Citizens Advice Reveal “murky practice” of Hidden UK Broadband and Mobile Deals

The Citizens Advice agency has warned that broadband ISPs and mobile operators are making it difficult for people trying to negotiate for a better renewal, which it’s estimated could save UK consumers more than £325 a year for both services combined. The charity has called on Ofcom to take action in order to ensure greater pricing transparency.

As most readers already know, new broadband and mobile customers – usually reflecting those who hunt around for a better deal and switch providers – often benefit from big discounts that are designed to attract them, while existing customers who reach the end of their initial contract can be hit with larger price rises.

The practice is fairly common among the largest providers and, indeed, somewhat normal in any truly competitive market. In recent years, Ofcom has implemented various changes to tackle this, such as the End-of-Contract Notifications (ECN) system (i.e. showing the best deals for re-contracting) and easier switching processes for mobile and broadband providers (e.g. One Touch Switching).

Not to mention the regulator’s move to ban providers from doing mid-contract price hikes that are linked to inflation (CPI or RPI) and percentage-based changes (here), as well as their industry Fairness Framework (guidelines), the impact of which remains debatable.

Savvy consumers, such as those who don’t wish to change provider, also know to try to option of haggling for a better deal (Retentions Tips), which Citizens Advice estimates could save you more than £325 a year combined for mobile and broadband bills. As a result, the charity estimates that collectively, loyal consumers who don’t negotiate are “losing out” on £28m in savings every month.

Murky Practices

However, the charity also conducted a nationally representative Opinium Research survey of 6,000 UK adults – run between 22nd April and 6th June 2025 – to discover their experiences of haggling with telecoms providers, which revealed the “murky practice of only making better deals and discounts available after persistent efforts from customers“. This includes people being forced to hunt through confusing online options or being stuck on hold for ages, among other things.

Key Survey Findings

➤ 18% don’t negotiate or switch at all, but nearly one in three do renegotiate with their provider at the end of their last fixed term telecom contract.

➤ 78% found at least one of the steps in the renegotiation process difficult. This includes navigating confusing call menus to get through to the right person (43%) and waiting on hold (55%).

➤ 66% who negotiated on the phone experienced at least one negative consequence, such as feeling like they wasted their time (39%) or feeling stressed (37%).

Dame Clare Moriarty, CEO of Citizens Advice, said:

“For too long, mobile and broadband providers have forced consumers to go through the charade of pretending to leave in order to access hidden renewal deals.

Millions of people are still paying over the odds for something as essential as mobile and broadband because of this murky practice.

Ofcom has taken some welcome steps to strengthen protections for consumers, but this loophole needs to be closed.

We want to see Ofcom clamp down on long overdue transparency on pricing – closing the gap between what deals are on the table and what’s kept under the counter.”

At this point we should highlight that not all providers adopt the same model and many smaller providers, which may also offer a selection of more advanced features (static IPs, better routers etc.), simply charge a set monthly fee that rarely ever changes.

Equally it’s unclear precisely what Citizens Advice means by “clamp down“, since there are different approaches that could potentially be taken and then there’s always a risk from unintended consequences (e.g. Ofcom’s move to ban inflationary linked price hikes did improve transparency, but it also seemed to cause larger general price hikes).

The current model that many big providers adopt relies on the fact that a good proportion of customers will, at the end of their first contract, choose to remain with their ISP and accept the basic re-contracting offers – even though prices may rise.

Ofcom would thus need to be very careful to avoid making any changes that could cause prices to rise for other users, or even choke off the option of renegotiation entirely. But so far we’ve not seen any indication that the regulator is planning to take further action on this.

An Ofcom spokesman said:

“We’ve made it easier to get a discount and save money, whether that’s by haggling with your existing provider or moving to a new one. Phone and broadband companies must tell you when your contract’s ending and what you could save by signing up to a new deal. Our rules also mean it’s never been simpler to switch, and millions of customers have taken advantage of the competitive market we have in the UK.”