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Terms & conditions

Changes to our Pay Monthly terms and Conditions from 17 June 2022

From 17 June 2022, we’re updating our terms and conditions due to new Ofcom regulations designed to improve your rights.

We’ve summarised the key changes, and you can find a copy of our new terms and conditions here.

The changes mean that:

  1. From 17 June, you may have more opportunities than you currently do to cancel your services when we make changes to them. If we make changes to our charges, terms and conditions, or services, that are not exclusively to your benefit, you may be entitled to cancel your agreement early without paying an Early Termination Charge (subject to certain exceptions explained below). You may still have to pay charges for your device which we’ve provided to you.

    If a change we make provides you with a right to cancel your agreement, we’ll give you at least 30 days’ notice of that change and inform you of your right to cancel. If you’re still within your minimum period, you’ll need to give us your cancellation notice within 30 days of us notifying you.
     
  2. When we make changes, there may be some situations where you’ll be able to leave other plans you have with us – we’ll tell you when that happens.
     
  3. Some changes won’t give you a right to cancel your contract without paying an Early Termination Charge. These are set out in our updated terms and conditions, but in summary they include:
    • Changes to services that are allowed under our terms and conditions. For example, when we increase the cost of specific services, like the cost of sending out paper bills or international call rates, or if the changes are just part of providing that service
    • Changes that are just administrative and don’t have a negative effect on you. For example, if we change the address we need you to write to
    • Changes that we have to make because of a change in law.
  4. We have O2 Standard Terms for our main products; Pay Monthly Service Agreement and Pay As You Go Service Agreement. You can sometimes add on extra products which normally have a 30-day notice period. These add-ons (for example, a Bolt On) can be cancelled if there’s a non-beneficial change to their terms but you wouldn’t get a right to cancel your O2 Standard Terms without an Early Termination Charge.

    If we make changes to a Supplementary Service (for example, a companion device), and those changes provide a right to cancel, any cancellation right will be limited to the Supplementary Service and your O2 Standard Terms, only if you’re already signed up to that Supplementary Service.

    We’ll let you know of any changes to your contract where you have a right to cancel with a minimum of 30 days’ notice, and make it clear in these notices about the changes that we’re proposing to make. You can consider if you wish to continue your contract, and if you decide that you don’t want to accept them, exactly how you can exercise your right to cancel.

Any questions on these changes? Take a look at the FAQs below.

Why are we doing this?

We’ve made these changes to your terms due to new Ofcom regulations, which are designed to protect you. This is following an EU Directive known as the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC).

What is the EECC (European Electronic Communications Code)?

The EECC is an EU directive, which regulates electronic communications networks and services. Ofcom enforce this code in the UK and their overall objective is fairness. They want people to shop around with confidence, make informed choices, switch easily, and get a fair deal. The EECC brings in new ways to protect customers, making it easier for them to take advantage of competition in the market and be aware of other deals available.

Why does this matter if the UK has left the European Union?

Although the UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020, the UK remained under an obligation to implement EU directives that were already underway, into domestic law. In July 2020, the UK Government confirmed that the changes to implement the EECC should proceed and be implemented by Ofcom as planned.

Can I leave my plan early because of these changes?

No, these changes won’t give you a right to exit your plan early as they don’t negatively affect you. They’re designed to improve your rights and we’re updating our terms to reflect the changes in regulation.

What do the changes to International and cost-based services mean?

It’s very similar to how this works today, but we want to make that clear to you. Sometimes our partners put up their costs. When they do this, there may be an increase in cost for you too, but you’ll be able to cancel your plan if the increase in cost materially disadvantages you.

What if I want to cancel when you make changes and I haven’t been told I can?

You can cancel your services by giving us 30 days’ notice at any time, but if you haven’t been given a right to cancel you may have to pay an Early Termination Charge, in accordance with your terms and conditions.

If we make a change to your service, please get in touch with us to discuss your options.