moving broadband from virgin

fatfei

So i want to move my expensive virgin broadband and phone to a much better deal through the compare websites.

I have been told by tesco that i will need to contact bt to make sure my phone line is "live" if it is not i have to pay for it to be connected which tesco say they wont pay for.

Does this mean i am stuck with virgin as everyone other than them use the bt line and if i go with them i will have to pay i think £70 to be activated (made live) with bt again.

macman

Yes, if you are on Virgin Media (cable) as opposed to Virgin National (ADSL) then you require an active BT-based line in order to get any ADSL broadband. You can tell if your old BT line is live simply by plugging in a handset and testing for a dial tone. Assuming not, then you require a reconnection or a new line provision. Cheaper deals than Tesco are around- for example Plusnet will charge you only £50 for a line provision. The standard BT charge is £130.
So you aren't stuck with VM,but you'll have to pay a small fee to get out. If you sign up using a cashback site, you should get most of that back (e.g. Plusnet are currently paying £35 via Quidco for a phone and broadband sign up).

fatfei

Thanks for that. :money:

NikkD

Could be worth contacting Virgin Media and telling them you are thinking of switching to another broadband provider. There is a good chance they will offer you a better deal than your current one. Be sure to get any offer confirmed in writing, though.

In any event, be aware that if you decide to switch provider, you are likely to be called up by a pushy Virgin Media salesperson who will use every trick in the book to try to get you to change your mind. That was my experience when I decided to switch to another phone service provider anyway!

Plushchris

I was looking at BTs website earlier at prices of their infinity broadband, putting a package together I noticed they are doing free connections..

I'm doing the same, but want fast broadband, the only ones that offer more than 8mb are BT and Virgin in my area, looking at things, I can get Sky+HD and BT infinity for around the same as I'm paying Virgin now, I'd actually be getting more as I can get Sky Movies too..

Sky's broadband is shocking and the reason we switched to Virgin.. But the TV is better with Sky..

Tempting..

victor2

I am also on VM cable, but BT Infinity is available. They'll do a free install if you take their unlimited use, but charge £25 if you take their 40Gb/month capped use.
We appear to use about 1Gb/day, due in no small part to there being 2 smartphones in the house, so could in theory get away with the 40Gb package.
The prices are a little higher than the deal I'm currently on with VM. I have the talk "anytime" deal, so at least BT's package includes 0845 numbers, for which VM would charge extra. I was looking because VM prices are increasing in April, narrowing the gap a bit further in BT's favour.