One Touch Switch

The gaining provider leads the switch

Under One Touch Switch, you normally contact the provider you want to join. It coordinates with the old provider rather than making you separately cancel first. The old provider should send important information about the consequences of leaving, including relevant charges.

A completed switch can still leave a complaint

Completion does not erase double billing, an incorrect termination charge, a lost number, a period without service or a missed activation date. Build one timeline showing old-provider stop, new-provider start, number transfer and billing periods.

If the switch is delayed or fails

Ask the gaining provider for the switching status and reason code, what was sent to the old provider, and the next expected milestone. If the old provider says it never received a valid switch, put the two accounts side by side and make them reconcile the identifiers and dates.

Manage your own switch only when you understand the consequence

There are cases where a customer deliberately cancels and orders separately, for example where the services or networks do not fit the managed process. If you choose that route, continuity and notice-period risk can be different. Preserve the advice you were given.

One Touch Switch now works across broadband networks

The current process is designed so residential customers moving fixed broadband or landline normally contact only the provider they want to join, including when moving between different fixed networks. The new provider manages the switch and the old provider sends information about the consequences of leaving. If an engineer visit, new router or other setup step is required, the gaining provider should explain it.

The old provider should not add a notice period after the switch

Ofcom's switching guidance says the old provider must not charge for a notice period that runs after the switchover date. If a final bill does so, compare the confirmed switch date with the billing period and ask what exception or event the old provider relies on. An early termination charge for leaving within a minimum term is a different issue and should be itemised separately.

Loss of service should be tightly limited

For the regulated switching process, Ofcom says any loss of service should not last longer than one working day. Where the switch leaves you offline for longer, record the exact start and end of the outage, any engineer appointment, what each provider says caused it and whether automatic compensation or another switching remedy applies.

Bundles can leave services outside the switch

If the old package includes pay TV, email, mobile or another service, confirm what One Touch Switch will and will not cancel. A broadband/landline switch does not necessarily terminate every unrelated product in a bundle. Keep the old provider's switching notification because it should help identify consequences and charges before you proceed.

If you deliberately manage the switch yourself

You may choose an overlap, for example, to reduce the risk of losing connectivity while a new network is installed. In that case One Touch Switch protections may not apply in the same way, and you may have to cancel the old service yourself and pay for both during the overlap. Record that choice so a later bill can be checked against the route actually used.

Evidence worth keeping