Broadband & Mobile Complaints: Price Rises, Outages and Your Rights (UK)

Broadband and mobile providers count on you not knowing your rights. But UK rules — set by Ofcom — give you real leverage over price rises, outages, and poor service. Here is how to use them.

Mid-contract price rises

For most contracts signed from early 2025, providers must set out any in-contract price rises in pounds and pence at the point of sale, rather than as a vague "CPI + 3.9%" formula. If your provider raises prices in a way that was not clearly stated in the contract you agreed, you generally have the right to leave penalty-free — you must usually act within 30 days of being notified.

Outages and loss of service

Under Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme, the major broadband and landline providers must pay you set daily amounts when:

• Service is not fixed within two full working days of you reporting a fault.
• An engineer misses an appointment, or one is cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice.
• A new service is not activated on the promised date.

This compensation should be applied automatically as a bill credit — but check, because it is often missed.

Slow speeds

If you signed up under a provider that follows the voluntary speeds code, you were given a minimum guaranteed speed. If your speed falls below it and they cannot fix it within about 30 days, you usually have the right to exit the contract penalty-free, including any TV or phone bundled with it.

How to complain

1. Report the fault and get a reference number and the date.
2. Complain in writing if it is not resolved, stating the right you are relying on (price-rise exit, automatic compensation, or minimum-speed exit).
3. After eight weeks, or if you get a deadlock letter, escalate free to the provider's ADR scheme — CISAS or Communications Ombudsman (your provider must tell you which).

A complaint letter template

Dear [Provider],

Re: Account [number] — complaint

[Describe the issue: a price increase that was not clearly set out in my contract /
a fault reported on [date], reference [number], not fixed within two working days /
speeds below the minimum guaranteed figure of [X] Mbps.]

I am asking you to [waive the early-exit fee and let me leave / pay the automatic
compensation due / fix the fault and compensate me]. Please send your final
response within eight weeks, after which I will refer this to your ADR scheme.

Yours faithfully,
[Your name and contact details]

Providers settle most of these quickly once you name the specific rule — because they know the ADR scheme will apply it if they do not.