BT Retention

JDC14

Hi,

I'm out of contract with BT now (have been for a couple of weeks) and I have been trying to work out prices with them as my bill is c. £80/month which is just ridiculous!

I currently get;
Phone - Unlimited Evening & Weekend Calls
Broadband - BT Infinity (Option 2)
TV - Unlimited (+ Sky Sports 1+2)

I'm thinking I'll drop the SS Channels, as that's £20 a month on it's own - but anyone had a similar discount/monthly fee recently that they've 'negotiated' to a better rate that can provide some examples?

Comparable package from Sky would be around £55 p/month
Virgin would be £25/month for 6 months, then £35/month for the next 12 months.

Considerably cheaper (but BT don't know they're the only reliable provider, hence all my neighbours use them for BB (although some have Sky TV).

macman

BT are 'the only reliable provider'.
Are you serious?

JDC14

macman wrote: »

BT are 'the only reliable provider'.
Are you serious?

In my area, yes.

Virgin cannot provide as they refuse to cable to road.
Sky we cannot get a TV signal to 'lock-on', nor is their internet considered close to the definition of reliable by neighbours who have used them recently.

So yes, I am being serious.

macman

So are you saying that Sky is the only LLU provider? But if it's a common neighbourhood issue, then it's possibly a problem at the local street cab-which is maintained by BT, and serves all providers-the issue wouldn't just affect Sky. What about the hundreds of non-LLU options open to you then? Plusnet, Zen, etc...
You don't need Sky TV to get their broadband, or vice versa.
Your other TV option, if no cable or satellite, is Freeview via an aerial. If the Sky signal won't 'lock on' then it probably means that there is no line of sight to the satellite-possibly a tree needs pruning, or a non-standard dish position using, which any independent Sky installer can sort for you.

JDC14

macman wrote: »

So are you saying that Sky is the only LLU provider? But if it's a common neighbourhood issue, then it's possibly a problem at the local street cab-which is maintained by BT, and serves all providers-the issue wouldn't just affect Sky. What about the hundreds of non-LLU options open to you then? Plusnet, Zen, etc...
You don't need Sky TV to get their broadband, or vice versa.
Your other TV option, if no cable or satellite, is Freeview via an aerial. If the Sky signal won't 'lock on' then it probably means that there is no line of sight to the satellite-possibly a tree needs pruning, or a non-standard dish position using, which any independent Sky installer can sort for you.

Plusnet - Always fails when checking the line, so assumption is they cannot provide it to the property. (Their assumption, not mine.)
Zen - I've never heard of.
TalkTalk - Appears to work out more expensive, for lesser capabilities.

I want a TV package, as I use more than just the Freeview channels in my household. Sky have been to the property 3 times in 10 years - and haven't managed to get the signal to lock-on once for varying reasons.

The point of the thread, is not to justify my decisions here. I've laid out, what I've got & what I'm after - and seeing if anyone else has been in a similar position to negotiate with BT.

VisionMan

Hi JCD14,

The answers yes you'll be pleased to know. I always negotiate a discount at rnwl. But make sure you ask for Cancellations and they will put you through to the retentions team. You will/should get discounts on both your TV and Infinity deals.

Quentin

JDC14 wrote: »

Zen - I've never heard of.....

No real reason to discount them! (We have all heard of BT/Talk talk etc but most bb savvy would consider Zen far superior)

Do some research on them.

eg here's the think broadband comparison of results from users:

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/isp/compare.html?isp_7=1&isp_22=1&isp_6=1&commit=Compare

(zen in yellow)

JDC14

Quentin wrote: »

No real reason to discount them! (We have all heard of BT/Talk talk etc but most bb savvy would consider Zen far superior)

Do some research in them.

eg here's the think broadband comparison of results from users:

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/isp/compare.html?isp_7=1&isp_22=1&isp_6=1&commit=Compare

(zen in yellow)

Not entirely ruling Zen out based on that, same case with GiffGaff in the mobile network and I still use them (despite teething problems).

However, BT have been very good for me to be honest. Internet never drops out and can't say I've seen much of the 'horror' stories of the Vision boxes that people have complained of.

macman

Since Plusnet (BT-owned) runs on the same network as BT, then if you can get BT, you should be able to get Plusnet.
It sounds like the broadband issue for you and your your neighbours is due to the area being a long way out from the exchange, and so with marginal ADSL service. Changing provider won't alter that.
Sky will only do you a standard house wall-mounted install, because that's all their budget and schedule allows. An independent engineer will do a roof install or maybe on a pole in the garden. Get someone in to look at it who knows what they are doing, because Sky installers are just that-installers: they're not engineers. The 'lock on' issue that you mention is a red herring. As long as the dish can be mounted somewhere with a line of sight to the satellite, it'll work.

RavingMad

When I rang BT for my MAC code, they offered me BB for £13pm when I was currently paying £18pm for unlimited standard BB

HTH

JDC14

macman wrote: »

Since Plusnet (BT-owned) runs on the same network as BT, then if you can get BT, you should be able to get Plusnet.
It sounds like the broadband issue for you and your your neighbours is due to the area being a long way out from the exchange, and so with marginal ADSL service. Changing provider won't alter that.
Sky will only do you a standard house wall-mounted install, because that's all their budget and schedule allows. An independent engineer will do a roof install or maybe on a pole in the garden. Get someone in to look at it who knows what they are doing, because Sky installers are just that-installers: they're not engineers. The 'lock on' issue that you mention is a red herring. As long as the dish can be mounted somewhere with a line of sight to the satellite, it'll work.

Didn't know that about PlusNet.

We're not actually too far from the exchange as it goes - and BT quality is excellent, it's just neighbours that have used other providers have had issues.

We've attempted having the dish up on a pole from the roof as a neighbour of ours had a similar set up (not out of neccessity, more as a personal interest thing) and attempted it with ours, but the TV signal was still very weak, which is the strangest thing when we live in a semi and the houses either side can get it!)

But back on point, BT are meant to be calling me back today, so I'll probably hear from them in January!