Plusnet Vs O2 & Sky Broadband Problems

Podno1

Hi

I am currently in process of changing ip as had awful experience with Sky Broadband.

Had Sky BB since 2008 = Autumn time with 2GB usage allowance and never went over usage limit.

Last December I received letter from Sky telling me I'd been going over usage allowance on and off since April 2011, this surprised me as used to have 1GB limit with Virgin and had never been over that the whole time I was with them!?....

Sky reduced the package to Sky light package and then reduced payments.... or at least I thought they had..... then in January 2012 I got an email saying they had put me onto Sky Unlimited bb package.

There is now way that I use that much bb as don't watch movies online, rarely look at youtube clips and don't download music or play games on net. All I do is usual stuff like emailing and browsing pages etc.

Recently got a letter telling me they were charging me £41.71 month = my payments prior to that were £25.50 month for broadband light and Sky TV basic package, so you can imagine what I felt about this.....

When I looked at my Sky billing, I noticed that Sky were now charging me a 'Supplement for not having Sky Talk' = £5 a month.

I spoke to Sky and told them there was no way I was going to pay £5 a month for something I didn't want and that they would be told same by loads customers who would prob contact Ofcom about this.

Sky said that people who have sky talk get £5 discount month fon their broadband costs, and that as they have to pay rental to another company for the phone line, people without sky talk have to pay towards that rental fee. I said that they should have charged correct fee in first place and not charged this fee at later date for existing customers!?

I looked at Which report for March 2012 where they carried out broadband survey on 11,963 Which Members.

Plusnet had 962 Which members using it and got a 74% customer score and is one of Which's Recommended providers.

O2 who had 462 Which members using it and had a 72% Customer Score and is also one of Which's Recommended providers.

Looking at Plusnet and O2 Reviews, I have seen some appalling ones on them regarding people's usage allowances, being = bb providers saying they have gone over usage allowance and need to pay more when the user thinks they haven't used that much etc....

Please can someone advise me which bb provider is best out of Plusnet and O2 or tell me about another low cost bb provider.

I would really appreciate some advice asap as my bb is being cut off by sky on 2 March.

Thanks:j

penrhyn

You will get a £30 odd cease charge if you do not use a MAC, and just cancel your BB.
Personally I find that £7.50 /month for an unlimited broadband service is good vfm, but I can understand your frustration being a very light user.

Podno1

Hi

I have got MAC code and have cancelled the service in the correct way as got 14 days from cancellation before service shut down.

£7.50 a month is a good price for unlimited broadband.

However, Sky now charge £5 a month on top of the £7.50 unlimited broadband fee for not having Sky Talk which now makes it £12.50 a month for unlimited broadband.

The £5 charge a month adds up to £60 a year and I'm not prepared to pay this fee every month for something I don't want!

Sky are trying to bully people into taking their Sky Talk package so that they get the £7.50 a month unlimited bb fee and I'm not prepared to pay this if I can get broadband cheaper elsewhere.....

R34GTT

I'm about to switch from Plusnet to Sky as I now want unlimited usage. However I found Plusnet great and have been on their £6.49 Value tariff up until now which gives you 10GB a month. You can also set the account to never bill you extra if you reach 10GB, all that happens is speed is restricted until the end of that billing period.

macman

Your choice will depend what is available LLU on your exchange, so do a exchange search on www.samknows.com for your LLU options.
If O2 is not available LLU then you will be on the dire O2 Access.
If you haven't used your MAC within 28 days by giving it to your new provider, then it lapses. Obtaining a MAC does not cancel your service-it is just an option to quit.
So if you haven't signed up elsewhere using the MAC, but have given just Sky notice, then you may well get hit with a cease charge (and a gap in service). Giving notice to Sky cancels the validity of your MAC.
It appears that you have done this back to front.

Podno1

Hi

I have checked with Samknows and can get Plusnet £6.49 month bb and can also get O2 Basics Broadband.

I only got the MAC code yesterday which is why I am trying to find a new bb provider asap as want to get the bb up and running prior to 2 March which is the date that Sky are going to stop my bb = they insisted on this date.

O2 Basics has a higher usage limit and I can get it for £8.50 month as O2 Mobile customer but am not sure if they are a good bb provider and am not sure whether to go to Plusnet or not.

Can anyone advise me asap

R34GTT

Another thing to add, Plusnet have a no contract tariff for broadband so if you didn't like them you could just switch again.

macman

If you have already cancelled Sky, then your MAC won't be valid. Even if you sign up today, I doubt you'll be connected as early as 2/3-you can't start one service before the other ends.
02 are generally rated among the top providers for service, but prices have risen and their traffic shaping puts many people off now. This may or may not be a concern to you.

Podno1

Hi

I did look at the no contract bit but have to buy a router and still pay a connection fee and if go with O2 I don't have to pay a connection fee as O2 customer already and O2 has higher monthly usage allowance = up to 20GB month for £8.50 month as opposed to 10GB for £6.49 month and connection fees with Plusnet.

However, just cos it's cheaper to set up with O2 and have higher usage allowance a month it doesn't mean it's the best bb provider. I want to be careful about getting a new bb provider after hassles with Sky.

I looked at Which reports re cancelling bb and have done it back to front but was so hopping mad with sky for hassle I had with them I just wanted to stop the grief and forgot how to change providers as last did it in 2008 = oops!

Podno1

Hi

I'm probably not explaining things properly.

Here is some info from my sky page which hopefully explains things more clearly:

Track Order:

Cancellation: Sky Broadband Unlimited

Your request to cancel was accepted on 16/02/2012

Your service will be disconnected on 02/03/2012

Just phoned Sky and I won't be charged for cancelling Sky bb as not under contract as my original contract for 12 months ended in 2009.



I was also advised by Sky that my MAC code is valid and I have to use it by 20 March = hope this explains things better.

Regarding this bit posted earlier:

'02 are generally rated among the top providers for service, but prices have risen and their traffic shaping puts many people off now. This may or may not be a concern to you.'

Please could you explain in simple terms what you mean by this as have no idea what traffic shaping is and have no idea why it may be of concern to me?

Thanks :-)

Thanks

macman

Traffic shaping = throttling your line at peak times or if you go over your limits.
The cease charge is imposed by BT OR for terminating your service at the exchange without using a MAC, and recharged via your ISP. It's not anything to do with your minimum term contract date.
I have no idea why Sky would give you MAC if you have already cancelled, because you won't be able to use it.