Your mobile rights when switching — PAC, STAC and Ofcom rules

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Mobile is not broadband

The switching rules for mobile are a separate regime from the ones covering broadband. One Touch Switch does not apply. Mobile runs on switching codes, and the rules came into force on 1 July 2019.

What carries across from broadband: end-of-contract notifications, annual best-tariff reminders, and the January 2025 pounds-and-pence price rise rules all cover mobile too. Verified

Switching

What Ofcom requires

Your code has to arrive within a minute. For residential customers Ofcom requires the losing provider to send a PAC or STAC no later than one minute after the request. Beware of guides quoting two hours or two working days — those are the rules for business customers. Verified
Text is not the only route they must offer. Providers must give at least three free ways to get a code: by text, online through your account, and by phone. Text and online have to be available at all times. Codes last 30 days. Verified
Switching kills the notice period. If you move using a code, your old contract terminates on the working day the switch completes, and your provider must not bill you for any notice period running past that date. This is the single most valuable rule here — it does not, however, cancel an early termination charge if you are still inside your minimum term. Verified
They must tell you what you still owe on the handset. The switching information sent with your code must say whether the handset sits on a separate contract, and either what is still payable on it after you move or the date you stop paying. It must also give your total final charge as a single figure. Verified
The switch itself is quick, and free. Porting must complete within one working day, any loss of service must not exceed one working day, and no charge may be made for taking your number with you. Your number stays portable for at least a month after you leave. Verified

The notice-period rule is the one to remember. If you cancel directly, most networks make you serve 30 days. If you switch with a code, your contract ends the working day the switch completes and they cannot charge you beyond it. On a £30 tariff that is £30 for sending a text. It does not, however, remove an early termination charge if you are still inside your minimum term. Verified

Commonly wrong

Four things you will read that aren't true

Often claimedYour provider must cut your bill once the handset is paid off.

ActuallyNo such rule exists. Ofcom said it did not have the power to impose one, and secured voluntary commitments instead — which vary by provider and which Three declined to join. Ofcom estimated the commitments covered nearly 80% of affected customers, not all. Treat any discount as a company policy, not a right.

Often claimedUnlocking your phone is always free.

ActuallySince 17 December 2021 providers cannot sell a consumer a locked handset at all, so for newer phones the question does not arise. There is also a free-unlocking right where you leave because the provider changed your contract. Outside those two cases — an older handset, or a business contract — we could not find a rule requiring free unlocking, so we are not going to claim one.

Often claimedThe ban on inflation-linked price rises protects everyone.

ActuallyIt applies to contracts taken out from 17 January 2025. If you signed before that date carrying a CPI or RPI plus a percentage term, that term still stands. Mobile is squarely in scope of the new rules — but only for new contracts.

Often claimedLeftover pay-as-you-go credit is refunded automatically.

ActuallyIt is refunded on request, not automatically. You have to ask. A provider may deduct a fee, but only one that is proportionate to what the refund actually costs them to process.

General Where we could not source a rule, we say so rather than repeating the claim.

Also worth knowing

Contract length and renewal

A commitment period cannot exceed 24 months, and every provider must also offer a contract of no more than 12 months.

A provider cannot roll you into a new commitment period without your express consent, obtained afresh each time. Verified

Sourcing

Where this comes from

Claim	Source	Checked
Text-to-switch in force 1 July 2019	Ofcom statement on reforming mobile switching, December 2017, and Ofcom’s record of General Conditions amendments	26 July 2026
One-minute code delivery for residential customers	Ofcom consolidated General Conditions, C7.36	26 July 2026
Three request routes, and 30-day code validity	Ofcom consolidated General Conditions, C7.32, C7.34 and C7.42	26 July 2026
No charge for a notice period beyond the switch date	Ofcom consolidated General Conditions, C7.8, with C7.7(b)	26 July 2026
Handset disclosure with your switching code	Ofcom consolidated General Conditions, C7.12(g)(ii) via C7.30(b)	26 July 2026
Ban on selling locked handsets, 17 December 2021	Ofcom, General Condition C1.9 — consumers only, not business customers	26 July 2026
No rule requiring a price cut once the handset is paid off	Ofcom statement on mobile handsets, July 2019 — voluntary commitments only, which Three declined	26 July 2026
Pay-as-you-go credit refunded on request	Ofcom consolidated General Conditions, C7.7(d)	26 July 2026
Condition numbers	Ofcom’s consolidated General Conditions, version in effect 8 April 2026. Ofcom also hosts a superseded extract numbering these C7.21–C7.44 and calling the code an N-PAC — we have not used it	26 July 2026
Free unlocking for handsets bought before December 2021	No General Condition found requiring it. We are not claiming the right exists	Not known
Current status of the 2020 out-of-contract discount commitments	Verified as made in 2019 to take effect by February 2020. Whether they still run, and at what level, is not confirmed	Not known

Bill Watch

One email, three weeks before your renewal or fixed deal ends, telling you it's time to shop around. Free, and that's the whole product.