Can I move to a social tariff before my contract ends?

Yes, if your provider offers one and you are eligible. Citizens Advice says you won't have to pay to move to your provider's social tariff and can move at any time, without waiting for your contract to end. Ofcom estimated social tariffs cost £12 to £24 a month (February 2026).

Broadband contract ending? Your options

What happens when your minimum term ends

Most broadband deals have a minimum term: the number of months you agreed to stay when you signed up, and the period your introductory price is tied to. When it runs out, your broadband doesn't stop. If you do nothing, you usually carry on with the same provider on its out-of-contract price, sometimes called the standard or list price, which is usually higher than the deal you signed up to.

Ofcom's Pricing Trends Report, published in February 2026, found that people still in contract typically pay £7 to £9 a month less than people out of contract, across standalone broadband and bundles with a landline or TV. For broadband-and-landline bundles, the gap between promoted prices (what in-contract customers pay) and list prices (what out-of-contract customers pay) ran from about £4 a month for standard broadband to £8 for ultrafast.

These are averages, not a forecast for your bill, but acting on the reminder does pay for some people. Ofcom research published in May 2022 found the share of customers taking out a new deal after a notification rose by 13 percentage points at Plusnet and about 10 at BT, EE and Virgin Media, and some customers saved an average of more than £110 a year by re-contracting. Customers of some providers paid more after re-contracting, which Ofcom said may reflect upgrades to faster packages.

How some providers handle the end of a contract

Here is what a selection of providers' terms and help pages said when we checked in October 2026. We have left out pound amounts: they change, and your notification gives your figure.

Provider	What happens if you do nothing	Notice to leave and later price changes
BT	An out-of-contract price rise applies unless you re-contract. Under BT's Price Promise, Halo 3 and 3+ customers keep the same monthly price.	30 days' notice if you cancel; for Halo 3 and 3+, annual price increases still apply
Virgin Media	The contract continues month to month.	30 days' notice, no early disconnection fee. Main services rise in price every April.
Trooli	You move to a rolling monthly contract at Trooli's out-of-contract price, which is higher than its standard price.	30 days' notice, no early termination charge
Truespeed	The same package continues at the out-of-contract (full) price.	30 days' notice
Connect Fibre	The contract becomes rolling monthly at out-of-contract pricing.	One month's notice to leave; prices can change after the minimum term with at least one month's notice
Zzoomm	The service rolls on monthly, and Zzoomm can then raise prices with at least one month's notice.	One month's notice
Zen	Zen's Contract Price Promise fixes the price only for the contract. Afterwards, prices can rise.	At least 30 days' written notice of a rise. When Zen cut its standard full-fibre prices in February 2026, out-of-contract customers could re-contract at the new prices.
YouFibre	You move to monthly rolling charges, which may rise each year in line with CPI inflation.	At least one month's notice of a rise, with the right to leave; rolling plans need 30 days' notice to cancel
Community Fibre	Its offer terms for deals on sale in October 2026 include a fixed increase when the contract ends.	Out-of-contract prices rise every April
Airband	You move onto a monthly rolling contract; its renewals team gets in touch beforehand.	Package pages list the higher price that applies once the 24-month term ends

If your provider isn't listed, its terms and your notification will say the same things. There is more on each company, and its current deals, on our broadband providers hub and on pages such as BT broadband deals and Virgin Media broadband deals. For what life on a month-to-month arrangement is really like, see our guide to rolling monthly broadband contracts.

The end-of-contract notification: what it must tell you

Since 15 February 2020, Ofcom's rules have required broadband, landline, mobile and pay-TV providers to warn you before your minimum term ends. This end-of-contract notification can come by text, email or letter. ISPreview's report of the rules when they started says it is usually sent between 10 and 40 days before the contract ends. Providers' own timings vary: YouFibre, for example, says it emails customers 40 days before the end.

The notification must tell you:

The date your contract ends.
What you pay until then.
What changes afterwards, both to the service and to the price, if you do nothing.
Any notice period you need to give to end the contract.
The provider's best deals, including the prices it offers to new customers.

The best deals it shows you must stay available for at least 30 days from the date of the notification, giving you time to compare them with other providers' offers.

What the notice doesn't have to include

Your provider has to tell you about its deals for new customers, but it doesn't have to offer them to you. It also doesn't have to mention gifts or incentives it gives new customers. A new-customer price in your notice is useful for a conversation with your provider, not an entitlement.

Some providers have gone further. The government's Telecoms Consumer Charter is signed by BT Group, VMO2 (Virgin Media O2), VodafoneThree, Sky, TalkTalk, KCOM, Community Fibre, WightFibre, Hyperoptic and Olilo. Ofcom's rules already require end-of-contract and annual notifications to be clear and timely and to set out your options; Charter signatories also commit to writing them in plain English, and to signposting social tariffs to eligible customers in their communications, for example in end-of-contract notifications.

Reading your notice: a quick checklist

When the notification arrives, note down:

Your end date. Put it in your calendar, with a reminder a week before.
Your price after the end date, compared with what you pay now. This is the cost of doing nothing.
The best deals listed for you, and whether each one is open to you or only to new customers.
The date those deals expire, at least 30 days from the notice.
The notice period if you decide to leave.
Any mention of a social tariff, if you receive benefits.

The annual best-tariff notification

If you let your contract run on, the reminders don't stop. Providers must send customers whose minimum term has ended an annual best-tariff notification at least once a year, so you hear about your provider's best available deal every year you don't change your deal.

If you took a 30-day rolling contract from the start, there is no minimum term to end, so you won't get an end-of-contract notification; you get the annual one once you have been with the same provider for more than a year.

Nothing changes the day the annual notice arrives, which makes it easy to ignore. Treat it as a yearly prompt to compare.

If your notice never arrives

A text to an old number or an email caught by a spam filter is easy to miss, so don't wait for a notice before acting. Ofcom's advice to anyone with a broadband contract is to check whether you are in or out of contract, compare the offers available and, if it is right for you, switch.

To find your end date yourself:

Log in to your online account or app and look for your contract or plan details.
Find your contract summary. Its "Duration, renewal and termination" section gives the contract length in months, the main renewal and termination conditions and any fees for leaving early. Our guide to reading a broadband contract summary explains each section.
Search your inbox for your original order confirmation and count forward from your start date.
Ask your provider by phone or webchat, and note the date and what you were told.

These rules are enforced. In November 2023 Ofcom fined Shell Energy £1.4 million for failing to send end-of-contract and annual best-tariff notifications, or sending inaccurate ones, to 72,837 customers between March 2020 and June 2022.

If you think you were never told and have been paying an out-of-contract price as a result, complain to your provider first and keep a record of every contact. Citizens Advice says that if you haven't heard back after six weeks you can use your provider's alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme, which every provider must belong to. ADR is free for customers: the Communications Ombudsman, one such scheme, describes its service as free and impartial. The six-week wait applies to complaints raised on or after 8 April 2026 (it was eight weeks before), and a deadlock letter, saying the provider can't resolve the dispute, lets you go to ADR straight away. See how to complain about a broadband provider. We haven't found a fixed refund rule for a missing notice, so explain what happened and ask for what you think is fair.

Your four options

Once you know your end date and your price afterwards, you have four realistic choices. They aren't exclusive: comparing first gives you something to take to your current provider.

Option 1: Re-contract with your current provider

Signing up to a new minimum term with the same provider is usually the least disruptive route. Your notice lists the provider's best deals, and some providers go further. YouFibre says existing customers can re-contract on the same offers as new customers. When Zen cut its standard full-fibre prices in February 2026, its existing out-of-contract customers could re-contract at the new prices.

A re-contract is a new contract, so check it as carefully as any other. Citizens Advice suggests checking:

how long the new contract lasts;
any charges for installation, line rental or connection;
how much the monthly price will be after any free or discounted period ends.

Also look for built-in price rises. Since 17 January 2025, Ofcom's rules require any price rise during the contract to be set out in pounds and pence before you sign, and inflation-linked rises are no longer allowed in new contracts, including re-contracts. Our guide to mid-contract price rises explains what to look for.

Before you agree, ask for the contract summary, which providers must give you free before a contract takes effect. Its price section shows the monthly price, one-off charges and any time-limited discounts. If what you were told on the phone differs, the summary is the document to query.

Option 2: Ask your provider for a better offer

Citizens Advice says you could tell your provider you are thinking of switching to a cheaper deal elsewhere, and it might offer you a cheaper deal to stay. There is no guaranteed outcome, and we haven't seen reliable figures on how often it works.

It goes better with preparation:

Compare first. Enter your postcode in the comparison on our broadband deals page and note two or three real alternatives at a similar speed.
Have your notice to hand, with your price if you do nothing and the provider's best deals.
Be specific. Ask what the provider can offer you on the speed you need, for how long, and what the price will be after any discount ends.
Don't agree on the spot if you are unsure. Ask for the offer and contract summary in writing.

You don't need anyone's permission to leave. In July 2026 Ofcom fined Virgin Media £28 million after finding its procedures, including repeated retention offers and long holds, were likely to have put customers off cancelling or switching between January 2022 and September 2024. If a call turns into pressure, end it.

Option 3: Switch to a new provider

Since 12 September 2024, home broadband switching has used Ofcom's One Touch Switch process. You contact only the new provider and give it your name, address and postcode, contact details, current provider and the services you want to switch. Your current provider then automatically sends switching information, including any early termination charges and the effect on other services you have with it, and the switch happens on the agreed date. Ofcom's February 2026 report said more than two million households had used it.

A few protections make switching at the end of a contract low-risk:

your old provider has to keep supplying you on the same terms until the new service is live;
any loss of service during the switch must not exceed one working day where technically possible;
as a home customer, you don't pay notice-period charges beyond the switch date.

Early termination charges apply to leaving before the minimum term ends, and Citizens Advice notes they can be expensive. If your switch date falls after your end date you shouldn't face one; if it falls before, you are told about any charge before the switch goes through.

Not every network is part of One Touch Switch. Connect Fibre, for example, says it isn't, so you cancel your old provider yourself once the new line is installed. With a smaller full-fibre network, ask which route applies before you order. Notice periods matter in that case and when cancelling outright: BT, for example, says its service stops 30 days after you cancel. Our guides to switching broadband providers, cancelling broadband and leaving broadband without an exit fee cover each route.

Option 4: Stay on a rolling arrangement

Staying on a monthly arrangement can make sense if you expect to move soon or are waiting for full fibre. Make it a decision rather than a default, and set a date to look again. Several providers in the table, including BT, Trooli and Truespeed, move you to a higher or full price when the term ends.

Rolling prices can also go up. Zen, Zzoomm and Connect Fibre can raise prices after the term with notice, YouFibre's rolling charges may rise each year with CPI inflation, and Community Fibre's out-of-contract prices and Virgin Media's main services rise every April. Each rise is a prompt to compare.

Check what else is tied to your broadband

Mobile discounts and perks. EE says that if you cancel either EE Broadband or EE Mobile you lose EE One benefits, including the data boost and household savings. Virgin Media's Volt offer terms say that downgrading a service in your bundle may mean losing the bundle discount. Our guide to broadband and mobile discounts explains how these deals work.
TV and phone. One Touch Switch tells you how switching affects your other services with the current provider; read it before you confirm.
Email address. If you use an email address supplied by your provider, check what happens to it when you leave. See keeping your email address when you switch.

Timing your decision

The notice gives you a natural timetable. This is a made-up example to show the timing, not a real customer.

Example: Sam's notice arrives by email 35 days before the contract ends, with the provider's best deals valid for 30 days. Sam compares deals at their postcode, then calls the provider and is offered a new 24-month deal. Sam compares its contract summary, including the pounds-and-pence rises, with the best alternative, picks the alternative and agrees a switch date just after the old contract ends, so no early termination charge applies.

Start when the notice arrives. The best deals only have to last 30 days.
Don't jump too early. Leaving before your end date usually means an exit fee, so check your switch date.

If money is tight

If you are struggling to pay, tell your provider and ask whether it can offer a cheaper deal. Telecoms Consumer Charter signatories commit to giving customers in financial difficulty practical support, such as moving to a cheaper package without a charge or penalty, or a manageable payment plan.

If you receive Universal Credit, Pension Credit or certain other benefits, look at social tariffs: cheaper broadband packages for eligible households. Ofcom estimated in February 2026 that social tariffs cost between £12 and £24 a month for broadband, and that 70% of eligible households didn't know they existed. Citizens Advice says that if your provider has a social tariff, you won't have to pay to move to it and you can move at any time, without waiting for your contract to end. See our guide to broadband social tariffs, and our cheap broadband deals page for lower-cost packages at your postcode.

Using a comparison well

The comparison on our pages comes from a partner and shows live deals for your postcode; we don't switch you ourselves. Citizens Advice says you will usually find better deals online than in shops or on the phone, and suggests using a price comparison site approved by Ofcom, which it describes as independent and unbiased; Ofcom lists the approved sites, so you can use one as a cross-check. Whichever you use:

Compare like with like. Use the speed you need, and compare the price after any discount ends, not just the starting price.
Check what you get now. Citizens Advice points out you might not get the advertised speed, depending on where you live, and suggests checking your current speed. Our broadband speed test does that.
Search your own postcode. Our broadband deals by area pages show live deals for your postcode.

End of broadband contract FAQs

When will I get my end-of-contract notification?

You should get it by text, email or letter before your minimum term ends; ISPreview's report of Ofcom's rules says it is usually sent between 10 and 40 days before. If it hasn't arrived and your contract may be ending, check your online account or contract summary rather than waiting.

Does my provider have to give me the same deal as new customers?

No. Your provider must tell you its best deals in the notification, including prices for new customers, but it doesn't have to offer you those deals or mention new-customer gifts. Some providers, such as YouFibre, choose to let existing customers re-contract on new-customer offers.

Will my broadband price go up when my contract ends?

Usually, yes. If you do nothing you normally move onto the provider's out-of-contract price, which is usually higher than your deal. Ofcom's February 2026 report found in-contract customers typically pay £7 to £9 a month less. Your notification gives your new price.

Do I have to pay to leave once my broadband contract has ended?

Early termination charges apply to leaving before the minimum term ends. Once it has ended, you normally just give notice, often 30 days or one month. If you switch through One Touch Switch, home customers don't pay notice-period charges beyond the switch date.

What should I do if I never received an end-of-contract notification?

Find your end date in your account or contract summary and compare deals straight away. If you were charged a higher price without being told, complain to your provider and keep records. If it isn't resolved within six weeks, or you get a deadlock letter, you can take it to your provider's ADR scheme, which is free for customers.