Changing from BT to ???

Bubbly50

Sorry to bore you with a simple question you've probably had many times...
I'm aware that BT internet Broadband and rental charges are very expensive.
I would like to change (been with them a lifetime), but unsure which company to change to (don't want to jump from frying pan to fire-so keep putting it off).
Can anyone advise please?

I would like to keep the same phone number.

kevvyb2003

Hi

Try Zen Internet. Not the cheapest, depending on how you look at it, but definitely the most straightforward I have found to deal with and most importantly, with regard to charges.

Was just posting on the BT website as I was directed there to find a current BT charges list. What a joke. Would have linked to it but as new forum member here was not allowed too so see below for copy of that post in which I have also had to replace the links. Read to see why I feel so strongly.

Good luck if you go with Zen. But you won't need it. They are just competent, professional and fair. They treat their customers like customers used to be treated before all this free market neo-liberal shi*e was unleashed on us with the killer of 'light touch' (read little or no) regulation.

Post on BT website:
Re: How much do BT calls cost to 0844 numbers?

any one of 34 rates according to this:

Google 'BT pricing framework 2015'

BT in common with most companies these days are just into screwing as much out of the customer as possible without the customer knowing.

Elizbeth Warren sums it up in this lecture in which she describes very clearly how competition is not working for the consumer and governments have abandoned the consumer to the sharks of the corporate world:

Google 'Elizabeth Warren lecture'

The 'free market' works when governments properly regulate it. When they don't corporations take their chance.

Elizabeth Warren for President!

I have analysed my BT bill in a spreadsheet against the rates from Zen Internet who charge by the second. Guess what? The calls under my BT £7 a month anytime, so called 'free', call package would have cost me £3.89 with Zen. No call set up fees, charged by the second. That is if one of my calls had not gone over 1 hour by 44 minutes. So the actual charge, even with the majority of my calls being 'free' was £12.35 (BT) against £3.89 (Zen) for calls INCLUDING that 1 hour 44 minute call!!!

And to boot, their line rental for residential customers is still £12.30 incl vat as against BT's £16.99. But I don't see how much longer they will be able to hold that price as they are paying BT wholesale prices for the access to the copper network. That said I would even be willing to pay Zen a bit more than BT if necessary just for the excellent customer service when it's needed, and the simplicity.

So now you can see why they mark all those calls as 'free' on paper bill AND the downloaded itemisation. They don't show you how much it would have cost if you had paid for them outside of the bundle. Otherwise it would be easy to see they were ripping you off more often than not.

For telephony and broadband go to Zen Internet.

Zen have two telephone options: Pay for what you use, or a package costing an extra £6 for 5000 minutes a month. Simple. Straightforward. Itemised billing and charging to the second. No call set up fees. Zen are not a public company so they don't have to be totally driven by increasing shareholder value and the follies of free, unregulated markets at the expense of their customers. BT and the rest of the telephony providers know that most of your calls are very brief! They screw you on that basis and in many cases, like BT, screw you again if you forget yourself, as they know you sometimes will, by speaking for more than an hour.

The description above is exactly how most corporations operate these days, that is immorally in order to extract maximum value from their customers. That is the game. Make the pricing structure so complicated, obscure the actual price with 'bundles' and so called 'freebies', the stupid idiots won't notice that they are being overcharged. Not, that is, unless you unpick their charlatanism with quite a complicated spreadsheet.

Governments need to take the power back away from corporations and make sure that they are making a fair contribution to the economic system that they are only too willing to exploit abusively when no one is watching.

Zen are not always the cheapest but the 'cheapest' is only cheap for some, the rest pay for all those 'too good to be true' teaser deals . And when you call the people at Zen they can all speak clear English, they are in this country and they genuinely all seem happy at work and are very technically competent. You get answers not a riddles.

Tell BT (and the rest) you are leaving because you are onto their game. They will respond because it's all about getting the suckers to stay, get the numbers up, making the balance sheet look good and rewarding the executives with ever more riches on the back of their cynical business models.

poppasmurf_bewdley

Have a gander of the thread I started when I felt like you about BT. especially Post #16.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4959296

ruggedtoast

I've found Sky to be very good. There have been quite a few faults on our line and they've sorted them all out very efficiently. You can also get a good cashback total usually.

After that o2 are decent. I am aware that Zen are meant to be the best but they are so expensive for a home connection.

Gordon_Hose

O2 Home Broadband (and BE Broadband) is now Sky, isn't it?

Stompa

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

O2 Home Broadband (and BE Broadband) is now Sky, isn't it?

Yes, it is.