Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

Cardew

1carminestocky wrote: »

Got a link to that test? TIA!

Just tested again.(they use GMT)



the other link is speedtester.bt.com but you need to enter a BT tel Number. Don't know if it will still work if you don't have BT as your ISP.

PlushChris gets nearly double my download speed. My query is just what difference would I see for general surfing if I had his speed?

As said earlier, I get 'lightning fast' high speed cable in the USA and for the websites I use, I don't notice the difference.

Cardew

keggs wrote: »

Hi Cardew

Personally I have never heard of a product that is sold by 'Network marketing' that is good value and UW are certainly no exception! With 26,000 UW distributors all out to make a buck, that is not surprising.

Can I educate you a little then. Did you ever buy an Usborne book or Dorling Kindersly book for yourself or your chiildren?

If you haven't just visit a local WH Smith bookshop and you will see a lot of them. In fact both publishing houses are very well known. If you do know these books what you may be surprised to know is that Usborne Books at Home is the Network Marketing arm of Usborne Publishers. DK used to have DK Family Learning - again a network marketing company. The latter was disbanded after DK itself was taken over in the late 1990s. I know I used to be in it.

I also believe that Sony also has a network marketing arm. The DIrect Selling Association is full of well known big companies who just happen to be either completely or partly run using network marketing. UW chose the former. It could have gone down the franchise route but didbn't I'm glad to say.

A highly regarded and well known bllionaire businessman (whose name escapes me for the moment) was once asked what he would do if he lost everything. His reply: join a network marketing company.

So you see Cardew that despite your attempts at trying to discredit UW you still have a lot more to learn not just about UW but about our multi billion pound industry.

If you were prepared to find out more appropriate facts rather than accepting information fed on this forum by someone whose antipathy is just a deliberate attempt to try and destroy people, then I would more highly regard your opinion. Please don't take offence at this. It isn't meant to offend you. It is intended simply to try to get you to understand that 280,000 customers and growing think you are just plain wrong.

Nigewick quite rightly pointed out to you that you might not feel UW gives any of its customers 'good value' to use your own words (although this contradicts your now well published remark about the cashback card) but 280,000 others appear to disagree with you.

Best wishes
Steve
UW Distributor & Very Happy Customer

Keggs,

I sometimes think you don't bother to read posts, before you reply.

You have just posted several paragraphs explaining that there are networking firms that are successful - as indeed UW are if their share price is any true indication!

What I said is that have never heard of a product sold by Network Marketing that is good value - and IMO UW are very poor value for gas and electricity - as it is an indisputable fact that their prices are amongst the highest in UK.

It appears you think that the fact UW have 280,000 customers proves that they must be good value.

Well if we are to judge good value by that criteria, the much maligned British Gas have 11,000,000 customers, BT have even more.

keggs

What I said is that have never heard of a product sold by Network Marketing that is good value

Dear Cardew

I did answer you if you care to re read the post. Without repeating myself I'll ask a question. Are you saying that books published by Usborne are of poor quality (ie not good value)? Usborne books sell the same books through traditional bookstores and through their network marketing arm. Their value can be seen by the many teachers and parents who love the books and continually buy them. Somehow you seem to imply that only products sold through your so called traditional business models are 'good value'. That's poppycock.

It appears you think that the fact UW have 280,000 customers proves that they must be good value.

Yes. That's self evident. Why else would they have become members.

It is for those customers. Well if we are to judge good value by that criteria, the much maligned British Gas have 11,000,000 customers, BT have even more.

Yes again. That again is self evident for those customers. Many like, you prefer these traditional companies, which is why you stay with them. And don't forget, UW has been around for 11 years. BG has been around for how many decades, most of which was a state monopoly. They had no choice - they do now!

The perception of what constitutes 'good value' is in the eye of the beholder. Companies like UW have got to prove themselves far more than say British Telecom. The reason being is a very simple one. People are generally reluctant to change.

Since 280,000 have made the decision to leave their original utility suppliers these customers DID feel UW had more to offer. Their perceived value of UW made the decision for them to leave say BT or BG.

As a distributor it is my job to show the rest of the 'competetion's' customers that UW is at least worth a look at. If it isn't valuable enough then I advise the contact to remain with their present supplier although in reality only by trying what UW has to offer can they really judge whether it is more valuable to them. And since there are few minimum contract terms they are free to leave. They have nothing to lose by trying. Contrast that with BT's policy of forcing necomers into an 18 month contract for their telephone and being very tricky to get out of after that because of the way the contract arrangement is set up.

Your gripe: and IMO UW are very poor value for gas and electricity - as it is an indisputable fact that their prices are amongst the highest in UK.

That is just that - your opinion. But you try and go further than that. And try to tell everyone that UW is poor value for everyone. That's simply not true is it? It it was why haven't UW lost vast numbers of their customers? Yes they do lose customers but the churn rate compared to the other so called traditional companies is a lot lower. Not just that, I would suggest that the numbers joining UW are growing at a faster rate than any other company customer growth rate. The fact that they received the accolade as the 'best performing company for 2008' demonstrates that.

You might not think UW is good value but I repeat 280,000 do not agree with you. That's an indisputable fact.

Best wishes
Steve
UW Distributor & Very Happy Customer

1carminestocky

I think the Financial Times article summed it up perfectly:

Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Financial Times Company Of The Year

By any measure, a FTSE 250 business that is doubling revenues annually is remarkable; to be doing so in the utility sector, by definition mature, is all the more astonishing.

Clearly,Telecom Plus, winner of the Company of the Year award, has found an original and effective business model.

I would imagine UW's yearly profits (proportionately very impressive all the same) wouldn't anywhere near cover BGs marketing budget! Clearly, they need to be 'different' to compete in the marketplace. Sweeping aside all the arguing and counter-arguing, the figures are indisputable - they are a very successful company, incredibly AFAIK have never had any debt (even the well-known super success story Tesco's debts are more than double their yearly profits, by way of comparison!), they have a cash mountain that equates to approx 12% of the company's capitalisation (even after paying £9 million cash for their new headquarters and going through the most cash-sapping period in any energy company's financial year). Their share was one of the top performers on the stock exchange last year and they entered the FTSE-250 a few months ago. They clearly must be doing summat right.

Definitely & demonstrably not the cheapest for gas and electricity on the market. As a package (as all those pages on here demonstrated, lol) hard to beat if you take the 4 services even if you don't use the cashback card. Use that to any degree (as Cardew himself has eventually conceeded) and the deal becomes unbeatable no matter what you put up against it - online G&E tariffs with silly exit fees, ridiculous 18 month min term phone/BB contracts (in some even more disusting cases, ROLLING contracts!).

Ask your Big 6 supplier for 12 monthly paper bills per year and the ability to basically 'pay as you go' without affecting the amount you pay overall and see what they say. Tell BT you will sign up with them as long as they can guarantee you will always speak to the UK call centre instead of their much criticised Indian one and see what they say. Also ask them if you don't like the service after a couple of months, is it possible to get out by paying £50, please?

I'm not at all surprised Cardew isn't keen on UW, just by looking at who he chooses to use for his utilities will tell you he's the archetypical 'GBP' customer. It's like de-regulation never happened for him and his household. Again, that's his choice and that's fine, but why try and impose you views on others? What's the point of de-regualtion if everybody just basically stayed where they were?

Nostromo

I'm keen to sign up to the broadband and line rental package it would save me over £120 a year.Does anyone know if it all went pear shaped and I wanted to return to BT do BT charge you a new user fee £120 for rejoining ?

keggs

Sorry Nostromo. I haven't a clue. Perhaps someone else can help. Are you thinking of keeping your broadband separate from your phone? If so, why? Have you looked at Broadcall.

Hopee that helps

Steve
UW Distributor & Very Happy Customer

Mike_by_the_Sea

Nostromo wrote: »

I'm keen to sign up to the broadband and line rental package it would save me over £120 a year.Does anyone know if it all went pear shaped and I wanted to return to BT do BT charge you a new user fee £120 for rejoining ?

Hi Nostromo

If you are able to get the LLU package, which you mentioned in your earlier post, then you are in the same boat as all other "LLU" customers. There are proposals to improve the situation, but, as far as I know, there isn't an industry-wide solution implemented as yet. From a UW perspective, this issue was raised at the back end of last year and it was hoped to have a solution by the spring of 09, but we are all still waiting.

In summary, migrating from one LLU provider to another, or migrating from an LLU provider to a non-LLU provider all has to be done via going back to BT at the moment and being charged for a new connection, but there is ongoing activity to improve this situation as it represents a barrier to the objectives of deregulation.

I think that BT still have deals available where the connection charge is zero if you sign up to their 18 month contract.

I hope that helps

Mike

Mike_by_the_Sea

Cardew wrote: »

Just tested again.(they use GMT)



the other link is speedtester.bt.com but you need to enter a BT tel Number. Don't know if it will still work if you don't have BT as your ISP.

PlushChris gets nearly double my download speed. My query is just what difference would I see for general surfing if I had his speed?

Hi Cardew et al

For info, this are my current results - pretty good huh.



Normally they are a bit better than this, but there is a major problem in the south-east at the moment which I am hoping is the reason for such fantastic results. I do have a bit of a problem at the moment downloading things like I-Player - 30 min programme - about 28 hours.

penrhyn

Hello Mike, fab results! Have you tried connecting your router to your Master test socket?


It could well be that you have internal wiring problems, and connecting via the test socket will eliminate this.
It would also be worth logging in to your router and posting your router statistics, although this would probably do better in the techie forum.

Seems folks are posting speeds here are mine.

Nostromo

Thanks Mike that is what I thought I think I might start knocking on neighbours doors to see if anyone is with talk talk and find out what their speeds are like LOL.
My dilemma of course is if speeds are not up to scratch it would cost upto £170 to leave as most other ISPs insist on a BT Landline.