Guide
Contract Switching Windows: When to Leave Before the Exit Fee Bites
The most expensive month of any fixed-term contract is the first one after it ends. The promo rate lapses, the standard rate applies, and unless you moved in the switching window, leaving now costs a fee.
How the window works
A fixed-term contract has three phases: the promotional period, the switching window near term end (typically the final 30–60 days, when providers must let you leave penalty-free), and out-of-contract, where you sit on the standard variable rate. The window is short, unannounced, and the only phase where you hold leverage.
The fields you need logged
To know your window you need the contract start date, the term in months, whether it auto-renews, the exit fee, the promo rate, the standard rate it reverts to, and the promo end date. NYROX shows exactly these fields per service type — broadband gets tariff and usage fields, mobile adds number of lines, council tax shows only discounts.
When paying the exit fee is the cheaper option
Sometimes leaving early wins. If you have four months left at £35 with a £50 exit fee, and a comparable deal at £22, switching now costs £50 and saves £52 — marginally worth it, and clearly worth it over a 24-month view. The arithmetic only works if the exit fee and both rates are recorded.
Fixed versus variable, and bundling
Fixed protects against increases and forfeits decreases; variable does the reverse. Bundling broadband and mobile with one provider often beats two separate deals, but locks both renewal dates together. NYROX's audit compares your logged tariffs, flags promo cliffs, and surfaces bundling opportunities across bills.
