Internet cancellation fees, line rental

glensmen

I'm new to this, so be patient!

I'm about to move into a rented flat, which I understand currently has internet through virgin. I have a few questions.

1) I'm not sure how long I'll be there (likely 6-12 months), or what I'll do afterwards (e.g. may move into a shared flat), so contract length is a consideration. How do different providers treat early cancellation if less than 12 months?

2) Line rental. I'm not bothered about a home phone line, but am I correct in saying that I need line rental anyway? Who provides line rental? Are there minimum contract lengths? And are there other considerations other than cost? For example, do certain internet providers only work with line rental from BT?

macman

If the property has VM cable (as opposed to Virgin National ADSL service), then you've no other options-it's VM or nothing, unless you get a BT-based ADSL line installed at your expense.
VM will tie you to a 12m minimum term contract.
For ADSL broadband you need to pay line rental, regardless of whether you use the line for voice calls or not. Again, normally a 12m contract. All the main ISP's offer line provision and rental.

glensmen

Hi, thanks for the reply. I've followed up with the current tenant, and the internet is currently virgin media cable. I'm also informed that there is a "BT box", but that she has had problems with BT in the past.

Basically, what I want to know is whether my only option is to go with Virgin (£27/mth for internet + phone) or whether I can look at other options (eg Primus, TalkTalk, Plusnet) for the best deal.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

TalkTalk

Hi glensmen,

you can have whatever you want, if the old line that the current tenant was having problems on is faulty then it may be prudent to have a new line installed.

Ady

Mark_In_Hampshire

You do have a further option, which is to use 3G (mobile broadband).

It can outperform ADSL by some margin in some areas, but it's very locale specific. Living in a flat - unless it's on the "correct" corner of the building - isn't going to help get the best positioning of the dongle. It doesn't need line of sight, but it doesn't help if the rest of the block is in the way.

It won't outperform cable.

And for heavy usage (more than 7GB per month), there's a price penalty to pay.

On the other hand, you can have it without a phone line and without a contract.

But that's entirely dependent on whether or not it works where you are.

glensmen

Thanks to both.

Mobile broadband - thanks for the suggestion, I'd considered this, but after monitoring my bandwidth usage for a month I don't think it would be ideal.

TalkTalk Company Representative - my main concern is that I wouldn't want to sign up for an ADSL service only to discover that some work might be required which the landlord may not approve of - i.e. line installation. But my understanding is very basic as to whether any physical work would need to be done, or whether it'd just be something 'behind the scenes'.

glensmen

Any help on my last point would be appreciated.

jhp

If a master socket already exists it may be possible to connect this back to exchange with the minimum amount of work. A new line would require cableing etc to the premises and interior cableing to a new master socket.

The only provider that offers no minimum term for line rental is post office homephone,all the rest require at least a 12 month contract.

http://www2.postoffice.co.uk/broadband-phone/home-phone-broadband/home-phone

macman

If the ADSL line is disconnected, then the charge for reconnection will be exactly the same as for a new line provision.
'Reconnection' means that whatever work is necessary to get the line working again will be done by OR.

glensmen

jhp wrote: »

If a master socket already exists it may be possible to connect this back to exchange with the minimum amount of work. A new line would require cableing etc to the premises and interior cableing to a new master socket.

The only provider that offers no minimum term for line rental is post office homephone,all the rest require at least a 12 month contract.

http://www2.postoffice.co.uk/broadband-phone/home-phone-broadband/home-phone

Thanks, that's sort of what I thought, but lacked the terminology to express myself properly.

The Post Office looks like a very interesting option too, I'll certainly investigate further!

Rachel_123

Be broadband also offer 3 month contracts, can come in useful and generally are a good ISP