Vodafone is a huge name in the mobile provider market and a growing competitor for the big names of broadband. You will often find Vodafone broadband to be one of the cheapest options available, especially when money-off discounts are available. But there are still reasons Vodafone customers may want to cancel. You may have found a better deal with a rival provider, want to try a different type of broadband connection, or be fed up with Vodafone’s customer service. This article will explain how to cancel Vodafone broadband and help you work out if you will need to pay an early termination fee.
How to cancel Vodafone broadband if you’re out of contract
You can cancel Vodafone broadband for free if your contract has expired. You can check your online account or contact Vodafone customer services to find out when your deal ends. Most Vodafone broadband packages have a 24-month minimum period, so you may have to wait a while if you have only recently signed up.
The easiest way to cancel Vodafone broadband is to switch from one Openreach-powered deal to another. This process is more simple because you don’t actually have to cancel Vodafone broadband yourself. Once you sign up with a new provider, that company will contact Vodafone to confirm you are leaving and arrange a disconnection date.
If you are switching to a full fibre, mobile or cable broadband provider, or disconnecting your home from the internet entirely, you will need to contact Vodafone directly to cancel. You will need to give at least 30 days notice that you would like to leave.
Cancelling Vodafone broadband by phone
The easiest way to cancel Vodafone broadband is over the phone. If you have a Vodafone phone you can dial 191, or 0333 304 0191 from any other phone network. Keep in mind that the person you speak to will likely try and convince you to sign up for a new fixed-term deal at a discounted price before they trigger the cancellation process.
Cancelling Vodafone broadband online
You can also cancel Vodafone broadband by using its online chat service, though you may still need to speak to customer services on the phone in order to confirm your identity.
How to cancel Vodafone broadband if you’re still in contract
It is possible to cancel Vodafone broadband if you are still in contract, but it may cost you money to leave. There are some scenarios where you will not have to pay, but they will not apply to the majority of contracted customers. For most households still in the minimum term of a Vodafone broadband contract, cancelling will mean paying an early termination fee. To calculate an early termination fee, Vodafone adds together all the future bills for the remainder of your contract, then subtracts any discounts you get and savings it will make as a result of not having to supply your broadband anymore. Vodafone also takes 1% off your final payment to compensate for the benefit of getting your money in one lump sum, rather than spread across several bills.
This means that if your plan costs £35 a month, plus a £10 a month discount, and you leave with 6 months left on your contract, Vodafone will:
- Subtract your discount from the monthly charge (£35 - £10 = £25)
- Multiply by the number of months left on your deal (£25 x 6 months = £150)
- Subtract VAT (20% off £150 = £125)
- Subtract Vodafone’s cost savings of around £14 a month (£125 - £84 = £41)
- Subtract a 1% discount for early final payment (1% off £41 = £40.59)
- Add VAT back on (£40.59 plus 20% = £48.71)
This would leave your total cancellation fees at £48.71.
If you are happy to cancel despite the fee, you should contact Vodafone and give 30 days notice that you would like to terminate your deal.
How to cancel Vodafone broadband for free
One way that contracted customers can cancel Vodafone broadband for free is if they are still in the first 14 days of their contract. Customers who have an early change of heart are protected by the legal requirement for internet service providers to include a 'cooling off period’ of 14 days or more in broadband contracts.
If you have had your current deal for 14 days or fewer, you can cancel Vodafone broadband for free by contacting customer services.
Vodafone broadband contracts can also be cancelled for free if the monthly price is increased, unless customers are told about a future price rise when they sign up. Once you are notified that your monthly fee will increase, get in touch with Vodafone directly. You should have 30 days from the day you are told about the price hike to cancel Vodafone broadband. Vodafone can include a clause on price rises in its contracts, so check your paperwork to see if any are mentioned.
You may also be able to leave your contract without having to pay a fee if your broadband speed is particularly slow.
How to cancel Vodafone broadband if it is too slow
Vodafone is not currently opted into Ofcom’s ‘Broadband Speeds Code of Practice’, which gives customers the right to cancel if their broadband speed is below what they are promised. Vodafone does have its own slow speed clause in its terms and conditions, but it is not as thorough as the Ofcom protection. At the time of writing, Vodafone’s speed guarantee does not apply to its full fibre products.
With eligible Vodafone broadband products, your service confirmation letter will set out a minimum guaranteed download and upload speed. You should be able to cancel Vodafone broadband for free if you are not receiving these speeds. If you think your broadband is slower than it should be, your first step is to test your internet speed. If it falls below your guarantee, contact Vodafone.
Once you notify Vodafone of the problem, it will try and resolve the issue by sending an engineer to investigate the broadband connection in your home and local area. The engineer will test the speed that reaches your home and your connection will be assessed for faults. If your slow speeds are not fixed by this, you will be able to move to a lower speed deal or leave your agreement early without paying a termination fee.
Keep in mind that the speed Vodafone guarantees is the speed that reaches your home, not what reaches your devices. Broadband speeds are affected by factors including your location, how many devices are simultaneously connected to your network, and the quality of your router. This means that your laptop showing a download speed that is less than the minimum is no guarantee that you can leave your contract for free. The speed Vodafone measures is what reaches the socket that your router connects to.
We cover more on broadband speeds in our article ‘What broadband speed do I need?’.
Before you cancel Vodafone broadband
Cancelling your Vodafone broadband package can impact your mobile deal if you are also a Vodafone mobile customer. Vodafone mobile customers benefit from a monthly discount of up to £3 on their usual tariff if they are a broadband customer too. This means that if you cancel your broadband, you will lose that bonus discount. Make sure this is an extra cost you can afford before you cancel Vodafone broadband.
You can find out more about Vodafone broadband by reading our independent ‘Vodafone broadband review’.
If you are planning to cancel Vodafone broadband because you think it is too expensive, you may find that you can reduce your monthly price by calling customer services to cancel. The person you speak to will likely offer you a new deal at a special price, though you may be able to haggle this down even further. Compare broadband deals to see what is available to you and tell Vodafone what price you would like to pay. If the call handler says no, you can go ahead and cancel, then move to a cheaper deal with a rival. Logic suggests Vodafone should prefer to put you on a cheaper deal than lose you to a competitor.
It can be worthwhile looking at the ‘Ofcom broadband checker’ to see what speed and type of broadband your home can get. Many Vodafone deals run for 24 months, so if your contract is coming to an end it has probably been a long time since you last compared broadband deals. You may find that mobile or full fibre broadband has been rolled out to your area, which will increase the amount of broadband deals available to you.
How to compare broadband deals
You can compare a range of providers by using a comparison service such as Uswitch* to find out exactly what is available in your area. It is worth comparing broadband deals online via a comparison site prior to cancelling Vodafone broadband, so that you know what price you could be paying elsewhere. Comparison sites help you to compare the best deals from multiple broadband providers at once. Results can be filtered by personal preference, usually with options to tailor results by factors including price, speed, reliability, Wi-Fi coverage and customer service. If Vodafone is then not able to match that price, you could cancel and switch to the cheaper deal.
After you cancel Vodafone broadband
If you cancel Vodafone broadband while you are still in contract, you will likely need to return your router. Vodafone will provide a prepaid postage label. Customers who do not return their router could be charged up to £99.
You should be sent a refund to cover the time you were not connected if your service ends during the period covered by your last bill.
