ofcom found in-contract customers spend £7 to £9 a month less than out-of-contract customers across their telecoms bills, so roughly £84 to £108 a year. Your own saving depends on your current tariff and whether you buy services as a bundle.
- Is the Ofcom Consumer Hub only for mobile customers?
- No, it covers broadband and pay-TV too, but the underlying advice on contracts, price rises and complaints applies just as directly to mobile.
- Where do I find the Ofcom Consumer Hub?
- It’s published at ofcom.org.uk/onyourside, alongside Ofcom’s existing complaints and switching guidance.
- Does the Ofcom Consumer Hub replace the ombudsman?
- No. It points you towards the right ombudsman and explains the timeline for escalating a complaint, but it doesn’t handle complaints itself.
None of this is complicated, which is rather the point. Ofcom built the Consumer Hub because the rules already exist, most people just don’t know them well enough to use them. Roo’s take is simpler still: know your date, know your rights, then go and actually compare something. If your SIM-only deal hasn’t been checked in a while, our SIM-only deals guide is a decent place to start, and if you’re not sure whether you’re even out of contract yet, this explainer on SIM-only versus phone contracts covers how to tell. For the mid-contract price rise rules mentioned above in full, our mobile price rise guide has the detail.
Sources
- Ofcom: Consumer Hub
- Ofcom: New research reveals how to cut phone and internet bills
- ISPreview: Ofcom launch Consumer Hub
Checked September 2026.
