Ditching utility companies when moving

[d000hg]

We moved just under a year ago and transferred our much cheapness TalkTalk package, as we were still locked in to a contract. However I'm pretty sure they secretly set up a new account with a new lock-in, without telling us. Now we're not that keen to continue with them - I work from home a lot so decent broadband is not just a luxury.

I wonder, if I just move and cancel the DirectDebit, what can they do? Will they chase us to the new address or just keep sending automated letters? Considering they normally struggle to remember who we are, I'm not too scared by their detective skills...

[Andy2]

They can screw your credit history

[AtW]

Getting a CCJ obtained by default may harm your future contracting prospects.

HTH

[doodab]

If they didn't tell you then it's not a contract.

If you signed something that told you then they will probably want their pound of juicy buttock flesh.

[TimberWolf]

A bit off topic, but is anyone else uneasy with the way car insurance companies try to lock you in to an 'automatic renewal' these days? They slip this into a sentence along with other things that you are consecutively agreeing with or saying yes to.

[Tarquin Farquhar]

If they didn't tell you then it's not a contract.

If you signed something that told you then they will probably want their pound of juicy buttock flesh.

They may insist that you agreed to it verbally. If you did it on the phone (and didn't agree to it) then get them to verify: that is what they keep recodings for. We saved hundreds on our daughter's first-time car insurance that way: we insisted they check their recordings to verify that the agent had promised what they had in fact promised. They never came back to confirm, but they did put the premium back down.

[Tarquin Farquhar]

A bit off topic, but is anyone else uneasy with the way car insurance companies try to lock you in to an 'automatic renewal' these days? They slip this into a sentence along with other things that you are consecutively agreeing with or saying yes to.

I'm uneasy about pretty well most commercial dealings these days. Sigh.

[d000hg]

If they didn't tell you then it's not a contract.

If you signed something that told you then they will probably want their pound of juicy buttock flesh.

Would have to double check. We phoned up and said "we're moving, we want to transfer", they sent us a "welcome to TalkTalk" pack to our new address.

[PAH]

Call them to say you're cancelling and see what they say.

If they say you can't you can then go down the road of arguing your case.

They may have transferred the existing contract so nothing to worry about if it has already gone beyond the minimum term.