Help centre: using OneTouchSwitch and stalled switches

How to use the postcode / address checker

Open the comparison and type the address as the tenancy or the council tax bill writes it. Include the flat or unit number. A postcode on its own is not a premises. Two flats in one building can be on different networks, and a house name that is missing from the address file often comes back as the neighbour.

If the match is the wrong door, stop. Do not accept a switch date against a bad match. That is how the old service is ceased at the wrong flat. Correct the wording and run it again. OneTouchSwitch is an independent comparison site. The checker shows what this catalogue can say about the premises. It does not install a line and it is not Openreach.

One Touch Switch, when you do order, is run by the provider you are moving to. This page cannot start that process for you.

How to read monthly price vs upfront vs first-year cost

Three numbers get mixed up. The monthly price is what the plan lists now, sometimes only for the introductory months. Upfront cost is setup, delivery, or a router charge paid once. First-year cost adds the introductory months, the price after them, and that upfront amount across twelve months.

A lower monthly headline can lose once the year is added up. A higher flat monthly price with nothing upfront can win. Read all three before you treat a card as cheap. The figures on this site are a labelled mock catalogue, not a live quote. If the provider’s own page disagrees, believe the provider. We do not invent a price you will be billed.

Contract length sits beside the cost. A cheap year that locks you in for a second year is not cheap if you expect to move. Ask for the early-termination charge on the contract you already have, in pounds, and add it once if you are not free to leave.

What “no live deals” means and what to do next

An empty or thin result is not a verdict that Britain has no broadband at your door. It means this check did not return orderable plans for the address you typed. Common causes: the flat number was left off, the building is on a landlord-chosen network we do not list, the premises is a new plot not yet on the address file, or the mock catalogue has a gap.

Do not read a gap as ‘this provider is unavailable’ when the problem may be our feed. We will not claim a brand cannot serve you for that reason. Check the address format, try the flat number, then ask the provider you care about whether they can order the premises. A neighbour’s full list is not yours.

If you only needed to understand the switch, use the full switching FAQ rather than refreshing an empty results page.

If a switch stalls — checklist

Contact the new provider first. Under One Touch Switch they own the order. They are the ones who can see the messages with your current provider. Have these ready: the account name, the address exactly as you ordered it, the switch reference if you were given one, the date you were promised, and what has actually happened.

Say in the first sentence if the old service has already stopped. Do not also phone the old provider and agree a separate cease ‘just in case’. A cease and a switch can race. Call the old provider only for a fee figure, a wrong bill, or a number you still need — not to resign on top of an order that is already in progress.

If a care alarm, a pendant, or a payment terminal uses the line, contact that supplier the same day. The broadband provider does not automatically tell them. Keep the old router until the new service has worked. This site cannot open a ticket on your line. We are not Ofcom and not the network.

Common comparison mistakes

Sorting by download speed alone misses upload, which is what video calls and backups use. A gigabit poster on a cabinet line is not the same product as full fibre at a modest speed with a higher upload. Read the technology, not the slogan.

Ignoring contract length is the other usual miss. An 18- or 24-month term outlives a tenancy, a house move, or a trial of working from home. Price the exit, not only the first month.

Ignoring an early-termination charge on the contract you already have makes every saving look larger than it is. Get the fee in pounds before you order. Split television and mobile from the broadband. One Touch Switch does not move a TV package because the line moved.

Social tariffs

A social tariff is a cheaper package for people who meet a provider’s rules, usually linked to certain benefits. It is not a promotional month and not something this site can approve. We will not take benefit letters. Ask the provider whether you qualify and whether they will move you without an exit fee before you cancel a commercial contract.

The social tariff page lists the questions to ask. A refusal from one brand is not a refusal from every brand that can serve the same address. Their rules differ.

Full switching FAQ

The full switching FAQ is the longer page: what One Touch Switch is and is not, downtime, exit fees, how long a switch takes, full fibre versus fibre to the cabinet, keeping a number, a single network at the address, and when not to switch yet. Use it before you order if any of that is still unclear. This help centre is only how to use the site and what to do when an order has already stalled.

More help

Compare at the address when you are ready to look at plans. If you want the sequence of a normal switch, read what happens when you switch. If the fee is the thing in the way, read the early-termination guide and get the provider’s figure. If the advert says full fibre and you are not sure that is what you need, read the full fibre guide. None of those pages places the order. The new provider does, if you decide to go ahead.