The 30 day rule to move contracts .. what does it mean?

I'm aware of the 30 day window to move contracts when a contract price increases. But is it 30 days to give notice or must you actually move provider in that time period?

I am under contract with plusnet, they raised their line rental prices over the summer so I gave them notice I wanted to leave immediately

I checked with the call centre at the time, and subsequently, and they said now I'd given notice I could leave at anytime.

Subsequent to that, I've now found a cheaper deal, rang them up to check and they said because I hadn't MOVED WITHIN 30 days, I couldn't leave my contract without paying a termination fee.

Which is it - 30 days to give notice or 30 days to move?

thanks

30 days to give notice and move, i.e. you have waited too long.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

30 days to give notice and move, i.e. you have waited too long.

They misled me then when I first gave notice. I wonder if that is intentional....

I have to say that makes it very tricky to find a better deal and move within the window. I use the top end fibre (76 mbps) and deals on those aren't that frequent.

Edited by deleted (Sat 28-Nov-15 17:05:42)

You just need to place the order for the migration and PlusNet to have been informed as the losing provider by the wholesale migration mechanisms inside the 30 day window. The physical move might be later depending on the local work load on Openreach.

For the benefit of others Plusnet agreed they advised me incorrectly about having to move supplier within 30 days (rather than just giving notice in 30 days), so have written off the termination charge.

Likelihood is many customer services staff don't understand the 30 day rule either. So that may offer an opportunity for anyone to leave outside the 30 days window if they give notice within 30 days, because I suspect the ombudsman won't treat the suppliers lightly if they gave out , as in my case, wrong advice.

This was their reply:

I have read through the notes on your account and the chat you had with Hannah.

I'm sorry to say that Hannah has advised you incorrectly regarding the price increase and when you can leave. If you wanted to leave without penalty due to the price increase you had to tell us within 30 days of receiving the email. This, you did, however you had to then leave within 14 days. The chance to leave didn't extend to whenever you were ready, there was a 30 day window to leave without penalty.

However, as Hannah has advised differently, in this instance we will allow you to leave without penalty. Your cancellation fees of £56.44 will be written off.