Panel calls for mobile-phone contract cooling-off period

People should be given the right to cancel a mobile phone contract if they find they have poor or no reception the Communications Consumer Panel has said.

The consumer watchdog, which advises Ofcom, has called for a minimum 14-day cooling-off period after a consumer has signed a contract if they find they do not get the coverage they need.

It said that although many operators and third-party retailers do already have policies that allow consumers to do this, others refused to let customers cancel even if they had no coverage.

A mystery shopping exercise carried out by the Panel showed that over half (56 per cent) of people buying a mobile phone contract in-store did not get accurate information about cancellation policies when there was a coverage problem.

To complicate things further, the Consumer Panel said operators and retailers have significantly different policies between online, in-store and phone sales which causes real confusion.

“Clearly, sales and customer service staff need to be much better trained so they can communicate their companies’ policies in clear terms to consumers, but there is also work to do on the policies themselves.

“Most operators and third-party retailers have many different policies around cancellation: some relate to coverage only, others don’t relate to coverage at all; some can be used in any circumstances but only if the consumer buys online, not in a store; some offer one cancellation deadline for voice and text but another for mobile broadband,” it said.

As well as a minimum cooling-off period, the Panel has also called for consistent cancellation policies, accurate in-store information and training for staff so they can explain individual operators’ policies correctly and clearly.

Anna Bradley, the Panel’s chairwoman said: “Consumers have a right to get accurate and consistent information at the point of sale when they ask legitimate questions about coverage and cancellation policies.

“Staff often struggle with so many different company policies and communicate them inaccurately to customers. That is why we are calling for an across-the-board minimum 14 days to cancel contracts where consumers have coverage problems.

“People must be given enough time to test coverage in the places where they want to use their phone.”