Easy Switch: The Procedure to Switch Broadband Provider

Easy Switch is a procedure that simplifies switching broadband or TV provider in Belgium. When using Easy Switch, your new telecom provider will take care of the switch and cancel your current broadband or TV subscription. In this article we help you understand everything regarding Easy Switch.

What Is Easy Switch?

Easy Switch is a procedure that simplifies switching to a new broadband or TV provider. Thanks to this procedure, you do not have to take care of the switch and cancelling your current broadband or TV subscription, your new telecom provider will take care of it all for you.

During the ordering process of your new broadband subscription or pack with broadband and/or TV, you can inform your new telecom provider that you would like to use Easy Switch. Your new provider will then contact your old provider, after which they need to stop the services and invoices within two working days (including the day of contact).

Advantages of Easy Switch

The biggest advantage of using Easy Switch is that you do not have to cancel your current telecom subscription, since this will be done by your new telecom provider. By doing so, you limit the risk of having a period without broadband or TV (a small period between the end date of your current contract and the start date of your new contract can occur), or of having invoices from multiple providers.

Condition of Using Easy Switch

You can only use the Easy Switch procedure when you:

• Are a private customer.
• Take out a new broadband or TV subscription or a pack with broadband and/or TV.

When Is It Not Possible To use Easy Switch?

Even though using Easy Switch is very practical, it is not always possible to use this procedure. It is not possible to Easy Switch when you:

• Only take out a new mobile telephony subscription.
• When you move and stay with your current telecom provider.
• When you move abroad.
• When you are currently a customer with different providers.
• When your current provider is not a Belgian telecom provider.

How Does Easy Switch Work?

When taking out a new contract, you can say that you want to use Easy Switch. When doing so, you have to fill out your Easy Switch ID, with which you give your new telecom provider the permission to cancel your current contract and take care of the entire switch.

All the information you have to give your new telecom provider when you want to use Easy Switch is:

• Who your current telecom provider is.
• What your custom number is with your current provider.
• What your Easy Switch ID is with your current provider.
• Whether you would like to keep a possible mail address of your current provider for a period of eighteen months.
• At what date your current contract has to be stopped. It is possible to choose to have some overlap with the activation of your new contract, which will then also lead to a double invoice for a short period of time.
• If you currently also have a mobile telephone or fixed phone subscription that you are also moving to your new provider and if you want to keep your current phone number, what your current phone number is.

Compare Telecom Providers If you want to switch of telecom provider, it is recommended to spend some time comparing telecom offers and providers.

Points of Attention When Using Easy Switch

Just as with any other way of switching of provider, it is important to keep a couple of things in mind before using Easy Switch.

• Check the type of contract you have taken out with your old provider
  If you have a fixed-term contract, you can only terminate your subscription after six months. If you terminate your contract before the end of the six months, you will have to pay a cancellation fee. This cancellation fee is equal to the subscription costs that you would still have to pay for the remaining months.
• Check whether you took out a contract with device
  In this case, you pay a part of the device each month. If your subscription is terminated within 24 months, there may still be a residual value for the device. You may still have to pay this residual value. You can find out how the repayment works in the repayment table in the appendix to your contract.

After you switched telecom provider, you have to send back any devices you rented or loaned from your telecom provider, such as the router and TV decoder. Your new telecom provider will not take care of this. If you do not do this, your telecom provider may charge you for keeping the devices.

What Is the Easy Switch ID?

The Easy Switch ID is a unique identification code of numbers and letters connected to your broadband and TV connection. Since the Easy Switch ID is unique for each broadband and TV client, it is a very important number when you want to switch provider using Easy Switch.

You can find back the Easy Switch ID on three locations:

• In the e-mail or letter you received from your telecom provider when you became a customer (only when you became a customer after July 1st, 2017).
• On your monthly invoice as part of your personal data on the first page of the invoice.
• In the section with personal data in the online customer zone of your provider.

Since the Easy Switch ID is a long code connected to your broadband and TV subscription, it is important to make sure you fill out the correct code when using Easy Switch. If you fill out the Easy Switch ID incorrect, the procedure cannot be executed, because of which your contract with your old provider will not be cancelled.

It is therefore strongly recommended to verify your Easy Switch ID well before finishing the ordering process of your new subscription, to ensure that no mistakes have been made.