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Which Broadband Provider should I choose?

Tia_Maria06
Posts: 777 Forumite
Hi, I've had a leaflet from BT that my broadband is up for renewal, apparently I can save £3 a month if I stay with them.. :rolleyes: after paying about £10 a month with them for the past year, I will now be offered the same package for a lovely £12.65 a month.. therefore I arent happy with them..
So, who should I go with pleas?. I have the phone with BT and I'm tied in to that until May I think. I dont download anything, I use Spotify and just general browsing, usually on MSE...
Also, is it easy to change providers, what do I need to do..
All help gratefully received.. thanks
So, who should I go with pleas?. I have the phone with BT and I'm tied in to that until May I think. I dont download anything, I use Spotify and just general browsing, usually on MSE...
Also, is it easy to change providers, what do I need to do..
All help gratefully received.. thanks
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
If you really cant knit very well, then practise drumming with the needles...
:j
If you really cant knit very well, then practise drumming with the needles...
:j
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Comments
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Using Spotify is streaming data. That uses the same bandwidth as downloading the tracks. Even surfing MSE is still using data. You don't get measured by download, you get measured by data usage.
See what your LLU options are on your exchange on https://www.samknows.com, then exchange search, these will be offering the best deals.
It's easy to change, just get a MAC from BT and give it to your new ISP when you sign up.No free lunch, and no free laptop0 -
Thanks macman, after finding out what LLU is, (took a while as I am blonde!!), it says that Orange, talk talk and tiscali are up and running in my area.. I didnt think talk talk was a good one to go with? What do you (or anyone actually) think? thanksHe who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
If you really cant knit very well, then practise drumming with the needles...
:j
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Its ok, I found the comparison checker on that site, thanksHe who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
If you really cant knit very well, then practise drumming with the needles...
:j
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IMO the only LLU operators worth considering are Sky and O2/Be.
If you are genuinely a low usage user then NewNet or IdNet light user packages are worth looking at. As you are not downloading then Plusnet is worth a look too.
The real trick is estimating how much you use. Browsing and emails (assuming no big attachments) use negligible amounts. Listening to streamed audio so long as it isn't all day doesn't eat vast amounts either. What does chew up bandwidth is streamed video at anything like half decent quality (eg iplayer itvplayer etc.).0 -
TT and Tiscali are the same now, both CPW. Don't go near Orange, their CS is terrible.
If cost is your overiding concern, then if you can get TT LLU, wait until your phone contract is up and take your line rental, calls and BB to TT on the Essentials package. £6.49 for calls and BB, same line rental as BT. Poor CS but cheap.
Or if you want to leave your line rental with BT, look at Plusnet Value BB at £5.99 (if you are on a Market 3 exchange, which it sounds like you are).No free lunch, and no free laptop0 -
I'll add a warning about TalkTalk. This is a fully unbundled service with (I think) an 18 month minimum contract. That means they completely take over your phone line. Many people are very happy with them and they are cheap but if things don't work out it will cost an arm and a leg getting away from them. There will also be a delay in getting a replacement broadband.0
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Gosh, I really am thick when it comes to this sort of thing... Just had BT Broadband on the phone trying to resell me their package, £12.65.. I said that I'd had it for less than £10 a month for the past 12 months and if they would keep it at that I would consider staying with them, but 'computer said no!" lol...
I asked for my MAC code as I would be going with another provider and she wouldnt give me it...
So looks like Plusnet will be the one I would go for. I had TT sales people knocking on the door a while back and I just didnt trust them!!He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
If you really cant knit very well, then practise drumming with the needles...
:j
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Tia_Maria06 wrote: »Gosh, I really am thick when it comes to this sort of thing... Just had BT Broadband on the phone trying to resell me their package, £12.65.. I said that I'd had it for less than £10 a month for the past 12 months and if they would keep it at that I would consider staying with them, but 'computer said no!" lol...
I asked for my MAC code as I would be going with another provider and she wouldnt give me it...
So looks like Plusnet will be the one I would go for. I had TT sales people knocking on the door a while back and I just didnt trust them!!
They can't refuse to give you your MAC. Call them back and speak to someone else.No free lunch, and no free laptop0 -
kwikbreaks wrote: »I'll add a warning about TalkTalk. This is a fully unbundled service with (I think) an 18 month minimum contract. That means they completely take over your phone line. Many people are very happy with them and they are cheap but if things don't work out it will cost an arm and a leg getting away from them. There will also be a delay in getting a replacement broadband.
Hi Guys,
TalkTalk do not "completely take over your line" the line is connected to TalkTalk equipment in the exchange but it is still maintained by BT Openreach. The line can be re-connected to BTs network by a number of providers should you wish to move from TalkTalk at any time.
Cheers
Emma x“Official Company Representative
I am the official company representative of Talk Talk. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0 -
Emma, I am glad that I have found a TalkTalk Official Company Representative, as I have just discovered something rather shocking about this company .....
I am in the process of leaving one supplier and looking for another, to provide me with broadband and phone services that do not cost the earth. This very website, MSE, directed me to a wonderful-sounding deal from TalkTalk - not only a very good monthly rate for the broadband, and line rental costs as for BT, but also their special offer of FREE CONNECTION until 15 Dec 09 as can be seen on their website.
I rang your Sales line, and after more than 10 minutes of dreary recorded messages and stupid music I finally got a (very helpful) human. We discussed my requirements and I chose the Essentials package - the FREE CONNECTION was part of the reason I picked this one, with a saving of £29.99. I opted to pay by Direct Debit and gave the relevant details. My useful Operator confirmed several times that I would be paying £17.74 per month.
A couple of days later, a letter arrived with details of my order, as follows:
Your plan: myTalkTalk - Check...
Your Monthly Charges: Your call plan is £6.49 a month, plus your £11.25 Line Rental Check, that's what we agreed ...
Your connection fee: £29.99 Just a minute! What about my FREE CONNECTION then? Shurely shome mishtake???
Naturally I got on the blower to query this. It took me over 44 minutes over two separate calls (quite a lot of which was hanging about waiting) to reach the correct human, in what I seem to recall is called the "EARLY DAYS" Dept that deals with orders in progress.
I explained to the operator that I considered TalkTalk's letter as an invitation to trade and that as such it should show the correct costings; I asked that a new letter be sent to me showing that the connection would be FREE, as advertised and agreed. The operator said that not only could TalkTalk not send me an individual letter, but that my letter had not been sent to me in error; all customers opting for this special offer are sent a similar letter, showing the Connection Fee as £29.99 (rather than "FREE" as I had been led to expect).
I asked how, then, I could be sure that I would have a FREE connection if my letter showed it as costing £29.99, and she replied that the £29.99 would be credited to my account with my second monthly bill.
Now why would TalkTalk credit me with £29.99? I thought it was FREE, I didn't realise they were paying me for the privilege of connecting me to Broadband. Great!
Too good to be true, of course. The operator explained that the £29.99 connection fee would be debited from my account with my first bill and credited back to me with my second bill.
I asked why it had to be done that way, but I didn't really get a satisfactory answer. In any case I was so shocked by this that I could scarcely believe my ears. It appears that TalkTalk will help itself to £29.99 of my money, without having ever mentioned it, and then return it to me a month later. What exactly is the point of this? I suppose thousands of customers are signing up for this FREE connection offer, and all those £29.99 must mount up when stacked into an interest-bearing account, even if only for a month.
But really the point at issue is: I agreed to pay £17.74 per month by Direct Debit. I did not agree to pay £29.99 for a FREE connection by Direct Debit at any time, not even for one month, not even if it is being returned to me one month later. I went through TalkTalk's Terms and Conditions with a fine-tooth comb (both online and the T&Cs that came with the letter) and, guess what? No mention that TalkTalk will "borrow" £29.99 from me for a month.
I find this absolutely shocking. In fact, I was so astonished and cross that I rang Trading Standards, who agreed that this practice was not acceptable and said they would follow it up. I have a case number.
Meanwhile, Emma, as you can imagine, I am seriously thinking of cancelling my order - I mean, why would I want to carry on dealing with TalkTalk when my initial contact with them has already thrown up such an ugly practice? It has seriously dented any trust I might have had in this company - after all, why stop at silently "borrowing" £29.99?
Of course, it is possible that the person I dealt with got it wrong, but the manager of that department (I shall respect his privacy and withhold his name - very helpful but of course bound by the company script) confirmed everything his colleague had told me.
I was told that it was not possible to send tailored letters to customers choosing the deal that includes FREE connection and so these clients had to have the same letter as everybody else. This is complete nonsense. If it were true, your company could only sell one identical product with one identical price structure to every single customer, assuming that you could actually have individual client addresses on the letters!
I pointed out too that it would be simpler and save TalkTalk so much time and money if, rather than "borrow" £29.99 from every customer who opts for FREE connection and then return it a month later, they simply did not take any money at all for this FREE connection - not even for a month. But apparently this is not possible.
As an old long-time IT professional, I consider both of these assertions to be .... well, to be seasonal, I shall call them ... humbug.
Is there anything you can tell me and other TalkTalk customers that will justify this practice of "borrowing" the £29.99 FREE connection fee for a month? Or can you point me to any part of your website that refers to it as part of T&Cs?
Perhaps you would be kind enough to seek clarification from your superiors and share it with us? I look forward to hearing how they justify this very weird and repellent way of doing business, and I am sure that many potential clients will be interested too ...
:mad:KarinJ :think: "Rigour - let's have some rigour!" :think:0
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