Hosted.co.uk 60-Month Contracts: The "Told 12, Signed 60" Problem

A Pattern That Keeps Coming Up on Trustpilot

If you search uk.trustpilot.com/review/hosted.co.uk and filter by 1-star reviews, one phrase appears over and over: customers describing being told the contract was 12 months, only to find the small print committed them to 60.

We are Compare The Networks, an independent, OFCOM-regulated business telecoms comparison service. We have been helping UK businesses compare VoIP, mobile and broadband since 2008. We are not affiliated with Hosted.co.uk. This article covers what the contract length complaints look like, the maths of a 60-month commitment, and what you can do if you believe the contract was misrepresented.

What Trustpilot Reviewers Say

According to 1-star reviews on uk.trustpilot.com/review/hosted.co.uk, the complaint pattern typically goes like this:

A sales call takes place, often after a cold contact.
The salesperson talks about a 12-month contract or a "minimum term" that the customer understood to be 12 months.
A DocuSign arrives. The customer signs, expecting a 12-month commitment.
Months later, when the customer tries to leave, they are told the contract is actually 60 months (5 years).

We are not saying this is what Hosted.co.uk does in every case. We are reporting what customers publicly say in their 1-star reviews. Read them for yourself and form your own view.

The Small Print Problem

DocuSign is a legitimate and widely used e-signature platform. The issue reviewers raise is not DocuSign itself — it is what was explained before the signature went on the page.

UK contract law is clear: if you sign a contract, you are bound by what is in it, regardless of what you were told verbally, unless you can prove misrepresentation. A business-to-business contract does not come with a 14-day cooling-off period. Once signed, you are committed.

This is why contract length needs to be confirmed in writing before the signature, not after.

What a 60-Month Contract Actually Costs

The headline monthly figure is only part of the story. What matters is the total you are committed to over the full term.

12-month commitment

Twelve monthly payments. A predictable commitment most small businesses can plan around.

60-month commitment

Sixty monthly payments — five times the total of a 12-month deal for the same monthly figure. That is a far larger commitment than many customers believed they were signing up to.

The difference in total commitment is substantial — and that is before you factor in the annual price increases that most business VoIP contracts include.

Adding the annual increase

Most business VoIP providers include an annual price rise, so the monthly figure climbs each year. Over a 5-year term that compounds, adding a meaningful amount on top of the headline commitment.

For a business that thought it was signing a 12-month agreement, finding out it has committed to paying for 5 years is a significant financial shock.

Why 60-Month Contracts Exist at All

Long VoIP contracts are not unique to Hosted.co.uk — some providers do offer them, particularly when equipment (handsets, routers, on-premise hardware) is bundled in at no upfront cost. The logic is that the provider is subsidising hardware and recouping the cost over the term.

The issue raised on Trustpilot is not that 60-month contracts exist. It is that reviewers say they were not clearly told the term was 60 months at the point of sale.

At Compare The Networks, our VoIP contracts are 24 months minimum. That is the industry norm for hosted VoIP without bundled on-premise hardware. We are upfront about the term, the annual price rise, and any equipment costs before you sign anything.

The Industry Norm: 24 Months

For context, the standard business VoIP contract in the UK is 24 months. You will find longer terms offered where:

Equipment (desk phones, ATAs, routers) is being provided at no upfront cost
There is a significant discount that needs amortising over a longer period
The provider has a specific commercial reason for pushing longer terms

If a 60-month term is on the table, there should be a very clear commercial reason — and it should be explained to you before you sign.

What To Do If You Think You Were Misled on Contract Length

If you are in a Hosted.co.uk contract you believe is longer than you were led to believe, here is the practical path.

Step 1: Get the Evidence

Request copies of:

The signed DocuSign contract
Any quotes, emails or proposals received before signing
The recording of the sales call (providers are generally required to retain these for a period — request it in writing)

Look at what was presented to you before signature versus what is in the contract itself.

Step 2: Put a Formal Complaint in Writing

Email — not phone — Hosted.co.uk's complaints address. State:

What you understood the contract term to be
What the contract actually says
Why you believe the two do not match (quote the sales email, the proposal, whatever you have)
That you are formally raising this as a misselling complaint

Do not accept a resolution over the phone. If someone calls you, reply: "Please put that in writing and email it to me." See our Hosted.co.uk misselling guide for the full process.

Step 3: Wait 8 Weeks or a Deadlock Letter

Under OFCOM rules, if the provider has not resolved your complaint within 8 weeks, or they issue a deadlock letter sooner, you can escalate.

Step 4: Escalate to CISAS

CISAS (Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme) is the independent adjudicator for telecoms disputes. If they agree the contract was misrepresented, they can order the contract to be cancelled or amended. See our complaints and CISAS guide.

Step 5: Report to OFCOM

OFCOM does not resolve individual disputes, but it monitors industry patterns. Reporting via ofcom.org.uk adds to the picture.

How to Avoid This With Any Provider

If you are evaluating Hosted.co.uk or any other business VoIP provider, here are the questions you must ask in writing before you sign:

What is the minimum contract term? Get the number of months in a written email.
What is the total cost over the full term? Not just the monthly — the total commitment.
What is the annual price increase? Get it in pounds and pence, not as a percentage.
What equipment is included and what is billed?
What are the early termination fees? What do I owe if I leave on day 1 versus day 600?
Is there a cooling-off period? For a business contract, usually the answer is no — confirm in writing.
Can you send me the full terms and conditions before the DocuSign?

If any provider will not put these answers in writing, that is a red flag. Walk away.

What About Compare The Networks?

We sell business VoIP to UK businesses on 24-month terms. Here is what we put in writing before you sign:

Term: 24 months minimum
Monthly cost: Itemised per line, per handset, per feature
Annual price increase: a fixed pounds-and-pence amount per line each April — confirmed up front, not an open-ended percentage
Equipment: Handset options and any one-off fees listed on the quote
Support: UK-based, clearly specified

If you want to see what VoIP should cost your business, try our:

Business VoIP page
Virtual Landline (note: a Virtual Landline is just a number that forwards to your mobile — it is different from full VoIP)
VoIP quote form
Hosted VoIP for UK business guide

The Bigger Picture: Why Contract Length Matters So Much

A VoIP contract is the kind of thing a business owner signs quickly, between ten other things, because the bills need paying and the phones need answering. A salesperson who is deliberately or carelessly imprecise about the term can lock a business into 5 years of payments before anyone has noticed.

Once the small print is signed, UK law generally assumes you read and understood it. That is why the only real protection is to confirm the term in writing, ideally by email, before you put a signature anywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a 60-month VoIP contract legal?

Yes. There is no legal cap on business VoIP contract length. The issue is whether the term was clearly disclosed and agreed before signature. If you believe it was not, you may have grounds for a misselling complaint.

What happens if I stop paying a 60-month Hosted.co.uk contract?

You would likely be issued with an invoice for the early termination fee, which is typically the remaining contract value. Non-payment can lead to debt collection action and credit file impact. See our early termination fee article for more.

How do I prove I was told 12 months?

Email trails and quote documents are the best evidence. If you only had a phone conversation, request the call recording — providers typically retain these. Even without a recording, a clear pattern of communications showing one figure quoted and another signed can be persuasive at CISAS.

Can CISAS cancel my Hosted.co.uk contract?

CISAS can rule that a contract should be cancelled or amended if it finds misselling or misrepresentation. Multiple Trustpilot reviewers of various telecoms providers describe successful CISAS outcomes — but the decision depends on evidence. See our misselling guide.

What is the standard business VoIP contract term?

24 months is the industry norm in the UK for hosted VoIP. Longer terms (36, 48, 60 months) are typically seen where equipment is subsidised or there is an unusual discount structure. If a 60-month term is being offered, ask why and get the answer in writing.

Check What Your VoIP Should Actually Cost

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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.

Hosted.co.uk 60-Month Contracts: The "Told 12, Signed 60" Problem (2026)