Billed after leaving your broadband provider? What to do

Written by (LinkedIn) • Reviewed by Adrian James (LinkedIn)

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026

Quick summary: Billed after leaving your broadband provider? What your old provider can still charge, how to check the final bill, and how to stop debt collectors.

Billed after leaving your broadband provider
Illustration: Billed after leaving your broadband provider? What to do

Billed after leaving? Here's what's fair, and how to get it put right

Your old broadband provider can charge for service up to the day it ended, notice if you cancelled yourself, an agreed early exit fee, and kit you didn't send back. It can't charge notice after a One Touch Switch date, or bill you for service after it stopped. If a bill looks wrong, complain in writing, pay anything you agree you owe, and tell any debt collector the bill is disputed. After six weeks, a free ombudsman scheme can decide. Next time, let your new provider handle the switch.

What it means for youChecked 28 October 2026

If you switched with One Touch Switch: you shouldn't pay notice after the switch date. If the old account is still billing, ask it to confirm the switch completed and the date your account closed.

If you've sent the router back: find your proof of postage and send it with your complaint. BT and EE refund the full charge if their kit gets back to them within 2 years.

If a debt collector has written: reply in writing that the bill is disputed, and ask for the account history. Members of the Credit Services Association must suspend collection while a reasonable dispute is looked at.

Leaving soon, or still shopping around?

See every deal for your address in a couple of minutes. With One Touch Switch, your new provider handles the move, and your old one can't charge you notice after the switch date.

  • ✓Enter your postcode and pick your address
  • ✓Each deal shows its full contract cost
  • ✓Your new provider handles the switch
Compare deals for your address →

Prefer to talk it through? Call us on 0330 122 1223

Key facts, verified 28 October 2026

  • Your old provider must not charge you for any notice period after the switching date, when you switch with One Touch Switch (Ofcom, updated 1 July 2026).
  • If you cancel without switching, BT, EE and Virgin Media each ask for 30 days' notice (provider help pages, checked 28 October 2026).
  • Ofcom fined Plusnet £880,000 for billing 1,025 people for broadband and phone service after they'd cancelled (Ofcom, 22 March 2017).
  • O2 was fined £10.5m over final bills: more than 250,000 people who'd left were charged £40.7m incorrectly, and about 140,000 paid £2.4m (Ofcom, 12 February 2021).
  • Router and hub charges on the pages we checked go up to £125, for EE's Smart Hub 7 Pro (provider help pages, checked 28 October 2026).
  • BT and EE refund the full kit charge if you return the kit within 2 years (BT and EE help pages, checked 28 October 2026).
  • You can take an unresolved complaint to a free ADR scheme after six weeks, down from eight since 8 April 2026 (Ofcom, 8 April 2026).
  • Debt collectors in the Credit Services Association must suspend collection when an account is reasonably disputed (CSA Code of Practice, September 2026).
  • If you dispute a broadband bill, the ICO says the service complaint needs resolving first, and you can add a notice of correction to your credit file in the meantime (ICO, checked 28 October 2026).
  • Ofcom says evidence suggests One Touch Switch is working well, with more than 3.5 million switches completed in two years (Ofcom, quoted by ISPreview, 20 October 2026).

Who this is for: anyone who's left a broadband provider and is still getting bills, reminders or letters, plus the family members who help them sort it out. We've told it through Jo, who switched provider in the spring. A few weeks later her old provider billed her £84: a month's notice after her switch date, and a £50 charge for a router she'd posted back. Then a debt collector wrote. Jo's an example built from the calls we take, not a real customer.

Can my old broadband provider still charge me after I've left?

Direct answer: Yes, but only for things you actually owe: service up to the day it ended, notice if you cancelled without switching, an agreed early exit fee, and kit you didn't return. Anything beyond that is worth challenging.

Leaving doesn't wipe the slate clean, and that's fair: you pay for what you used. But a bill should match the service you actually got, and billing people for service after they've cancelled has broken Ofcom's rules before.

In 2017, Ofcom fined Plusnet £880,000 after it carried on billing 1,025 people for broadband and phone service after their service had been cancelled, overcharging them more than £530,000 in total (Ofcom). So if Jo's bill includes anything after her service stopped, she has every reason to question it.

Still in contract and thinking of leaving? Read how to cancel broadband without paying penalties, or our eight ways to avoid broadband exit fees.

Why am I still being billed after switching provider?

Direct answer: It can happen when a switch doesn't fully close your old account. With One Touch Switch, your new provider tells your old one when to stop. If that last message doesn't arrive, the old account can stay open and keep billing you.

ISPreview reported one case on 20 October 2026 (ISPreview). A Virgin Media customer switched to a new provider and started using it on 2 January 2026, but Virgin carried on billing him for months. It later said it never received the new provider's message confirming the switch had completed.

He'd been wrongly billed about £300, and while his complaint was still open he was passed to debt collectors and given missed-payment markers on his credit file. After ISPreview raised it, Virgin Media closed the account, refunded the payments and gave him a goodwill payment of about £300. That's one reported case, not a pattern we can measure.

The good news: Ofcom told ISPreview the evidence suggests One Touch Switch is working well, with more than 3.5 million switches completed in two years. It also said it's the "responsibility of both the losing and gaining provider" to make sure the process is followed.

If your switch stalled or you're paying both providers, read what to do if One Touch Switch fails and billed by two providers after a failed switch.

Do I have to pay a notice period after switching?

Direct answer: Not after the switch date, if you switched with One Touch Switch. Ofcom's rules say your old provider must not charge you for any notice period after the switching date. If you cancelled yourself without switching, your provider's notice period applies.

Ofcom put it simply when One Touch Switch launched on 12 September 2024: "no more paying for the old service after the new one starts" (Ofcom). Its switching guide says the same today (Ofcom). So if Jo's bill includes a month's notice after her switch date, that part shouldn't be there.

Cancelling yourself is different. BT and EE each say they need 30 days' notice, and Virgin Media says you can cancel at any time by giving 30 days' notice. If you're moving to a new provider, there's no need to cancel first: let the new one handle it.

Moving home rather than switching? See ending your broadband at the end of a tenancy, and browse the switching hub.

I sent the router back, so why am I still being charged?

Direct answer: Send your old provider your proof of postage or collection, and ask it to remove the charge. BT and EE refund the full charge if their kit gets back within 2 years, and Sky says it always contacts you before charging.

Return windows and charges vary, so check yours. Here's what seven big providers say on their own help pages, which we read on 28 October 2026.

Two details are worth knowing. A non-return charge doesn't buy you the kit: Sky says it stays Sky's and it will still want it back (Sky). And kit charges can arrive after your final bill, which TalkTalk lists as a separate bill (TalkTalk).

If you're sorting out the account of someone who has died, tell the provider. Sky says it will waive kit charges after a bereavement, and also when your copper service is being switched off for a network upgrade.

For every provider's kit charges and how to return equipment with proof, read our guide to router return charges after switching.

How do I check my final bill?

Direct answer: Put three dates side by side: the day your new service started, the day your old service stopped, and the period the bill covers. Then check every line against those dates and your contract. Anything after your end date needs explaining.

Final bills can look odd because some providers bill a month in advance. Vodafone says "We always bill you for the month ahead", so its final bill credits any days you'd paid for but didn't use.

Timing varies too. Vodafone says your final bill arrives within 30 days of disconnection if you have no other Vodafone services, and TalkTalk says the first bill after your disconnection date is your final one. If you're expecting money back, look for a credit line, not just charges.

For what happens to your old bill on the day itself, read what happens on broadband switch day.

Should I cancel my Direct Debit after leaving?

Direct answer: Not straight away. Keep it open until your final bill is settled, so any refund can come back to you and you don't miss a payment you agree with. Cancel it once your account shows nothing owed.

Providers ask for this for a reason. Vodafone says not to cancel because your final bill "could have partial charges or a refund" (Vodafone). Virgin Media asks you not to cancel it before your account's been settled (Virgin Media), and TalkTalk says it can refund credit much quicker if you keep it.

If money is taken in error, the Direct Debit Guarantee says you're entitled to "a full and immediate refund" from your bank. It doesn't decide whether you owe the money, though, so complain to the provider as well.

What should I do if a debt collector writes about my old broadband bill?

Direct answer: Don't ignore it, and don't pay just to make it stop. Write back to say the bill is disputed, ask for the account history, and complain to your old provider too. Debt collectors in the Credit Services Association must suspend collection while a reasonable dispute is looked at.

Check whether the agency belongs to the Credit Services Association. If it does, its code says members must suspend collection when an account is reasonably disputed, comply with reasonable requests for information, and not use wording that's "aggressive, threatening or misleading" (CSA Code of Practice, September 2026).

The code covers how a debt is collected, not whether you owe it. That's why your complaint to your old provider matters: it's the provider that has to put the bill right.

Debt collectors aren't bailiffs. National Debtline says they have no right to come into your home and can't take your belongings, and you don't have to speak to one who calls.

If you do owe the money and you're finding it hard to pay, read can unpaid broadband bills affect your credit score?, and check whether you could get a cheaper social tariff.

Can a disputed broadband bill hurt my credit file?

Direct answer: It can, if missed payments or a default get reported, so act early. Ask your old provider to correct anything wrong, raise it with the credit reference agency, and add a short statement to your file explaining what happened while your complaint is open.

It does happen. In the case ISPreview reported, the customer got missed-payment markers for July, August and September 2026 while his complaint was still open. Sky's own help pages say unpaid kit charges "can affect your credit score" (Sky).

The ICO says that if your credit file is wrong, you can raise it with the credit reference agency, but the problem may lie with the organisation that supplied the information, so contact your old provider too. For a broadband bill you dispute, the ICO's own example says the service complaint needs resolving first.

In the meantime, the ICO says you can ask for a notice of correction: a statement explaining your situation, which anyone who looks at that entry will see. And defaults don't last for ever: MoneyHelper says lenders can see them for six years after they're recorded.

How do I complain, and what if they won't fix it?

Direct answer: Complain to your old provider in writing first. If it hasn't sorted things out after six weeks, or it sends you a deadlock letter, you can take your complaint to its free ADR scheme, which is independent of your provider.

Since 8 April 2026, the wait has been six weeks, down from eight (Ofcom). Every provider serving homes and small businesses must belong to one of two approved schemes, the Communications Ombudsman or CISAS, and both are free to use (Ofcom).

A deadlock letter is your provider saying it can't resolve your complaint. Ask for one if you're going round in circles, because it lets you go to the scheme straight away (Ofcom).

Keep your complaint short and factual. Give your account number, your switch or cancellation date, the charges you dispute and why, what you'd like to happen, and copies of your evidence.

Owed compensation as well?

If your new service started late, an engineer missed an appointment or a fault dragged on, our free calculator works out what your provider owes you under Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme.

Use the compensation calculator →

For the whole process, read complaints and your rights and how the broadband ombudsman works.

Has Ofcom fined providers for billing people who'd left?

Direct answer: Yes. Ofcom fined Plusnet £880,000 in 2017 for billing people after they'd cancelled, and O2 £10.5m in 2021 over inaccurate final bills. In July 2026, it fined Virgin Media £28m for making it harder for customers to cancel.

O2's case involved pay monthly mobile customers who had left. More than 250,000 of them were charged £40.7m incorrectly, and about 140,000 paid £2.4m, which O2 refunded in full plus 4% (Ofcom).

Virgin Media's fine covered 1 January 2022 to 11 September 2024. Ofcom said it made it harder for customers to cancel, and ordered it to check that people who complained got the remedies they were owed (Ofcom).

Ofcom doesn't sort out individual complaints, but it watches the patterns. You can report a billing problem to it alongside your complaint to the provider (Ofcom).

Read our post on Virgin Media's £28m fine, and see the latest Ofcom complaints figures.

What should I do now?

Today: gather your dates and proof

Your switch or cancellation date, the day your old service stopped, the final bill, and proof you returned the kit.

This week: complain in writing

Say what you dispute and why, and ask for the account to be closed from the right date. If a debt collector has written, tell it the bill is disputed.

After six weeks: go to the ombudsman

If it still isn't fixed, take it to your old provider's free ADR scheme.

When you're ready: compare

Compare deals for your address, and let your new provider handle the switch, so there's no notice to pay after the switch date.

Start your next contract on the right foot

Compare every deal for your address, side by side, and let your new provider handle the move.

  • ✓Every deal for your address, side by side
  • ✓Full contract cost, including set price rises
  • ✓Your new provider handles the switch

In summary

  • Your old provider can charge for service up to your end date, notice if you cancelled yourself, an agreed exit fee and kit you didn't return.
  • After a One Touch Switch, Ofcom's rules say there's no notice to pay after the switch date.
  • If a switch doesn't complete, the old account can keep billing. Ask both providers to confirm your switch date in writing.
  • Keep proof when you return kit. BT and EE refund the charge if their kit gets back within 2 years.
  • Tell any debt collector the bill is disputed, complain in writing, and use the free ombudsman after six weeks.

Alex's closing thought

A bill from a provider you've already left is unsettling, and a debt collector's letter on top of it can feel frightening. The good news is that the bills people ring us about tend to come down to a few fixable things: a switch that didn't close the old account, a notice period that shouldn't be there, or a router that went back but wasn't logged. Put it in writing, keep your proof, and don't be shy about using the ombudsman. It's free, and it's there for exactly this. If you'd like a hand working out what you really owe, ring us. That's what we're here for.

Keep going: the guides behind this post

Cite this page

You're welcome to quote or link to this guide. Please credit BroadbandSwitch.uk and link to this page.

In a sentence: your old broadband provider can bill you for service up to your end date, valid notice, an agreed exit fee and unreturned kit, but not for notice after a One Touch Switch date or for service after it ended, and a disputed bill can go to a free ADR scheme after six weeks.

Martin-Smith, A. J. (2026, October 28). Billed after leaving your broadband provider? What to do. BroadbandSwitch.uk. https://broadbandswitch.uk/insights/billed-after-leaving-broadband-provider/

Frequently asked questions

How long after leaving will I get my final bill?

It depends on the provider. Vodafone says your final bill arrives within 30 days of disconnection if you have no other Vodafone services, and TalkTalk says the first bill after your disconnection date is your final bill. If nothing has arrived a month after your service ended, ask for it in writing.

Do I have to tell my old provider I'm switching?

Not if you switch with One Touch Switch. Your new provider contacts your old one and arranges the switch, and Plusnet, for example, says that in most cases you don't need to let it know. Check whether you have any separate contracts, such as a TV or mobile plan, that you need to end yourself.

Can my old provider charge me for a whole month after I leave?

It shouldn't charge you for service after your service ended. Some providers bill a month ahead, so your final bill should credit days you paid for but didn't use. Vodafone says its final bill does this.

What if I was still in contract when I switched?

You may owe an early exit fee. BT, for example, says its fee is the remaining amount you'd have paid up to the end of your minimum period, and Virgin Media says it will tell you the amount before you cancel. Check your contract end date before you switch, so the fee isn't a surprise.

Do I have to send the router back if nobody asks me to?

Wait for instructions, but don't wait too long. Sky and EE both say they'll contact you about what to return, and BT gives you 60 days from when you stop using its kit before it charges. If you've heard nothing a few weeks after your service ends, ask.

If I pay a non-return charge, do I own the router?

Not at Sky, which says paying a non-return charge doesn't buy the equipment and it will still want it back. If you find the router later, send it back anyway: BT and EE refund the full charge if their kit is returned within 2 years.

How long can an old provider chase an unpaid bill?

In England and Wales, the Limitation Act 1980 sets a six-year time limit for most court claims over a contract. In Scotland, National Debtline says a debt can be extinguished after five years if nothing has been paid or admitted in writing and no court claim has been started. The rules have exceptions and vary across the UK, so get free debt advice before relying on them.

Can a debt collector come into my home or take my things?

No. National Debtline says debt collectors have no right to come into your home and can't take your belongings. Only bailiffs can take goods, usually after a court process. You don't have to speak to a debt collector who calls at your door.

Should I pay a bill I'm disputing, to protect my credit file?

That's your choice. Paying the part you agree with lowers the risk of a missed payment being reported, while you complain in writing about the rest. If a default or missed payment is added while your complaint is open, ask the provider and the credit reference agency to correct it, and think about adding a notice of correction to your file.

Can I get compensation if my switch went wrong?

Possibly. Ofcom says providers must compensate you if things go wrong with a switch and you're left without service for more than one working day. Ofcom also told ISPreview in October 2026 that companies must provide compensation when they fail to follow its switching rules.

What if my old provider has gone bust?

If your provider goes out of business and another company takes over, Ofcom says you can continue to use the services you're used to. For what else changes, read our guides to what happens if your broadband provider goes out of business, and whether there's a broadband supplier of last resort.

Does Ofcom deal with individual billing complaints?

No. Ofcom says it doesn't investigate individual complaints, but it monitors them and may investigate a company where it sees a problem. For your own complaint, go to your old provider first, then to its free ADR scheme after six weeks.

References

Written by Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith, Founder of BroadbandSwitch.uk (LinkedIn). Reviewed by Adrian James, Broadband Editor at BroadbandSwitch.uk (LinkedIn). Published 28 October 2026. Jo is an illustrative example built from the calls we take, not a real customer. Provider policies were read on their official help pages on 28 October 2026 and can change. What's changed: 28 October 2026, first published. BroadbandSwitch.uk is an independent comparison site and is not a broadband provider. This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Corrections are logged publicly.

Every article on price rises and bills · The latest UK broadband news

Compare deals by postcodeBack to insights hub