Broadband. Who's the Cheapest? Article Discussion Area

mamazaac

kieron wrote:

I AM TRYING TO SELL MY HOUSE AND MOVING TO FRANCE , SO I DONT KNOW IF I WILL BE HERE IN A YEAR
SO WHO CAN I SIGN UP TO FOR BROARDBAND WITHOUT COMMITTING MYSELF TO THE FULL YEAR SUBSCRIPTION ALSO I DONT WANT TO PAY THE INSTALLATION FEE EITHERR
DONT WANT MUCH DO I
cheers kieron

http://www.virgin.net/internetaccess/

I believe the notice period is one month. Free activation and modem.

mrJ_5

mamazaac wrote:

http://www.virgin.net/internetaccess/

I believe the notice period is one month. Free activation and modem.

But £47 charge if you leave within 1 year

You probably wont find free activation, without a similar clause, or without 12 month contract as well... virgin used to do both, until about may/june last year - before lots of people left them after a month after getting free activation, migrating to a better deal (myself included) - it makes no sense for a company to lose so much per customer, if they have no intention of staying long, after providing free activation

mamazaac

mrJ wrote:

But £47 charge if you leave within 1 year

You probably wont find free activation, without a similar clause, or without 12 month contract as well... virgin used to do both, until about may/june last year - before lots of people left them after a month after getting free activation, migrating to a better deal (myself included) - it makes no sense for a company to lose so much per customer, if they have no intention of staying long, after providing free activation

This is what Virgin quote on their website

"Choose Virgin.net and get fast and reliable Internet access with no funny stuff or hidden surprises."

Just shows you can never believe what you read. The £47 charge is definitely "hidden" in their reams of terms and conditions, not clearly shown where the main points are listed.

rammell

kieron wrote:

I AM TRYING TO SELL MY HOUSE AND MOVING TO FRANCE , SO I DONT KNOW IF I WILL BE HERE IN A YEAR
SO WHO CAN I SIGN UP TO FOR BROARDBAND WITHOUT COMMITTING MYSELF TO THE FULL YEAR SUBSCRIPTION ALSO I DONT WANT TO PAY THE INSTALLATION FEE EITHERR
DONT WANT MUCH DO I
cheers kieron

Kieron,
As others have suggested, I think it highly unlikely that you'll be able to find an ISP that won't hold you to a 12 month contract but still offers free activation. If you accept that you'll have to pay for service activation, perhaps Metronet is your best bet as there is no minimum contract length and no cancellation fee.

saoirse_2

Hi there,
I'm a newcomer to all this but keen to reduce my outgoings so I can tackle my debt.
Just got off the phone to Onetel. I've been with them for years and got their bundle of unlimited calls to landlines plus broadband for £29.99 a month.

Problem is that my bills are about £40- 50. I phone Ireland several times a week and find that these calls and those to mobiles (they arent covered in the package) push the bills up. Am obviously going to cut down as best I can but is there a package that will suit me better? I've looked at the pages on the site but quickly glaze over at all the detail- am I better off with a bundle or two separate accounts?

Would be grateful for any advice
Cheers,
Saoirse

sandyl_2

Just thought that I would add my tuppence worth on how to save money and maintain connection with an excellent provider.

When you look at broadband prices, you MUST check out the company and their customer service then and only then should you decide who is right for you. Some are absolutely lousy!

I have been with Pipex for 2 years and when any problems occurred got them resolved very quickly and helpfully. However, as I noticed that they are no longer competitive, I decided to move. Looked at every offer and decided to go for PlusNet. As I am a firm believer in customer power, I asked Pipex why they were offering newbies 2Mb broadband from £19.99 per month when I was paying £23.44 per month for 1Mb. Their response was that this price was only available if you took their phone deal (which actually meant that I would have to commit more for something I didn't want). Told them "no way" so they suggested I upgrade to 2Mb wich would only cost 50P a month more but I would have to sign up for 12 months. I then told them that this was not good enough and requested my MAC key. They asked who I was transferring to and I told them. The immediate response was to offer a 2Mb connection for £17.99 per month with 30Gbyte cap. This I naturally agreed to as they are the best for customer service (in my opinion).

If you don't bluff, you won't save. Remember that it is in a company's interest to keep their exisiting customer base whilst also attracting new business.

A very happy surfer!

Sandy

saoirse_2

I tried that with Onetel and they didnt bite- just told me that they would email me the migration number I would need to change providers. So I'm on the hunt for the best deal now.

rammell

I don't claim to be an expert but reading Martin's tips elsewhere on this site, I'm fairly sure you'd be better off getting separate broadband and telecomms packages. For example, I also frequently call abroad but just use the 1899.com service to get really cheap calls using my standard BT line (£11 per month). With the exception of LoCall and National Rate calls, all my UK calls cost just 3p each no matter how long I'm on the phone and when I call and I don't have to pay an extra premium charge to benefit from cheaper calls. Calls to Ireland will cost you 1p per minute.
For Broadband I'm with PlusNet. At £15 per month it is not the cheapest, but I do get a 2Mb reliable connection with 1Gb download limit (usually adequate for my needs) and my experience of PlusNet is extremely good. They are soon to upgrade existing users to 8Mb connection for no additional charge.
For what its worth, that's my 2-cents worth!!

Brian_the_Lion_2

I think I have the right combination for the home user who does not do much downloading music or films. I have aol broadband silver at £17.99 pm. soon to double in speed for no extra cost. 1MB.
My phone is Euphony Talk Now, £7.25 pm. for unlimited calls both nationally and local.
Suits me perfectly.
Brian the Lion

oranabana

mrJ wrote:

But £47 charge if you leave within 1 year

You probably wont find free activation, without a similar clause, or without 12 month contract as well... virgin used to do both, until about may/june last year - before lots of people left them after a month after getting free activation, migrating to a better deal (myself included) - it makes no sense for a company to lose so much per customer, if they have no intention of staying long, after providing free activation

try Freedom to Surf, they seem to do a promotion, where its free to join and leave, provided u stay with them for min 3 months.

(from thir site: http://www.freedom2surf.net/adsl/homeuser.php
*Activation price waived subject to the service being retained against the same uninterrupted and unchanged BT Line Rental Contract for a minimum of 3 months otherwise standard activation fee of £49.99 is due.)

Been with them before and when they charged me for another months, after leaving, I complained, and they pomptly refunded the charges... >;-)