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Can You Cancel your Mobile Phone Contract if You Can't Get Signal?

 
Are mobile networks legally obliged to cancel your contract?
Under current UK law a mobile network is not required to cancel a mobile contract without charge due to poor network coverage.
However, the Communications Consumer Panel has recommended to Ofcom that all mobile network providers offer a 14 day cancellation period to protect consumers – whether this will be implemented in the near future is yet to be seen.
 

When can you cancel?
Although poor signal or network coverage isn’t a strong enough reason to get out of your mobile contract by law on its own, if you find that you’re unable to use your phone due to poor coverage you may be able to cancel you contract in certain circumstances.
During the cooling off period
Under current UK law you can cancel a mobile contract within the first 7 days without the need to give a reason to the provider if you have either:
    Ordered online
    Ordered by phone
    Ordered by post
However, this 7 day window does not automatically apply to contracts purchased in store, where your ability to cancel will depend on the store's returns and cancellations policy.
Many network providers do include an additional cooling off period with their mobile phone contracts, where they can be cancelled freely without any charge.
This ‘cooling off’ period varies from provider to provider but is unlikely to be longer than a month.
While this should give you time to test your new mobile receives suitable network coverage it also means that if you encounter a problem that you should contact your mobile network immediately.
If your contract includes a network guarantee
Some mobile networks offer a guarantee of acceptable network coverage within their mobile contracts, allowing you to cancel if you find that you don’t have the signal that you expected.
However, this guarantee is not offered by every mobile network provider so you will need to check the contract terms and conditions before you apply.
If a rival provider will buy you out
If you find that you can’t cancel your contract due to poor network coverage without incurring hefty cancellation fees, you may be able to approach a rival network to ask them to buy you out (either directly or via a high street mobile phone retailer).
Essentially this would involve the rival network paying off your current mobile phone contract in exchange for you taking out a fixed length contract with them.
Whether or not this will make financial sense will depend on how long you have left to run on your existing mobile contract and how much you would be charged in early exit fees.
Although approaching a rival network in this way could enable you to avoid substantial contractual fees, or paying for a contract you can’t use, you could find that you have less bargaining power with the new provider as a result and may not get the best contract possible.
What to do if you can't get out of your contract
If you find that you're unable to cancel your contract but still unable to use your phone your options are limited.
However, the best course of action will often be to ask your network provider to drop you on to the cheapest contract option that they're able to (or pay as you go if they're willing). This way you'll be minimising the cost of keeping a contract you can't use.
Needless to say it's still worth keeping your SIM card and using it whenever you can so that you do make use of it when you're able to.
How to complain
If you feel you have been miss-sold your mobile contract or been given misleading information or promises regarding mobile network coverage then you may be able to complain to one of the two telecoms dispute resolution schemes.
Every mobile operator in the UK must belong to either Cisas or the Communication Ombudsman Service and they have the power to award compensation to you the consumer of up to £5,000 if your complaint is up held.
However, before you take your complaint to either service you will need to have complained directly to your network provider and been through their in house complaints procedure.
There is also no guarantee that your complaint will be supported by either the Ciasas or the Communication Ombudsman Service.
Prevention is better than cure
To avoid unnecessary hassle cancelling your mobile contract due to poor network coverage, it makes sense to thoroughly check the reported coverage level in your area before you apply.
All the major UK mobile network providers publish maps of the UK detailing the areas that their networks cover, which you can use to check the signal strength at your most common locations, such as your home and work.
If you find that either area, or any another location you spend a large amount of time, isn’t covered then you may want to look for a mobile contract from an alternative mobile network.

There is a full list of network coverage maps available on the Ofcom website.