SSE broadband feedback

skintpaul

each feature seems cheaper than other providers, though I agree that some should be a minimum standard these days!

[Deleted User]

Anyone know if you have to use their router for the broadband service to work?

misskiti

Rang to switch today but I'm with Sky at the mo. They told me it'd take one to two weeks without broadband as I have to switch to an openreach line. Confused about why I don't have an openreach line already as it was an openreach engineer who fitted it?!

londoner2009

I'm tempted by this offer - I don't like the way every single other provider dishes out these pathetic offers that give discounts for just 3 months or 6 months .. it's now rare to see an offer for a full 12 months, so an offer that lasts 2 years is a welcome change - Although so far people's experience of switching does seem very long winded.

I'm thinking about going for the fibre options as I really need faster uploads at time as I'm uploading more videos to YouTube and a 7 minute video in full HD might take as long as 4 hours to upload on ADSL.

Gingerycat

I applied for 'phone and broadband over two months ago, providing a MAC on the online form. Despite numerous call to them and various promises they have still not provided broadband. The contract they sent, dated 5th May 2015, quoted a price almost treble the amount advertised. A telephone call elicited a promise that the price would be as advertised but no other contract was sent out. On 12th June I tried to find out what the delay was but their call taker told me that he was just filling in, didn't know anything, and promised a call back the next day. It didn't happen. On 18th June I had an answerphone response stating they were waiting for a MAC. When I pointed out that this had been provided they stated that from mid-night that day the rules were changing and a MAC was no longer needed. They finally promised that engineers would call today to fit a modem. We had to cancel various appointments to be in for them but they simply failed to arrive. Nobody bothered to call to say they were not coming. When I telephoned to complain the call taker told me my application had been rejected but couldn't tell me why. He then asked if I'd like to reapply.
On the positive side the staff, generally, are very polite. They are just completely and utterly incapable of providing the service I applied for. I have now given up on SSE and have to find another provider and go through it all again. Avoid SSE. Do not even consider them unless you want ulcers and raised blood pressure.

[Deleted User]

ploddingon wrote: »

Personally, I find their £3.25 per month charge for Caller Display absolutely shocking. :eek: See here:

https://www.sse.co.uk/uploadedFiles/CoreMarketingSites/Assets/Documents/Talk%202014%20Price%20table.pdf

'£3.25 per feature per month or 4 features for £6.75 per month for any of the following features: Call Barring, Caller Display, Call Diversion, Ringback, Call Waiting, 3-way Calling, Call Sign and Call Reminder.'

I'm sorry, but I just don't see Caller Display as a call feature. This is a feature that exists on my phone handset; not something that they take care of!

Furthermore, why is there no mention of a privacy service that automatically hides your number when you dial out? Is that something that does exist and has to be paid for? They don't even mention the monthly cost of their basic 1571 answer phone service either. I am assuming that they do offer one and it also has to be paid for? This information really should be on their pricing table. It might end up being £7 per month for Caller Display, Outgoing Calls Privacy and Basic 1571. If anyone knows, then I would be very grateful to hear the answers. I think I am paying BT something like £1.75 per month for all 3 right now, so I don't think so, not for me anyway... :rotfl:

Well, I rang them again today to try and find out, which was something I wanted to avoid doing. The last time I rang I gave up waiting for someone to answer after 15 minutes. I was told that they are charged by BT for providing Caller Display, as it is an Openreach line they are using. They wouldn't tell me how much they are charged by BT, but said they couldn't offer any discount on the advertised price regardless. I was very disappointed by this, as it really could be a deal breaker for me. Does anyone know if it is even true that they are charged by BT for providing Caller Display? It didn't sound very credible to me, but I am certainly no expert on such matters.

As for Outgoing Calls Privacy, they said it was free, which was some good news at least. The Basic 1571 service is supposed to be £1.50 per month, which is reasonable too I suppose. I told them that this information really should be made clear on their website, but they didn't seem to take much notice in my opinion.

londoner2009 wrote: »

I'm tempted by this offer - I don't like the way every single other provider dishes out these pathetic offers that give discounts for just 3 months or 6 months .. it's now rare to see an offer for a full 12 months, so an offer that lasts 2 years is a welcome change - Although so far people's experience of switching does seem very long winded.

Same here. I would much, much rather have a constant discount over the length of the whole contract, even if it is a smaller discount than the headline grabbers you spoke of. They could make the equivalent saving exactly the same for all I cared.

Gingerycat wrote: »

They finally promised that engineers would call today to fit a modem. We had to cancel various appointments to be in for them but they simply failed to arrive. Nobody bothered to call to say they were not coming.

Is taking an SSE modem compulsory for the broadband to work properly? This is one thing I forgot to ask today and I really can't be bothered to phone up again.

Gingerycat wrote: »

When I telephoned to complain the call taker told me my application had been rejected but couldn't tell me why. He then asked if I'd like to reapply.

Ha ha. At least you got a comedy moment out of it. :T

w50nky

My setup has gone without too much of a problem. The only issue I have had stemmed from the fact that they switch the phone service first, then the broadband over a week later. This meant that my MAC code expired. This then meant that I had to obtain a new MAC code from BT which then led BT to believe that I was switching outside my 14 cooling off period and would charge me £168 for early termination!
All sorted now though.

When they switch your phone service they automatically provide the same services you had with BT, Caller ID etc. I had to ring to cancel these services as the cost was too high.

The broadband service I have is actually faster than with BT, this could be down to the router as my previous one was a home hub 3.

Logging into the router, there is a username and password along with all the other settings you may need to configure your own router. However the password is not visible so have been able to try my own router for comparison as yet.

I use 18185 for outgoing calls, except for weekends which are free. I have 2 cordless dect handsets 1 of which I have programmed the 18185 prefix into all my numbers to save time, the other for weekend use has the numbers programmed without the 18185 prefix.

So overall I am happy so far with my switch, was a bit of hassle but may be easier now that you no longer need your MAC code.

I will call to try to obtain password and settings for the router when I have some spare time to kill!:coffee:

[Deleted User]

ploddingon wrote: »

Anyone know if you have to use their router for the broadband service to work?

I just endured the pleasure of another 15 minutes hold to find out that you do 'supposedly' have to use their modem. It wouldn't surprise me at all if it is possible to use your own modem, but with a bit more difficulty setting it all up. Hopefully, someone else with the knowledge will come along soon enough.

dtb2579

For anyone who wants to set up the Technicolor router the username is admin and the password is the serial number printed on the bottom of the router.

w50nky

That gets you in to the setup of the router, however the user ID is visible eg. ( 012345678-energy@ssebb.co.uk) but not the 8 digit password to configure another router to log into the ADSL system. Well not on my router anyway.

I think this was the information Ploddingon was trying to obtain from SSE yesterday.