Beware O2 Broadband

stevefreebie

I signed up with O2 Unlimited Broadband after seeing recommendation on here, only to find in my 4th month when I used over 40g for the first time that I got a phone call from O2 more or less asking me to leave and telling me they will force me to leave if I go over 40g next month. I paid over the odds for UNLIMITED Broadband from them as my sons use it for Xbox Live, but they are citing the small print and fair usage policy. I've only gone over 40g in one of the 4 months I've been with them (school holidays!). I'll actually be glad to leave them as their download speeds are dreadful - you can't watch a clip on Youtube without it stalling, and their 'help' is very poor.

mrtom21

Think you are on O2 Access product... It is awful, go over 40 next month just so they boot you off of your contract and take up someone with a higher limit for their FUP or better yet... Without a fair usage policy.

C_Mababejive

I'm on the O2 LLU product and i think it is probably the best ADSL you can get.

kwikbreaks

This illustrates the difference between resold BTw broadband (O2 Access) which is pretty dire and independent broadband (The other O2 products) which currently must be the best value ADSL.

It also illustrates the importance of properly researching what you buy.

Donnie

stevefreebie wrote: »

I signed up with O2 Unlimited Broadband after seeing recommendation on here, only to find in my 4th month when I used over 40g for the first time that I got a phone call from O2 more or less asking me to leave and telling me they will force me to leave if I go over 40g next month. I paid over the odds for UNLIMITED Broadband from them as my sons use it for Xbox Live, but they are citing the small print and fair usage policy. I've only gone over 40g in one of the 4 months I've been with them (school holidays!). I'll actually be glad to leave them as their download speeds are dreadful - you can't watch a clip on Youtube without it stalling, and their 'help' is very poor.

This is a site concerned with all things money saving.
No one on here recommended that you sign up for 02 Access (BT). You did that all on your own.
.
If in doubt, ask before you sign on the dotted line.

Luckily for you, there appears to be a way out.

del1001

mrtom21 wrote: »

Think you are on O2 Access product... It is awful, go over 40 next month just so they boot you off of your contract and take up someone with a higher limit for their FUP or better yet... Without a fair usage policy.

You won't find a BT based (IPStream) broadband product that doesn't have a fair usage policy, you'll even struggle to find a LLU ISP without one.

MoneySavingUser

kwikbreaks wrote: »

It also illustrates the importance of properly researching what you buy.

Not really - as a) O2 never used to enforce a FUP on Access b) even after they started enforcing it they didn't explicitly list it on their website for many months

Therefore for many customers the FUP limits came in AFTER they bought the service

Donnie

MoneySavingUser wrote: »

Not really - as a) O2 never used to enforce a FUP on Access b) even after they started enforcing it they didn't explicitly list it on their website for many months

Therefore for many customers the FUP limits came in AFTER they bought the service

Yes really. The pitfalls have been reported on this forum for quite some time. Since the OP claims to having got the recommendation from here....

kwikbreaks

O2 Access has been a poor performer more or less from the word go (as any relatively cheap unlimited service based on IPstream will always be). Specialist broadband forums have been warning about the product for a very long time indeed. In fact the amended FUP is a step forward (but obviously not for heavy users).

KillerWatt

stevefreebie wrote: »

their 'help' is very poor.

I have only had to call O2 3 times in 2½ years, and on all 3 occasions the techie on the other end of the phone has shown a level of knowledge that far exceeds the pi$$ poor wages they get.

As far as bandwidth goes, I regularly exceed 500GB a month and have not heard so much as a peep out of them regarding my download (and upload) habits.

KillerWatt

mrtom21 wrote: »

It seems ironic (even though you are on an LLU product) that the OP is being penalised such a small amount on the basis that are users like yourself clogging up the network with illegal downloading whilst you download penalty free.

1. Unless you have the gift of telepathy (which I doubt very much), you have no way of knowing what data goes up or down my line - so I'll thank you to retract the accusation of illegal activities.

2. It's not my problem that BT have decided to impose limits on ISP's who resell the IPStream product because their network can't cope.