Can Three charge a £300 cancellation fee to end my broadband contract?

I was looking for a new broadband provider and went to my local Three store on August 31.

I was sold a 5G router with a 24 month contract, which would cost £10 a month for six months and then £20.

But when I got the . took device at home, I found that the connection was worse than my existing supplier. I decided to return the router and void my contract under the 14 day cooling off period I had seen on Three’s website.

I tried to return it in the exact packaging I received it in on September 5 – but I was told that because I bought the device in a store and not online, there was no cooling-off period for my contract.

If I had been told this at the time, I would not have signed this contract. The rep then told me that if I wanted to cancel the contract I would have to pay £300.

Why couldn’t I cancel my contract for the first 30 days? Why are the costs for canceling my contract so high? Is there a chance that I will get my money back because the speed of my router is not sufficient? JM, by email.

Emilia Shovelin of This is Money answers: You decided to try a new broadband provider after your contract with your previous provider ended and were persuaded by Three’s sales representative to try the new 5G router.

You asked the rep if it was better to buy the product online or in the store, and they said they’d rather you do it in store because it keeps them in their job. You were more than happy to make the sale.

However, when you took the device home, you noticed that your internet speed was much slower than you expected and compared to your old provider.

As this was a Friday night, you decided to wait until the following Monday to attempt to return the product, still well within the 14 day cooling-off period shown on Three’s site.

When you arrived at the store on Monday, the rep who worked there told you that because you bought your device from the store, they can’t cancel your two-year contract without a hefty fee. To do this they told you to pay a £300 cancellation fee.

I contacted Three to ask what was going on and why the 14-day cooling-off period didn’t apply to your sale.

When you signed up for broadband, you didn’t get a full copy of the terms and conditions of your contract.

When I checked the terms and conditions on Three’s website, the return policy clearly states that they don’t offer a return policy if you buy a device from the store.

The policy reads: “We’re sorry, but apart from home broadband devices or devices and/or accessories that you have agreed to, as part of your in-store purchase, which will be shipped to you separately, if you have purchased a device or accessory from a Three Store and you change your mind, you cannot return or exchange it.’

Consumers should be aware of their legal rights – these are your minimum guaranteed rights under the law – when shopping online and in-store.

Unfortunately, if you buy something in the store, you have fewer rights to rely on than if you bought it online, because you don’t automatically have the legal right to return the purchased item if you just change your mind.

This is because when shopping online, the item may not appear as it appeared on the website – which is not a problem when something has been purchased in person.

So if you had bought this device online, you could have returned the device within the cooling off period and canceled your contract within the 30 day period.

When I asked Three why this was the case and what you could do to get a refund they replied that they would cancel your contract without the £300 charge.

A spokesperson for Three said: ‘We apologize for the difficulty JM experienced in closing this account – our customer service was not up to our usual high standards on this occasion.

“Since then, we’ve closed the account with immediate effect and sent a prepaid envelope to the customer to facilitate their return from the router.

“We have waived the early contract termination fee and offered the customer a gesture of goodwill. We will continue to train with our team on the basis of this experience.’

Because there are often fewer protections, it’s worth considering what items you buy in-store and instead consider online for items that may need to be returned.

It’s also a good idea to check companies’ return policies before committing to a multi-year contract.

Most retailers offer a “goodwill” return policy for non-defective items, usually with an exchange, refund, or credit note, but only if they have a return policy.

Stores are not required by law to have a return policy, but they must abide by it if they have one.

Do your research and make sure to read the terms and conditions of your contract or retailers before committing to buying anything from the store.