ripped off by BT???

mhollins83

Hi,

I really hope someone here can help me.

We are moving house on saturday and called up BT today to have our 8Mb unlimited broadband/phoneline account moved over. We currently pay £24 per month for this.
Our new house is only 2 miles from the local exchange but the woman on the phone said that we will only be getting 1/2Mb broadband. To top this off she said we still have to pay the 8Mb price :eek::eek::eek:

Surely there is something we can do about this?!

It was actually my BF who spoke to the woman (who knows nothing about computers) so I'm thinking of calling them up myself but I don't know what I should say to them other than that I want the MAC code so I can leave, but then they'll try to charge us for the remaining contract!

Please help!!

syko29793

The price you pay is for the service its not based on the speed you get.
The speed quoted is the max speed the line can support so nothing can be done to change this and with the speed estimate being so low its unlikely to improve with another isp.
You dont need a MAC if you do decide to cancel BT. If your in contract they will charge you a termination fee if you stop the service.

Viper_7

1/2 meg? that is the absolute minimum and these days not even classed as being broadband.
More than likely you'd find the speed will be higher but they just won;t guarentee it over the phone.

BT are the provider. You are in a current contract. You can do something about it, you can either look at a different provider
and pay the penalty of dropping out the current contract or live with it. You're lucky they are not wanting to charge you for the switch.

Did you not check the speeds prior to the move? Expect everything on a plate?

mhollins83

Viper_7 wrote: »

Did you not check the speeds prior to the move? Expect everything on a plate?

First off, we haven't moved yet, as I said the move is on saturday and we only found out about it on monday. I do not expect everything on a plate but I do expect to be offered a price that is reasonable with regards to the actual service that we are being given - which as you say is not even regarded as being broadband. And no, before you say it, I do not think that I am being unreasonable about this.

Viper_7 wrote: »

1/2 meg? that is the absolute minimum and these days not even classed as being broadband.

Earlier in the year we increased our usage to unlimited and BT increased our payments immediately, now that our package is being decreased they will not decrease the payments - which I don't see as being just.

I posted in this part of the forum thinking that I would get constructive advice, but obviously people who told me that certain parts of this forum should be avoided were right

juliescot

Who says it is not considered broadband?

What speeds are you getting now?
How far are you from the exchange?
Is it possible this new home is on a different exchange?

deklan99

First thing to keep in mind, you pay for an "up to" 8 mb service (or 20 mb in some areas with BT) dependant on line conditions, internal wiring and distance from the exchange.
It's the same for any ISP selling non-cable adsl.
Estimates given over the phone or on web sites are just that, estimates. Until you plug a router into the phone socket it's impossible to judge what speeds you will actually get.
Estimates tend to be on the low side, too high and then the complaints roll in about not getting as fast as was promised.
You could enter details here - http://www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php and see what options are available and how far from the exchange you will be (straight line). I'm 1.43 km away and can get 4.5 mb, actual line length about 5 km.

iniltous

A MAC wont help, its only if you are switching provider at the same address, if you are in contract with BT and move home and dont take
BT broadband at the new place they will charge a disconnect fee at your old place...
If you are keeping your phone number at the new address then that would imply your new address is served from the same exchange as your old address, and if your new property is nearer to the exchange than your old property then you will probably get a better speed, also if the new address isnt currenty served by BT broadband you will probably be connected to BT's upto 20mb broadband ( if the exchange is upgraded)
I wouldnt worry too much about what the customer service rep said, I'm 5km from the exchange, the checker says I'll get 0.5mb, I get 3mb
and the speed checker is all the CS rep used.
I dont think this forum is unconstructive, surley posts saying 'yes, bt bunch of robbing *******' but offering nothing else would be
unconstructive

chicaflix

mhollins83 wrote: »

...before you say it, I do not think that I am being unreasonable about this.

Yes you are.

Viper_7

juliescot wrote: »

Who says it is not considered broadband?

What speeds are you getting now?
How far are you from the exchange?
Is it possible this new home is on a different exchange?

The minimum speed for a line to be classed as broadband is commonly said to be 256mb/s. so as said 1/2 meg connection is close the the minimum and way off the 8mb/s OP would be paying for.
Sure it's always "Up to" and this is how currently ISP's get away with providing a rubbish service but at the same high price.
Contention ratio is also important as well as distance form the exchange, in a built up area can find you're sharing the available bandwidth of the exchange with all your neighbours and the download speed can vary dramatically.

Belive the available download speed will be part of the Sellers HIP as broadband is quickly becoming an essential service.

Might be better of changing ISP. BT have to sell the service on - and likely to give another ISP a better service than it's own customers as the contracts are usually tighter.

Money_Grabber13579

Viper_7 wrote: »

The minimum speed for a line to be classed as broadband is commonly said to be 256mb/s. so as said 1/2 meg connection is close the the minimum and way off the 8mb/s OP would be paying for.
Sure it's always "Up to" and this is how currently ISP's get away with providing a rubbish service but at the same high price.
Contention ratio is also important as well as distance form the exchange, in a built up area can find you're sharing the available bandwidth of the exchange with all your neighbours and the download speed can vary dramatically.

Belive the available download speed will be part of the Sellers HIP as broadband is quickly becoming an essential service.

Might be better of changing ISP. BT have to sell the service on - and likely to give another ISP a better service than it's own customers as the contracts are usually tighter.

If that's the case no one is getting broadband. 256meg? I don't think so.

What you said is a load of claptrap anyway as the accepted definition is that speeds faster than 256k/bits is broadband. The OP should get 1-2m/bits. Notice the same units? Therefore, the speed could be upto 8 times faster than the minimum requirement.

Now to the OP, you pay for an up 8m/bit package. That's just what it says. Everyone pays the same, even though some will only be getting 2Meg, others the full 8Meg. That's nothing to do with BT. It's the quality of the line and how far you live from the exchange. Therefore, you choose to move further away from the exchange, so how can you blame BT?

Moving providers won't help either, as you'll still be the same distance from the exchange.

juliescot

Viper_7 wrote: »

The minimum speed for a line to be classed as broadband is commonly said to be 256mb/s. so as said 1/2 meg connection is close the the minimum and way off the 8mb/s OP would be paying for. Even if you had managed to use the correct units the OP would be getting broadband by your definition. And the OP is not paying for 8mb/s they are paying for "up to" - big difference
Sure it's always "Up to" and this is how currently ISP's get away with providing a rubbish service but at the same high price. Since there are many factors to be taken into account when assessing b/b speed what do you suggest they put?
Contention ratio is also important as well as distance form the exchange, in a built up area can find you're sharing the available bandwidth of the exchange with all your neighbours and the download speed can vary dramatically.

Belive the available download speed will be part of the Sellers HIP as broadband is quickly becoming an essential service. And I bet it will say "up to" in that as well

Might be better of changing ISP. BT have to sell the service on - and likely to give another ISP a better service than it's own customers as the contracts are usually tighter.

Might be worth changing - might not.