14 May A Quick Guide To Terminating Rolling Contracts
There are a lot of unscrupulous firms out there who give our industry a bad name, often using tactics like hidden fees and confusing contract terms. We won’t name any names, but there’s a good chance you’ve come across some of them.
Automatic contract extension or renewal is just one of the tools these companies use to lock you into expensive, outdated or unreliable services. These extensions can be for up to another two years after the end of the contract you originally signed.
Automatic renewal is designed to prevent you from migrating to a competitor and to prevent you from reducing your services in any way. In this step-by-step guide for businesses and individuals, we’ll be looking at how to escape punishing or automatically renewed contracts.
How do you terminate a rolling business contract?
1. Track your contract end date to avoid unwanted renewals
This one is crucial. The easiest way to avoid any trouble with your provider is to give them notice at the right time under your contract. The only way of knowing exactly when you’ll need to submit notice of termination is by checking your supplier’s terms and conditions. For example, if you’re coming to the end of a 36-month contract you may need to provide several months’ notice of termination to avoid penalties.
If you don’t cancel your contract in time, your supplier is usually entitled to roll you into a contract extension for up to another two years.
2. Submit contract termination in writing to protect yourself
When it comes time to submit your notice of termination, make sure you do it in writing. Not only is written notice required under most contracts, but having a written record of your request is critical in the event of any dispute.
By all means, contact your account manager to let them know you want to move away, but don’t give them any wiggle room by not following up in writing. There will be a process for cancellation laid out in your contract. For example, you might have to provide official notice to a dedicated email address or even physical address that’s listed in your contract.
If you send your notice in the mail, keep a copy of it on file and consider using a recorded delivery service. This is a box-ticking exercise, but dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s is the most important step you can take to help yourself in the event of a dispute.
3. Confirm your contract cancellation to prevent extra charges
We’ve spoken to quite a few businesses over the years who have submitted formal notices of cancellation, only to have their supplier mysteriously “forget” to remove recurring charges.
This is why it’s important to follow up your official notice of termination with either a phone call or email to your Account Manager or another point of contact.
This is the best way to make sure that you don’t get locked into another contract. Auto-renewal is used by a lot of businesses to increase their revenue by reducing their reliance on new business. Retaining customers is always cheaper and easier than attracting new customers, according to industry reports, customer acquisition costs can be five times higher than retention.
Why choose One Connectivity for your telecoms?
Here at One Connectivity, we don’t like sleazy and unscrupulous business practices like automatic contract renewal. That’s why we do things differently.
We focus on delivering the best value through fair pricing and clear, simple contract terms. We can promise that we will never use deceptive practices like auto-renewal or unfair contract terms with our customers. We also promise that we will provide you with industry-leading business communications solutions at a fair price, with clear, simple contract terms. You’ll always know what you’re getting and what you’re paying, no nasty surprises or hidden charges. We want to see you grow and succeed. You can check out our case studies to see how we’ve helped local businesses.
A reminder of our services for businesses
- Business phone systems
- Reliable VoIP and future-proof cloud phone system solutions tailored to your needs.
- Broadband & Connectivity High-speed, secure, and scalable business internet and Wi-Fi solutions to keep your team online.
- Mobile solutions Flexible business mobile plans designed to keep your team connected anywhere.
- IT & managed services Expert IT support, cloud solutions, and dark web monitoring to keep your business operations running safely and efficiently.
- Unified communications Integrate calls, video, messaging, and collaboration tools in one, simple platform.
Get started today
When you choose One Connectivity, you’re choosing a local telecom provider that values honesty, customer satisfaction, and marketing-leading technology. If you’re tired of dealing with the stress of a deceptive or unfair telecoms supplier, get in touch with One Connectivity.