Updated Find the cheapest broadband discussion thread

JamesF

sarah20161 wrote: »

What's the best deal anybody has had recently on Virgin Fibre + Line rental, with no TV? Due for renewal and have been paying approx. 24 per month.

I called Virgin today as my current deal (£164 for 12 months line rental saver + £5 a month broadband less £50 credit voucher) is expiring. I was told the very best they could do was £196 for 12 months line rental saver + £15 a month for broadband and told I could take it or leave it.
So a total of £376 for 12 months.
Has anyone had a better offer to stay with Virgin recently or is this the best I can expect?
If you give Virgin notice do their retentions team call you back with better offers or is this not a practice they use.

Thanks for any advice anyone can give.

James

Doc_N

Yet another BT price increase coming on 2 April (http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/56087/~/price-changes-from-3-july-2016) - but on the bright side another opportunity to end contracts early.

Letters going out to all customers later this month or early February, with a short window in which to give notice and move.

Has anyone any experience of getting a decent renewal deal out of BT in similar circumstances, or is a move (with cashback) likely to be a better option? I quite like BT - but these frequent price increases really hack me off.

HungryChaffinch

BT's customer service means that even the threat of leaving and the usual offer of reduced price for the next lock in period makes it unattractive. If you have need for or use any of the "free" services that presumably inflate the price then perhaps it is more worthwhile. However I digress...

I read the article as we are looking forward to a better value broadband, which actually just means better customer service as the options are limited in our area, beyond haggling with our existing provider - which I would pay not to have to do.

There is a typical rural situation of copper only ADSL (1) but in our area fibreoptic has been newly installed to the nearest box, 1.5miles away. This gives broadband options of ADSL or Fibre to box and in our case this would be download speeds of 5Mbps and 15-20Mbps respectively.

Given that most pricing structures offer "broadband at up to 17Mbps" or superfast broadband/fibreoptic at "up to 76Mbps" I would love to be given the option to pay for the speed I get rather than how I get it given that the speed available to us is below the upper limit of the cheaper ADSL option. (It appears that our exchange leapfrogged ADSL2 which means that ADSL speeds are unlikely to improve.) Has anyone come across this option?

OneLeggedPig

SKY are putting their line rental up, so I'm off out of my contract to go to Plusnet and get some Welcome cashback

paterkg

Am I misremembering? In early Jan (around 9-Jan), I was sure I signed up to BT fibre, from the MSE link, which included a £150 prepaid mastercard reward. Now, when I come to claim the reward it's £100. Unfortunately my BT reward confirmation email doesn't specify the amount, only how to claim. Is there an archive on MSE where I can check the details of historical pages? It won't break the bank, but I'm interested to know. (I did go via topcashback too though, so maybe I've been guilty of double-dipping and penalised!)

MoneySavingMouse

Plusnet have increased the monthly broadband cost for their 'Unlimited Broadband' package from £2.01 (when I checked on 12th January), to £7.01.

The article here says the £2.01/month deal is valid till 31st January: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-broadband#plusnetbb

I called Plusnet and they didn't know what I was talking about.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

TIA

MoneySavingMouse

OneLeggedPig wrote: »

SKY are putting their line rental up, so I'm off out of my contract to go to Plusnet and get some Welcome cashback

They are also putting broadband up from £7.50 to £10 a month, from March.

Browntoa

the "off topic" chat about fibre costs etc now moved to a dedicated thread from this thread


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5592980


GOING OFF-TOPIC


Hi!, while it’s easy to wander off-topic that could stop newbies finding the information they want quickly and easily (please see the forum rule) so please keep this thread on topic. To ask a different MoneySaving subject please start your own thread (if you're not a member join the forum to do it). If you’d like to discuss non-MoneySaving related topics please continue your discussion in The MoneySavers Arms or Discussion Time. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

EdwardB

paterkg wrote: »

Am I misremembering? In early Jan (around 9-Jan), I was sure I signed up to BT fibre, from the MSE link, which included a £150 prepaid mastercard reward. Now, when I come to claim the reward it's £100. Unfortunately my BT reward confirmation email doesn't specify the amount, only how to claim. Is there an archive on MSE where I can check the details of historical pages? It won't break the bank, but I'm interested to know. (I did go via topcashback too though, so maybe I've been guilty of double-dipping and penalised!)

I have heard many a time on this thread of people not getting what they expected on BT and Plusnet (same owner). You practically have to video your session with Jing or Camasia to prove what you were promised.

Some deals have been quoted as working on the double dip.

Cashback sites may pay you for signing up

As an extra boon, members of specialist cashback websites can be paid when they sign up to some financial products. Do check that it's exactly the same deal though, as terms can be different. And remember the cashback is never 100% guaranteed until it's in your account.


BUT...

EdwardB

DavidP24 wrote: »

Well I would like to stay on my current price but not at £17 a month, I am currently paying around £5 a month till June.

I watch the MSE page to see when there is a deal, if someone else offers a better deal as early as March I will take it as I know it will revert to £35 a month. I would rather end the line than pay over the odds.

I am in the same position with the Sky deal till June.

I have been watching the the MSE Cheap BB page for a friend because their deal ends in March, it seems to me that since they merged the line rental the BB Market is dysfunctional.

We used to get way more deals now it seems they want us to be happy paying £18 to £19 a month, well that is like the rubbish deals of paying Line Rental and getting free broadband.

There is no way I would ever go back to TalkTalk and unless Sky maintain my current deal I am leaving, Virgin are only interested in selling fibre, BT only interested in bundling TV and Plusnet not only NEVER OFFER ANYTHING EXCITING but they can't even sell at the same price across the Country.

So unless MSE and/or other sites come up with a truly competitive deal it looks as if I will terminating with Sky for a year (because even when they do deals you must not have been a customer for 12 months).

I hope the MSE BB team are listening, we need a deal in June with at around £60 for the year including BB & Line Rental. Not with TalkTalk and not with Sky, so somehow you need to persuade EE, BT or Plusnet that they need to at least pretend they want to compete in this market. A virgin fibre deal at £90 for the year fully inclusive would be acceptable. NO HIDDEN INSTALL CHARGES please and no charges when you leave!