Do broadband providers need to give you notice ahead of your contract expiring?

J

JimmyCorkhill

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Signed a new contract with Virgin it seems last June 2025 for 35 euro p/m, just received an email that my latest bill will be €70 and it seems my 12 months are up.

I agree it’s on me to know when my contracts are up, but is there anything legal around suppliers having to reach out in advance of your contact finishing?
I didn’t hear anything from them but just wondering do I have a leg to stand on. For example Energia recently reached out to me as my contract with them is up soon.

Thanks
 
www.comreg.ie

End of Contract Notice and Best Tariff Advice | Commission for Communications Regulation

www.comreg.ie www.comreg.ie
The EU (Electronic Communications Code) Regulations 2022 came into operation in Ireland on 9 June 2023 and introduced some additional consumer rights. Your service provider must make you aware that your minimum contract term is coming to an end and that you may cancel your current plan including how to terminate (End of Contract Notice).
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I just received mine from Eir c. 40 days before my 12 month contract ends and giving me plenty of time to give them 30 days notice if/when I decide not to continue with them beyond the 12 months.
 
JimmyCorkhill said:
I didn’t hear anything from them
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There is an interesting discussion in this thread and especially this post about how they should be notifying customers in advance of their renewal.

This link (Facebook) confirms from CRU that utility companies are required to give you 30 days notice and Virgin are required to do the same to allow you time to arrange possibly a cheaper contract with another supplier.

Perhaps their notification went into your spam folder in your emails some weeks back.
 
I find it depends on the service provider how obtuse or otherwise they are about flagging the end of your contract. I think what would make it pretty clear would be if they were obliged to indicate it on your bills (as some providers actually do already).

Equally I note that some financial institutions display the prevailing interest rates on saving accounts on line in the header when you log on, whereas for others it's necessary to go trawling through statements to see last update or interest credit.

I suppose it all goes to show how relatively toothless our regulators are in enforcing clarity for the consumer, giving the providers massive leeway on adherence to or interpretation of directives
 
ClubMan said:
https://www.comreg.ie/end-of-contract-notice-and-best-tariff-advice/ I just received mine from Eir c. 40 days before my 12 month contract ends and giving me plenty of time to give them 30 days notice if/when I decide not to continue with them beyond the 12 months.
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Thanks for this. I contacted them and quoted this piece of legislation. I checked my spam and had received nothing either.
Seems to have been a successful outcome with them confirming to me
“Thank you for confirming this. I can see that I am not being able to locate the end of contract notification either so I have applied credit on the account for 35 eur, corresponding to the discount that were receiving on your bills. This credit will be reflected on the account within 24 hours and we appreciate your patience.”
 
JimmyCorkhill said:
Seems to have been a successful outcome with them confirming to me
“Thank you for confirming this. I can see that I am not being able to locate the end of contract notification either so I have applied credit on the account for 35 eur, corresponding to the discount that were receiving on your bills. This credit will be reflected on the account within 24 hours and we appreciate your patience.”
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Wow, that's seriously remiss of them. I would expect that that should be an automated process and not dependent on any individual. If it was me I'd consider making a formal complaint and maybe reporting it to ComReg. But maybe you're happy enough with the credit?
 
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ClubMan said:
Wow, that's seriously remiss of them. I would expect that that should be an automated process and not dependent on any individual. If it was me I'd consider making a formal complaint and maybe reporting it to ComReg. But maybe you're happy enough with the credit?
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I wasn’t going to complain to ComReg but will now because after phoning them up to see could we agree a new contract (which we can’t agree on a price), I gave them the 30 days notice to cancel my contract.
I’m then informed that while they have given me 35 euro credit on my account for my next bill which take me up to the 25th June, the bill from 26th June to 11th July will be pro-rated based on a €70 monthly fee, which to me is absurd as I still have not been informed the minimum term contract is ending and essentially I have not been given an option to cancel 30 days in advance when my monthly fee is €35.
 
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I got a notification from Pure Telecom a month before contract end, along with the obligatory offer to "upgrade" to FTTH 3 weeks later despite the fact that there's a blocked shared duct between me and the cabinet that caused my last "upgrade" with them to fail....
 
I received notification of my end of 12 month contract with Eir recently. I was very happy with their service and customer support but didn't want to pay the loyalty penalty so I switched to Virgin. No doubt I'll switch again next year to get another "new customer" rate.

Experience switching fibre broadband providers (Eir to Virgin)

Just in case it's of any use to anyone else... My Eir 12 month contract finishes tomorrow and I didn't want to pay the much higher non-new customer monthly cost. 30 days ago I called them and gave them notice that I was ending the contract at the end of the 12 months. They didn't really give me...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
peemac said:
why not switch to GoMo (owned by Eir) for 29.99 a month for life
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Me? Because it wouldn't be €29.99 for me because I'm not with GoMo for mobile. It would be €39.99 which is more expensive than other alternatives available for €35. Plus they charge a €49.99 activation fee.

GoMo - Pricing and Roaming Cost

Check out GoMo's price list for the latest rates and roaming costs! Discover regional charges and what’s not covered in your SIM only plan.
gomo.ie gomo.ie

Customers availing of GoMo Mobile and GoMo Fibre Broadband on the same account will receive a €10 monthly discount, which will reduce the monthly price of GoMo Fibre Broadband to €29.99. This discount will be removed if GoMo Mobile is cancelled.
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peemac said:
why not switch to GoMo (owned by Eir) for 29.99 a month for life https://shop.gomo.ie/broadband

500mb fibre but only applies to eir installed lines
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ClubMan said:
Me? Because it wouldn't be €29.99 for me because I'm not with GoMo for mobile. It would be €39.99 which is more expensive than other alternatives available for €35. Plus they charge a €49.99 activation fee.
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A few months ago I used Switcher.ie to switch from Eir 500 Mbps fibre (no problem with them, just that I didn't want to pay the higher price for existing customers) to VM 500 Mbps fibre (separate fibre cable) plus basic TV package for €45 p.m. and no activation fee. After my third monthly bill I also received the promised €105 bonus cash credit to my account. So that works out at €36.25 p.m. for the TV + broadband package. :)
 
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