Advice for us middle-of-nowhere people?!!

coffeeandfags

Hiya

Ok, i really need some advice on switching BB and phone. Im currently (and have been for 2 years) paying £60 a month to BT for Unlimited BB, Line Rental and Weekend - only calls :eek:
Obviously im looking to get this down!!

I live in the back of beyond, so no LLU, only bog-standard BB.
Im with Sky for TV (no option there as we dont even get channel 5 on terrestrial up here, never mind fibre-optic or other fancy-pants stuff )

Been doing a bit of pricing, and Plusnets all-singing, all-dancing package comes up cheapest ........ but i believe their service leaves a lot to be desired.
Dont want to go with Talk Talk coz ive had nothing but problems from Tiscali before, during and since my stint with them.

So any advice? Is it possible for us country bumpkins to get a decent service at a decent price??

coffeeandfags

Oh, forgot to say we run 3 laptops, a PS3 and a Wii. Teenagers constantly on You Tube, IPlayer, 4 O-D etc, so really need Unlimited BB

iniltous

How do you get to £60/month ?, line rental £11.54 (DD/Paper free bill) and
maximum £24.99 for broadband (but usually a deal to be had on that price) so £36.53/month is the most you should pay plus calls .. if you you are paying over £23/month on calls you probably are not on the best value calls plan.

macman

I have a Plusnet broadband account and the CS is fine.
Unless you really need specific Sky premium channels, why not dump the Sky subscription and just get the Sky FTA channels for nothing?
If you want HD and PVR functions, buy a Freesat HD PVR (Humax Foxsat HDR) and get HD and PVR for nothing-the box will pay for itself within 6 months or so depending on your current level of Sky subs.
You need to advise why your BT bill is so high-should be no more than about £40 with Anytime calls.

eldar_2

Have a look here http://www.dslzoneuk.net/isp_ratings.php
you should get a better picture of the trends on how broadband companies deal with customers as poor advertising doesnt give you the full picture.

Gloomendoom

I'm with Plusnet and have had no problems, so far.

I must admit, I too am mystified as to how you can be paying BT 60 quid.


Edit: If you value good customer service (and your sanity) do not even consider TalkTalk. I made that mistake.

coffeeandfags

iniltous wrote: »

How do you get to £60/month ?, line rental £11.54 (DD/Paper free bill) and
maximum £24.99 for broadband (but usually a deal to be had on that price) so £36.53/month is the most you should pay plus calls .. if you you are paying over £23/month on calls you probably are not on the best value calls plan.

Yep, i appear to be paying approx £22 a month on calls :eek:
Funny though, i used to have free evening calls but have only just become aware that i only have weekend calls now!!

My Direct Debit is £60 a month. Ive been with BT for over 2 years and this has never come down.
At least i am out of contract with them!

coffeeandfags

macman wrote: »

I have a Plusnet broadband account and the CS is fine.
Unless you really need specific Sky premium channels, why not dump the Sky subscription and just get the Sky FTA channels for nothing?
If you want HD and PVR functions, buy a Freesat HD PVR (Humax Foxsat HDR) and get HD and PVR for nothing-the box will pay for itself within 6 months or so depending on your current level of Sky subs.
You need to advise why your BT bill is so high-should be no more than about £40 with Anytime calls.

I got a new Sky HD box a couple of months ago so im now back in contract with Sky. However, i dont really have an issue with the satellite costs its the phone cost that i grudge! Im not even at home during the day! I do have 2 teenagers though who use the phone A LOT in the evenings. But as i mentioned, i used to be on Evenings and Weekends ..... dunno why that changed. Im not aware of BT informing me of this, although im not denying they told me either :rotfl:

macman

coffeeandfags wrote: »

Yep, i appear to be paying approx £22 a month on calls :eek:
Funny though, i used to have free evening calls but have only just become aware that i only have weekend calls now!!

My Direct Debit is £60 a month. Ive been with BT for over 2 years and this has never come down.
At least i am out of contract with them!

Then change to Anytime and save £17.01 a month...

iniltous

Depending on what level of competition is available in your exchange area its possible that you could get line rental (£9/month) same broadband ( £15-£20/month) and anytime call plan ( £4.99/month before discount) so if out of contract with BT, call them say you are looking to move to a cheaper supplier and expect to get an offer in the region of £30/month,for line broadband and calls, apart from mobiles/international and premium rate calls etc....about £30/month saving, lots of people complain that if this is possible why dont they get it automatically, but thats not the way business works, if someone is happy to pay full price, all telcos not just BT, will happily take your money.
The 'free evening and weekend plan' is the one that comes with a rolling/renewable 12month contract, the 'free weekend plan' doesnt have the rolling 12 contract so perhaps you didnt want to be locked in for periods of 12 months so were moved onto the non contract (apart from the initial 12 month when contract started) option

mrtom21

BT could do Talk and Surf Unlimited (Broadband option 3 and anytime calls) for £19.99 a month with line rental added on at 11.54 if you get your billing online. Tell them you were also offered the £36 line rental credit too. Due to your area it seems like an alright price.