Major rule change means you can cancel mobile with no exit fee from TODAY – your rights explained

A MAJOR rule change means you can cancel your mobile phone bill with NO exit fees from today – we explain what you need to know.

That means no more forking out just to break up with your current phone bill, should you find a better offer somewhere else.

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The changes are happening from today, June 17 – which means you can now switch without facing the penalty that typically applies when you want to get-out early.

Ofcom has made changes to its European Electronic Communications Code.

It means if you are unhappy with a change your provider makes, you can leave for free.

It comes as plenty of providers have upped costs for customers over the past month, as their wallets are already squeezed amid a cost of living crisis.

O2 and Virgin Mobile hiked bills by as much as £48 a year from April.

While BT, EE and Vodafone raised their prices by up to £74 a year at the same time.

And millions of Three mobile customers were forced to cough up £31 extra a year, following its own price changes.

With every extra penny customers have to pay, they’ll be looking at ways they can curb costs – and switching to a cheaper deal is one of those.

But not if the exit fee is more than the saving they could make.

Luckily the new rules mean they don’t have to worry about that.

Mobile giant O2 has already sent out emails to its customers explaining the change.

The company revealed it was giving more opportunity for customers to cancel – under certain circumstances.

On its website the provider says: “If we make changes to our charges, terms and conditions, or services, that are not exclusively to your benefit, you may be entitled to cancel your agreement early without paying an Early Termination Charge”

O2 also explained that you’ll get at least 30 days’ notice of that change and get told of your right to cancel at the same time.

It’ll likely come in another email, just like the ones customers have already received informing them of the coming shake-up.

You can’t leave your contract because of this change today though – and that’s because it doesn’t negatively affect you.

There’s other criteria that means you can’t jump ship without facing fees too.

This can vary between providers so it’s always a good idea to have a comb through the Ts and Cs before you join a contract, so you’re not met with any nasty surprises.

O2 for example, can’t let you get away scot-free just because it had increased the cost of specific services, like the cost of sending out paper bills or international call rates.

Changes that are just administrative and don’t have a negative effect on you, like changing the address it needs you to write to, also wouldn’t warrant a customer being able to leave penalty-free.

Switching isn’t the only way to bring your bill down though, if that’s how you’re looking to cut spending costs – you can also try haggling a better price with your current provider.

Or you could check exactly how much you use, and cut down on unnecessary pricey perks, like unlimited data and more, especially if you don’t use them.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk