30 days
Standard notice period across every UK provider
14 days
Cooling-off window with no charge for any reason
12 Sep 2024
One Touch Switch live across the whole UK
1 day
Maximum time for losing provider to confirm the switch
Do I need to cancel my broadband at all?
In most cases, no. If you are switching to another home broadband provider, the One Touch Switch process introduced by Ofcom on 12 September 2024 means the gaining provider is responsible for ending your existing contract once you agree to the switch. The losing provider must confirm the termination, the disconnection date and any early termination charges within one working day, all in a single document called the contract summary.
You need to call your current provider directly only when one of the following applies:
- You are giving up home broadband entirely (moving abroad, downgrading to mobile data only, moving in with somebody who already has a connection).
- The new connection is not a regulated UK home broadband service (some altnet community networks, mobile-only EE 5GEE Wi-Fi or Three 5G Home Broadband, satellite, point-to-point fixed wireless).
- You are inside the 14-day cooling-off period of a contract you just signed and need to back out completely.
- You are cancelling a separate phone-only Digital Voice contract that did not come with broadband.
The cancellation process in three steps
Whether you are using One Touch Switch or calling to cancel yourself, the underlying process follows the same shape: confirm what you owe, give notice, return the kit. Stick to this sequence and the line stays live until the moment you want it gone.
- Check your minimum term and any exit fees. Find the contract end date on the customer portal or the most recent welcome email. If you are still inside the minimum term, request a final bill estimate in writing before you confirm the cancellation: see our deep dive into broadband cancellation fees for the per-month figures.
- Trigger the cancellation. Either accept the gaining provider quote in the One Touch Switch contract summary, or call your existing provider on the cancellations line. The 30 days notice starts running from that point.
- Return the router and any TV box. The provider posts a freepost return bag within 14 days of the disconnection date. Send it back inside the window stamped on the bag, hang on to the proof-of-postage receipt, and the deposit is released. Unreturned-equipment fees range from £35 to £75 per item.
How to cancel, provider by provider
If you do need to ring the provider yourself, the table below lists the dedicated cancellations number and the standard notice period for the main UK suppliers. All cancellations must run through the official line: cancelling through the general customer-service or sales menu often delays the request by a few days because the agents do not have the authority to close the account.
| Provider | Cancellations number | Opening hours | Notice |
|---|---|---|---|
 BT | 0800 783 1401 | Mon-Sat 8am-8pm | 30 days |
 EE Broadband | 0800 079 8586 | Mon-Sun 8am-9pm | 30 days |
 Sky | 0333 759 2535 | Mon-Sat 8.30am-7pm, Sun 9am-7pm | 31 days |
 Virgin Media | 0345 454 1111 (or 150 from a Virgin phone) | Mon-Fri 8am-9pm, Sat-Sun 8am-6pm | 30 days |
 TalkTalk | 0345 172 0088 | Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-6pm | 30 days |
 Vodafone Broadband | 0808 040 4040 | Mon-Sun 8am-9pm | 30 days |
 Plusnet | 0800 013 2632 | Mon-Fri 8am-9pm, Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 9am-7pm | 30 days |
 NOW Broadband | 0333 212 7820 | Mon-Sun 8am-10pm | 14 days |
 Hyperoptic | 0333 332 1111 | Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat-Sun 9am-6pm | 30 days |
 Community Fibre | 0800 970 1471 | Mon-Sun 9am-8pm | 30 days |
 KCOM (Hull) | 01482 602 555 | Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat-Sun 9am-5pm | 30 days |
Numbers verified against each provider\'s help pages in August 2026. Call charges and opening hours are subject to change.
Cancelling BT
If you are switching to another UK home broadband provider, One Touch Switch handles the BT side for you and there is nothing to call about. If you are giving up the line altogether, call 0800 783 1401 (or from abroad, +44 1793 596 931), confirm the disconnection date, and request a final-bill estimate while you are on the line. BT continues to bill in advance until the line is closed, so always ask for the credit balance to be refunded to the original payment card rather than carried forward.
Cancelling EE broadband
EE\'s consumer broadband business now runs on the BT/EE shared platform after the BT Group brand consolidation in 2023, so the cancellations team uses the same Openreach order system as BT. Call 0800 079 8586 and press option 3 for home broadband. The 14-day cooling-off period still applies if you signed up online and the line has been live for less than two weeks.
Cancelling Sky broadband (and Sky Stream)
Sky requires 31 days notice rather than the more usual 30. If you are also cancelling Sky Stream, Sky Glass or Sky Q, the same call handles every product on the account. Sky Stream pucks are billed on a separate £29 unreturned-equipment fee per device, so factor that into the kit you send back. The cancellations team is on 0333 759 2535; live chat through the Sky website is faster but cannot complete a cancellation without an agent call-back.
Cancelling Virgin Media
Virgin Media operates on its own DOCSIS cable network rather than Openreach, so even with One Touch Switch you should confirm the disconnection date in writing through the My Virgin Media account before the switch goes live. Do not wait until the new connection is up to call, otherwise you risk being billed for an overlap month. The cancellations number is 0345 454 1111 (or 150 from a Virgin phone). Notice is 30 days and unreturned Hub 5x routers are charged at £75.
Cancelling TalkTalk
TalkTalk handles cancellations on 0345 172 0088. Ask for the loyalty team rather than the standard customer service number if you want to negotiate: they have the authority to waive remaining months and offer one-off bill credits. TalkTalk\'s 14-day cooling-off applies from the day you receive the router, not the activation date.
Cancelling Vodafone broadband
Vodafone runs cancellations through 0808 040 4040. The team is the same one that handles mobile contracts; ask explicitly for the Vodafone Broadband team or the call will be routed incorrectly. Note that Pro II Wi-Fi plans require the unit to be returned in the original boxes, otherwise a £100 charge is added to the final bill.
Cancelling Plusnet
Plusnet stopped taking new broadband customers in March 2024 and has been migrating existing customers to BT or EE branded contracts. If you are still on a legacy Plusnet line, call 0800 013 2632 to cancel. The team is in Sheffield and Leeds and gives a useful direct answer on whether your address can take a Full Fibre upgrade rather than a switch.
When cancellation is free
There are five clear situations in which the provider must waive every penny of the exit fee. Mention the relevant rule explicitly during the call and ask for the exemption to be applied in writing.
- Cooling-off period. 14 days from the activation date for any contract signed online or by phone.
- Slow speed. Your line drops below the minimum guaranteed download speed quoted at sign-up and the provider cannot fix it within 30 days.
- Mid-contract price rise. The new pounds-and-pence price-rise rules (in force since 17 January 2025) let you walk if the cash increase exceeds the figure stated at sign-up.
- Material contract change. A degradation in service, an increase in the engineer call-out fee, or a removed TV channel triggers the right to leave inside 30 days of notification.
- End of minimum term. Once you are on a rolling tariff, only the 30 days notice applies.
Cancelling because you are moving house
Moving home is a special case. If the new address can take the same provider, every major UK ISP will transfer the contract rather than cancel it, often with a one-off £19.99-£32 home-mover fee but no early termination charge. If the new address sits outside the network footprint (a common issue with Virgin Media cable, Hyperoptic and Community Fibre), the provider must release you with no exit fee.
Get the new address checked on the postcode availability tool before you ring up. Have the council tax confirmation or signed tenancy ready: agents will only waive the fee with proof of the new address.
Keeping your email address and landline number
Two assets disappear when a broadband contract closes: the provider-issued email address and (on a Digital Voice line) the landline number. Plan both transfers before you confirm the cancellation date.
- Email: BT (btinternet.com), Sky (sky.com) and Virgin Media (virginmedia.com) keep the mailbox open for 90 days to 18 months, but most other providers close it within 30 days. Set up a Gmail or Outlook forwarder before you cancel and update any banking, government or shopping accounts attached to the old address.
- Landline number: ask for a porting authorisation code (PAC) before the line is ceased. With the PAC, the new provider can move the existing number across. Without it, the number is released back to the exchange and is generally unrecoverable. See our guide to finding your landline number if you do not know what it is.
Frequently asked questions
No, not if you are switching to another UK home broadband provider. Since 12 September 2024, the gaining provider triggers the cancellation through One Touch Switch on your behalf. You only need to call your existing provider if you are leaving the home broadband market altogether, moving to a mobile-only setup or cancelling without a replacement service lined up.
All major UK providers require 30 days notice. The clock starts on the date you formally request the cancellation, either by phone or, on a One Touch Switch, the date your new provider confirms the switch. You keep paying your usual monthly bill during the notice period and stay connected the whole time.
Yes, if your provider has signed up to Ofcom Broadband Speeds Code of Practice (every major UK ISP has). Ask their tech team to log the slow speeds, give them a reasonable window to fix the line, and if the minimum guaranteed download speed still cannot be met, they must release you from the contract with no exit charge.
BT, Sky and Virgin Media all let you keep a free read-only mailbox for between 90 days and 18 months after the broadband ends, but you can no longer send email and storage is capped. Plusnet, TalkTalk and EE close the address shortly after the line ceases. Always set up a forwarder to a free Gmail or Outlook address before you cancel.
Yes, unless you ask for a porting authorisation code (PAC) before the line is ceased. With Digital Voice (the VoIP replacement for the copper PSTN) the number is held by the provider, so once they release it back to the exchange after a normal cancellation it usually cannot be recovered.
14 calendar days from the day the service was activated, for any contract signed online or over the phone. Cancel within that window and you pay nothing, even after the router has been delivered, as long as the kit is returned in its original packaging.
Next steps
Cancellation done? Compare a new deal before the 14-day cooling-off period on the current one ends so the line never sits idle. Useful follow-up reading: