• FAQ

    What is Easy Switch?

    Easy Switch facilitates the switching of operators if you have at least one Internet access service or one television service.

    It relieves you from most of the administrative steps in case of a switch. Your new operator takes care of the cancellation of the old contract as soon as his services have been installed at your place.

    The procedure always applies for consumers but companies or non-profit organisations can also appeal to it when, at their previous operator, they: 

    • have subscribed to a tariff plan destined for consumers, or
    • use a standard tariff plan for businesses. This is a “take it or leave it” type of tariff plan: the rates and other parameters are non-negotiable. Generally these tariff plans were or are published on the operator’s website. Here you will find an indicative list of this type of tariff plans per operator.  

    What does Easy Switch?

    • Easy switch facilitates the switching of fixed operators. It is a standard procedure, unless you choose not to use it. In that case, you must terminate your contract by yourself with your previous operator.
    • If you use the Easy Switch procedure, you mandate your new operator to take care of the transfer in your stead, and thus to terminate the previous contract.
    • You only have to mention whether you want to transfer your number (including your mobile number if it is offered with the fixed services) or cancel it. In the absence of indications, the number shall remain with your previous operator (but your contract and/or the price may change).
      Certain operators do not allow you to keep a number without Internet access. If you do not indicate what you want concerning your number, you might lose it.
      So, gather all the necessary information!

    Why use Easy Switch?

    • Easy Switch limits the duration of service interruption: the new operator contacts the operator you are leaving as soon as it is ready to provide you with the requested services. It takes care of the termination of the services and of the contract with the operator you are leaving.
    • Easy Switch limits the risks of a double billing. The operator you are leaving must stop charging you for its services no later than by the end of the day following the day it was informed of the transfer.

    What should I take into account before taking my decision?

    • As a consumer, a company or a non-profit organisation with no more than 9 employees: check whether a fixed-term contract is still active at your previous operator. If you took out your contract less than 6 months ago, your operator may charge you a termination fee. This fee is limited to the subscription fee you would have paid until the 6th month of the contract.
    • Companies or non-profit organisations with an average of 10 employees or more during the recent financial year cannot enjoy this limit. Check in the contract whether, and to what degree, cancellation fees are due in case of a cancellation prior to the expiration of the fixed term!
    • Check if the operator sold you a device at a reduced price with the subscription. In that case, the operator can charge you the residual value of the device. This value must be indicated in a repayment table in the contract (or an annex).. Each month, the same amount must be deducted from the residual value of the device. After 24 months, an operator can never charge you an indemnity for the device.

    What do I have to communicate to my new operator?

    • The customer number your previous operator gave you,
    • The Easy Switch ID with your previous operator:
      You will find that code (a series of numbers and/or letters):
      - online, in your customer page or in the operator app;
      - in your invoice;
      - in the welcome letter or e-mail of your new operator since 1 July 2017.
    • If you wish to keep for 18 months your e-mail address with the name of the provider you are leaving.
      Certain operators allow you to keep the e-mail address without you having to request it. It is therefore recommended to contact your operator for more information.
    • The fixed and mobile number(s) you wish to transfer or cancel with your previous operator.
    • Possibly the period during which you wish the services to remain active with the operator you are leaving, while the services of your new operator have already been activated.
      This can be useful for instance when you move into a new home and change to a new operator.

    What rights do I have when changing to another fixed operator?

    A fixed date on which the new service is activated

    You have the right to agree with the operator on an exact date to activate his services. 

    As soon as the operator knows he will not be able to meet that deadline, he must notify you and agree on a new fixed date with you. 

    If this does not happen, you are entitled to a compensation of 6 euros per day of delay for the installation (the fixed date on which the installation eventually did not take place, is included in the number of days of delay). You need to apply for this compensation with your new operator. 

    Appointment in a half-day time slot

    If the visit of a technician is required, you have the right to make an appointment within time slots of maximum half a day. That way, you do not have to take a whole day off.
    If the technician did not show up at the agreed time, you are entitledto a fee of € 30 per missed appointment. Your new operator has to pay you this fee automatically if the attendance at the agreed time has not been proven by a technician's report.

    A switch without an interruption of service of more than one working day

    The Easy Switch rules instruct the operators to first activate the new services and then deactivate the old services. 
    But sometimes that is technically not possible. For example, when the switch takes place on the same network. In that case, operators have to ensure a proper coordination and minimum disruption of service. 

    If the interruption of service takes longer than one working day (excluding the day of the interruption of service itself), the new operator will automatically have to pay you a compensation of 10 euros per calendar day that the service remains interrupted.

    For example: the old service was interrupted on Thursday; the new service was activated the following Tuesday. You are automatically entitled to a compensation of 30 euros by your new operator. This must be paid upon the first invoice following the migration or via a credit note issued on the occasion of this first invoice.

    What are the other steps if I have requested an Easy Switch?

    • If you have a modem or a decoder from your previous operator, you will probably have to return it.
    • The new operator or his technician cannot return this to the previous operator in your place.

    In which cases is Easy Switch not applicable?

    • If your company or non-profit organisation has a tariff plan that was ‘tailored’ to your company or non-profit organisation; usually such a tariff plan is not listed on the operator's website and the contract was concluded following a request for a quotation. 
    • If you wish to switch operators only for television, but not for the Internet or vice versa (partial migration).
      You must then terminate by yourself the service(s) of the operator you are leaving that you have selected for transfer.
    • If you move and remain with the same operator, the Easy Switch procedure does not apply either.

    When is the Easy Switch procedure only partially applicable?

    If you have taken out services with multiple operators.
    You can only request the Easy Switch procedure for the transfer from an operator you are leaving to the new operator. You must terminate the other services by yourself.

  • Report on the evaluation of Easy Switch in 2019/2020

    Publications › Other -
    Report on the evaluation of Easy Switch in 2019/2020
  • Indicative list of professional tariff plans which Easy Switch applies to

    Pages
    Select your previous operator to find out if your company or non-profit organisation can expect the new operator to manage the switch using Easy Switch.
  • BIPT imposes a € 1,000,000 fine on Telenet

    Publications › Press release -
    The BIPT imposes a € 1,000,000 fine on Telenet for not offering Easy Switch as a standard procedure for subscribers to switch operators at its outlets and thus failing to comply with the Easy Switch obligations.
  • Switching fixed operators?

    Pages
    Easy Switch facilitates the switching of operators if you have at least one Internet access service or one television service.
  • FAQ

    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 have acquired a device 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 signed a permanent contract. Or if you do not cancel the contract before six months have passed.  

    hat 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 in case of a permanent contract.

    You have entered into 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 13 € 110
    1 € 230 14 € 100
    2 € 220 15 € 90
    3 € 210 16 € 80
    4 € 200 17 € 70
    5 € 190 18 € 60
    6 € 180 19 € 50
    7 € 170 20 € 40
    8 € 160 21 € 30
    9 € 150 22 € 20
    10 € 140 23 € 10
    11 € 130 24 € 0
    12      

    You decide to terminate the contract after 8 months: the operator can then ask a compensation of € 160.

    In case of a fixed-term 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 lower than the value obtained through the monthly depreciation, the operator may charge only the remaining subscription fees and not the entire residual value of the device.

     

    Use of Easy Switch

    Please use the Easy Switch procedure if you want to switch bundles completely.

    The new operator will handle the entire transfer for you!

  • Belgian user rather satisfied with telecommunications services

    Publications › Press release -
    They state that it is not always as easy to switch telecom services bundles as it is for mobile telephony. Users want to be well informed, for instance about the tariff plan most advantageous for them or about the actual Internet speed of their connection.
  • BIPT publishes the results of its annual survey on the telecom users’ perception_2016

    Publications › Press release -
    BIPT publishes the results of its annual survey on the telecom users’ perception
  • BIPT imposes a 300,000 euro administrative fine on Telenet for not indicating transfer data on certain invoices

    Publications › Press release -
    300,000 euro administrative fine on Telenet
  • Useful tools

    Pages
    In order to help users choose powerful services at the best possible terms and conditions where they need them, BIPT has developed several useful tools
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