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4Com Contract Problems: Lease, Lock-In & Price Escalation

4Com Contract Problems: Lease, Lock-In & Price Escalation

Why 4Com Contracts Trip Up So Many Businesses

Most UK business telecoms contracts are a single agreement of a predictable length — 24 or 36 months, one provider, one price, one invoice. 4Com's contract structure is different. It is built around three moving parts that interact to create the specific problems Trustpilot reviewers describe over and over on uk.trustpilot.com/review/4com.co.uk.

Those three parts are:

  1. A service agreement with 4Com.
  2. A separate equipment lease with a third-party finance company (Propel Finance or BNP Paribas).
  3. An introductory discount that expires partway through the deal.

Taken individually, each part can be fine. Combined, they create the lock-in, price-escalation and exit-fee problems reviewers complain about most.

We are Compare The Networks, an independent, OFCOM-regulated business telecoms comparison service that has been helping UK businesses since 2008. We are not affiliated with 4Com. This article breaks down the structural problems reviewers describe with 4Com contracts, factually, with the advice to always verify against the specific paperwork you have signed.

Problem 1: The Two-Agreement Structure

This is the root cause of most 4Com contract problems. When you sign a 4Com deal that includes their Hihi-branded handsets or VoIP hardware, you typically end up with two separate contracts:

  • Service agreement with 4Com — commonly 24 or 36 months
  • Equipment lease with Propel Finance or BNP Paribas — commonly 60 or 84 months (5 or 7 years)

Trustpilot reviewers describe this being presented during the sales call as a single deal. The separation between the two only becomes apparent when the paperwork arrives or when the customer tries to leave.

The consequence: even if your 4Com service agreement expires, you still owe on the hardware lease — sometimes for years after the service ends. See our 4Com 7-year contracts article and 4Com finance agreement trap article for the full mechanics.

Problem 2: The 18-Month Discount Cliff

Trustpilot reviewers describe a consistent pricing pattern:

  • Months 1-18 (sometimes 1-24): attractive headline rate. "£X per month."
  • Month 19 onwards: the discount falls off. The rate trebles according to multiple 1-star Trustpilot reviewers.

If the headline rate is £150/month and it trebles to £450/month, a business that was comfortable with the bill suddenly faces an annual cost increase of £3,600 — with years still to run on the equipment lease and no easy exit. Our 4Com price increases article has more detail.

This is a contract-design problem, not an accident. The low headline rate is what sells the deal. The post-discount rate is what 4Com actually makes money on.

Problem 3: Forced Renewal to Keep the Discount

Here is the trap that Trustpilot reviewers describe most bitterly.

As the discount period approaches its end, 4Com commonly approaches the customer and offers to restore the lower rate. Sounds good. The condition:

Sign a new 7-year agreement.

The customer is given a choice:

  • Option A: let the discount expire and pay the trebled rate until the current term ends.
  • Option B: sign a fresh 7-year lease and get the low rate back.

Businesses on tight margins pick Option B. The 7-year clock resets. Two years later, the discount period ends again. The same offer comes again. The cycle can run indefinitely, and reviewers describe being in a rolling state of always having at least 5-7 years left on their agreements.

This is why "I've been with 4Com for 15 years" is not the reassurance it sounds like — it may mean the customer has signed, and re-signed, multiple stacked 7-year leases.

Problem 4: Cannot Downsize Mid-Term

Business needs change. Companies shrink, go fully remote, merge, lose a major contract, pivot their model. In most modern business telecoms contracts there is some flexibility — you can reduce user counts, drop handsets, renegotiate at renewal.

Trustpilot reviewers describe a different experience with 4Com:

  • Hardware is leased on a fixed term. Even if you no longer need a handset, you still pay for it.
  • The lease runs for 7 years irrespective of your business situation.
  • Reviewers describe being stuck paying for unused handsets sitting in cupboards or in storage when the business has gone remote.

Standard business VoIP agreements we arrange allow for user-count adjustments and don't tie hardware to a 7-year finance clock. See what honest pricing looks like.

Problem 5: The Exit Fee

Because the equipment lease is a finance agreement, early termination does not work like a normal telecoms contract. You do not just owe the remaining service months — you owe the remaining lease payments plus any unexpired service.

Trustpilot reviewers report exit quotes in the £27,000-£28,000 range. That is not a typo. The maths looks roughly like this:

  • 5 years left on 7-year lease × monthly lease payment × number of handsets
  • Plus unexpired service months × monthly service rate
  • Plus any VAT and admin fees

On a mid-sized small business with 6-10 handsets, a £27k+ quote is consistent with the publicly reported figures. Full breakdown in our 4Com early termination fee article.

Problem 6: Hidden / Opt-Out Add-Ons

Trustpilot reviewers describe optional charges being added to bills without active consent. Some reviewers say they only discovered these charges after years of paying — in one case, a reviewer reported being "charged for 3 years undetected" for a service they had not knowingly agreed to.

The issue is not that the charges are illegal. It is that they are described by reviewers as opt-out rather than opt-in — the customer has to spot them and actively cancel rather than actively agree.

If you are a 4Com customer now: go through your last 12 invoices line by line. Anything you cannot identify, question in writing.

Problem 7: Entity Confusion — 4Com, Hihi, Campfire

Multiple reviewers on Trustpilot express confusion about which company they are actually dealing with:

  • 4Com — the telecoms provider.
  • Hihi — the handset and VoIP brand supplied within 4Com deals.
  • Campfire — the managed IT / office tech brand sometimes referenced alongside 4Com packages.

When something goes wrong — a handset failure, a billing dispute, a service outage — customers describe being bounced between names and support lines. Our Hihi / 4Com connection article explains the corporate family.

The practical consequence: when you raise a formal complaint, be explicit about which entity your complaint is against. If you are not sure, name all of them and state that you are complaining about the telecoms contract and associated finance lease.

Problem 8: Customer Service Under Pressure

The 1-star reviews on uk.trustpilot.com/review/4com.co.uk include complaints about service quality once something goes wrong:

  • Dropped calls and broadband outages.
  • Slow response to fault reports.
  • "Not had working service for last 5 days" — direct reviewer quotes.
  • Difficulty getting hold of account managers once the deal is signed.
  • Escalations going in circles.

Pre-sale, customers report attentive service from Bournemouth. Post-sale, reviewers report a different experience. This is a pattern, not a guarantee — plenty of 5-star reviewers report the opposite — but it is consistent enough across 1-star reviews to merit a mention.

Problem 9: Blacklist Threats

A specific and troubling pattern in 1-star reviews is customers reporting threats of industry blacklisting when they try to leave. Customers describe being told that if they terminate, their business name will be flagged to other telecoms providers and they will struggle to get a contract elsewhere.

There is no centralised UK "telecoms blacklist" that prevents businesses switching providers. If you are told otherwise, get it in writing — it will be useful evidence for CISAS.

What "Normal" Looks Like for Comparison

Here is what a healthy UK business telecoms contract typically looks like:

  • Single agreement with the provider, covering both service and (where relevant) hardware.
  • 24 or 36 months with clear end date.
  • Flat pricing or, if introductory, a clear written note of exactly when and how the price changes.
  • Annual price increase in £ and pence (OFCOM banned CPI/RPI-linked increases for consumers from January 2025; most providers have updated).
  • No separate finance company unless the customer has explicitly opted into a separate lease.
  • No 7-year hardware term.
  • Downsize flexibility for user count adjustments.

If you are being offered something that looks different, ask why in writing before you sign.

What to Do If You Are Already in a 4Com Contract

1. Read Both Agreements

Find the 4Com service agreement and the Propel / BNP lease. Note end dates, monthly amounts, renewal dates.

2. Check Your Bills

Go through 6-12 months of invoices. Flag anything unfamiliar. Query in writing.

3. Decide Your Outcome

4. Compare the Market

Even if you decide to ride it out, know what honest pricing looks like so you are ready at expiry. Get a free VoIP quote.

5. Keep Everything in Writing

For every interaction with 4Com, Hihi, Campfire, Propel or BNP — get it in writing. Verbal resolutions disappear. Emails and letters stay.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main 4Com contract problems to watch for?

According to 1-star Trustpilot reviewers, the main issues are: a separate 7-year equipment lease with Propel Finance or BNP Paribas, a discount cliff after 18-24 months where rates "treble", forced renewal of a new 7-year agreement to keep the low rate, exit quotes of £27,000+, and confusion between 4Com, Hihi and Campfire.

How long is a 4Com contract?

It depends. The 4Com service agreement is typically 24 or 36 months. The equipment lease tied into the deal — commonly with Propel Finance or BNP Paribas — is frequently 60 or 84 months (5 or 7 years). Reviewers emphasise that the two run separately. See our 4Com 7-year contracts article.

Does 4Com increase prices every year?

Yes. Business telecoms providers typically apply an annual price increase. Since OFCOM banned CPI/RPI-linked increases for consumers in January 2025, most providers have moved to a fixed £ and pence increase. Business contracts are technically exempt from the ban but most providers have updated to match. Separately, reviewers describe a much larger one-off jump when the introductory discount ends.

Can I downsize a 4Com contract mid-term?

Reviewers report not being able to reduce user counts or return unused handsets mid-term because the hardware is on a fixed lease. Standard business VoIP arrangements tend to allow more flexibility. Always get any promise of flexibility in writing before signing.

What if 4Com threatens to blacklist my business if I leave?

There is no centralised UK telecoms blacklist. If you are told otherwise, ask for it in writing. That written response is useful evidence for a CISAS complaint. See our 4Com complaints CISAS article.

Explore Your Options

Get a free VoIP quote and see what honest business telecoms contracts look like — 24-month terms, transparent pricing, no 7-year hidden leases.

Or read more:

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About this article. Claims reported here are attributed to public reviews on Trustpilot and similar platforms. They represent the opinions of the reviewers cited, not statements of fact by Compare The Networks. Brands named may dispute these claims. If you are a brand representative who believes any content requires correction, please contact us.

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