Fixed-term or permanent?
Check whether you have a permanent contract or not; this is also specified on your invoice.
An operator is not allowed to charge anything for the termination of a contract
- If you have a permanent contract;
- If your fixed-term contract started at least six months ago.
You decide nevertheless to terminate the contract before six months have passed?
Then, your operator can charge the subscription fees you would have had to pay until the sixth month of the contract, but not more than that.
You have acquired an appliance by way of a conditional sale?
Good to know: If you have acquired a free or bargain price device (e.g. a mobile phone or a tablet) from your operator, he can demand an extra compensation. Even if you have entered a permanent contract. Or if you do not cancel the contract before six months have passed.
That extra compensation must not exceed the value stated in a repayment table annexed to the contract.
If you look in that table at the month you are in you can see what extra compensation is due.
After 24 months an operator is not allowed to charge any compensation for the device anymore.
More info
The basis of the calculation that the operator should have made for you is a monthly depreciation of the device. Each month, until month 24 the same amount should be subtracted from the residual value of that device.
We illustrate this below with a permanent contract.
- You have concluded a permanent contract.
- When you signed the contract, you “bought” the device for € 1.
- The repayment table annexed to the contract is shown below:
| Month | Residual value | Month | Residual value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 240 EUR | 13 | 110 EUR |
| 1 | 230 EUR | 14 | 100 EUR |
| 2 | 220 EUR | 15 | 90 EUR |
| 3 | 210 EUR | 16 | 80 EUR |
| 4 | 200 EUR | 17 | 70 EUR |
| 5 | 190 EUR | 18 | 60 EUR |
| 6 | 180 EUR | 19 | 50 EUR |
| 7 | 170 EUR | 20 | 40 EUR |
| 8 | 160 EUR | 21 | 30 EUR |
| 9 | 150 EUR | 22 | 20 EUR |
| 10 | 140 EUR | 23 | 10 EUR |
| 11 | 130 EUR | 24 | 0 EUR |
| 12 | 120 EUR |
- You decide to terminate the contract after 8 months; the operator can ask a compensation of € 160.
In case of a permanent contract your operator has to compare the device's residual value calculated as mentioned above with the remaining subscription fees until the end of the contract (for consumers this does not exceed 2 years).
If this balance of subscription fees is less than the value obtained through the monthly depreciation, your operator may charge only this balance and not the entire residual value of the device.
