Since July 2011, all major fixed and mobile operators have implemented the Industry Code of Practice for Telecommunications Service Contracts (the "Industry Code"). Under the Industry Code, customers who entered into new individual / residential telecommunications service contracts with the operators concerned are afforded enhanced protection.

The Industry Code was revised in October 2014 and has been effective since 1 May 2015 to further protect consumer interests in the following five areas -

1. Arrangements for contract termination by customers -
   1. The arrangements for contract termination must not cause inconvenience to customers or involve unreasonable delay. No additional service charges other than reasonable and proper incidental costs should be incurred in effecting the contract termination notice.
   2. New provisions are added to encourage the service providers to, where appropriate, make the service termination form available on website for download; accept any written termination request; acknowledge the receipt of any verbal, written or in person service termination request promptly, and handle the termination request promptly without unreasonable delay.
2. Charging method of contract with a fixed term -
   1. Three industry terms, namely "bill cycle", "bill cycle date" and "final bill cycle" are clearly defined.
   2. Where the target service commencement date is not the same as the first bill cycle date, the first bill cycle date must be clearly stated in the contract or be communicated to the customer as soon as practicable. The contract must set out clearly and in reasonable detail the charges payable by the customer for the services in the period between the target service commencement date and the first bill cycle date, as well as in the period between the expiry date of the contract term and the last date of the final bill cycle.
3. Termination charge for customer moving location -
   1. If the service cannot be provided at the relocated premises due to the absence of network coverage, the customer shall have the right to choose to continue using the service at the original location or terminate the contract. The termination charge should be calculated by a specified formula or be subject to a specific maximum amount.
   2. This charge should be communicated to the customer before he/she signs the contract.
4. Arrangement for confirmation of extension, renewal of terms or replacement of contract -
   1. The written confirmation will be dispatched by post, or by the optional reasonable means offered by the service provider as agreed by the customer.
5. Arrangement for cooling-off period of unsolicited contract -
   1. The service provider has the flexibility to implement a better cooling-off period arrangement that provides additional protection to customers. For example, the service provider can provide a cooling-off period which is more than seven days from the date the customer enters into the contract, and for those contracts that are concluded over other sales channels besides unsolicited visits.

Consumers can refer to the Industry Code in OFCA's website (please visit the web link here for the web page of Consumer Alerts) for details. Before entering into any telecommunications service contracts they are advised to make enquiries with the operators concerned as to whether their prospective contracts would be covered by the Industry Code.