Part of the long list of admin which needs dealing with when you’re posted overseas will include car insurance, and mobile and broadband contracts.
The good news is that if your provider has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, you could benefit from the commitments they’ve made to support army families:
Insurance
Some motor insurers have agreed to ensure you will keep your no claims bonus for up to three years when posted abroad. Insurers may also waive fees normally charged if you need to cancel a policy at short notice.
Mobile phone contracts
Some companies have signed commitments to allow you to suspend your UK mobile phone contracts if you’re posted overseas or deployed.
Broadband and media contracts
Some companies no longer charge cancellation fees for their broadband and media packages when you’re posted overseas, or to another part of the UK not covered by them.
Not all companies have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and each may have their own commitments, for example, one company may allow you to suspend your contract for only one year but another may suspend it for three.
Whilst the majority of people report that making these arrangements has been plain sailing, some of you have contacted AFF with issues when trying to cancel contracts.
Some of you have been told that you need to pay a termination fee, or you’ve hit a stumbling block because the contract isn’t in the serving person’s name.
AFF can help
We can provide information for you to take back to the company or work with Defence Relationship Management to contact the company directly to help get a resolution.
Army spouse Jeannette Pace says: “I had to cancel my broadband account after only six months due to being posted and they charged us an early termination fee.
“We informed them that we were a forces family but they insisted it didn’t make a difference.
“I emailed AFF and was told of the Armed Forces Covenant commitment that this particular company had signed up to.
“I contacted them again with this information and asked them to reconsider. It took a few calls but they finally agreed.”
You can find out which companies have made commitments via armedforcescovenant.gov.uk and for car insurance, select ‘Choosing the right insurance – motor insurance’ at abi.org.uk
If you have any issues or would like to let us know about your experiences, contact moneysupport@aff.org.uk