The five regimes
Pick your bill
Insurance — the FCA
The strongest protection of the four. Your renewal price is capped at what an equivalent new customer would pay. Plus a 14-day cooling-off period and free auto-renewal opt-out.
Broadband — Ofcom
No price cap. What you get instead is disclosure: they must tell you your contract is ending and what their best deal is. Switching runs on One Touch Switch.
Mobile — Ofcom
Same regime as broadband, different switching mechanics. The valuable rule here is that switching with a code stops them charging you a notice period.
Energy — Ofgem
A price cap, but not the kind most people think: it limits unit rates and standing charges, not your bill. Plus limits on back-billing and a free ombudsman.
Gym — no regulator
No ombudsman, no sector rules. What you have is general unfair-terms law, one landmark court case, and whatever your gym’s own contract grants — which varies wildly.
The comparison worth making
Only one regulator caps what you pay
It is tempting to assume all four work alike. They do not, and assuming so is how people end up asking for something their provider is under no obligation to give.
| Bill | Capped price? | Must tell you your deal is ending? |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance | Yes — versus an equivalent new customer | Renewal notice must show last year's premium |
| Broadband | No | Yes — with their best tariff |
| Mobile | No | Yes — with their best tariff |
| Energy | Unit rates only, not the bill | Notified before a fixed tariff ends |
| Gym | No — no regulator exists | No — nothing requires it |
So the one question that always works on insurance — what would you charge a new customer like me? — carries no legal weight on a broadband or mobile call. There, the leverage is that they were required to send you their best tariff, and that leaving is easy. Verified
Sourcing
Where this comes from
| Claim | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| The FCA price-walking ban | FCA Policy Statement PS21/5; FCA Evaluation Paper 25/2, 22 July 2025 | 26 July 2026 |
| Ofcom requiring disclosure rather than price parity | Ofcom statement Prohibiting inflation-linked price rises, July 2024 | 26 July 2026 |
| End-of-contract notifications covering broadband and mobile | Ofcom statement Helping consumers get better deals, May 2019, in force 15 February 2020 | 26 July 2026 |
| Each provider’s number and its label | Sourced on that provider’s own page — follow the link for the full table | Dated on each page |
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