Updated Find the cheapest broadband discussion thread

Leopard

Shely33,

If, for whatever reason, researching this is a problem for you, my own advice to you, based only on the limited information you have given, would be as follows:


1) Follow this link; it will take you to Quidco: http://www.quidco.com


2) Register with Quidco (or sign in, if you are already registered with Quidco).


3) The following link should then take you to O2 Broadband (via Quidco, so you'll get a £25 rebate if you sign up):

http://www.quidco.com/o2-broadband/

(Check that you are indeed still logged in through Quidco to the O2 website or you won't get your Quidco discount! If in any doubt, go back to the main Quidco page and navigate manually to the O2 Broadband website.)

Choose the "Home Broadband" option and then follow the link to "Up to 8meg Standard".

Click on "Buy now" (don't worry - this doesn't commit you to buying anything!)

This will take you to a page upon which you can enter either your new telephone number (if you yet know it) or your postcode. Doing this will perform a check to see whether you can receive O2's £12.50 a month "Standard" broadband service. (If you have an O2 mobile 'phone contract, you'd receive a £5 a month discount on that price - in other words, you'd pay £7.50 a month for it.)

If you are told this service is available to you, go for it. :money:

You'll be entering into a 12 month contract. You'll get a free, wireless modem/router (a nice one) and Quidco will give you a £25 rebate. Your telephone service (and number) will be independent of this and will continue, unaffected.

If you don't currently have a mobile 'phone contract (monthly or PAYG) with O2 but then decide to get one, you will receive the £5 a month discount on your broadband for as long as you keep the mobile 'phone contract going.

Bear in mind that the (present) requirement to qualify for this on PAYG is that you top up your account with (at least) £10 every three months. That costs £40 a year but the discount is worth £60 a year - so, opening an O2 PAYG account with a SIM-only purchase would be a worthwhile proposition and you could also regard the mobile 'phone airtime you receive for your £40 a year as being, effectively, free!


4) If, however, you are not offered this "Standard" broadband service from O2, at £12.50 (or £7.50) a month but are offered instead - because of the equipment inside your local telephone exchange - O2's "Access" service at a rate of £22.50 (or £17.50 if you've got an O2 mobile 'phone contract) a month, decline the O2 offer and complete the option to be advised by email when the O2 "Standard" service eventually becomes available to you. Then (still logged on to Quidco) go to here:

http://www.quidco.com/plus-net/

This will take you to PlusNet - now a subsidiary of O2 but still operating autonomously.

(Again, check that you are indeed still logged in through Quidco to the PlusNet website or you won't get your Quidco discount! If in any doubt, go back to the main Quidco page and navigate manually to the PlusNet website.)

Choose the option for "Residential" and sign up for "Option 2" at £15 a month. :money:

("Option 1" at £10 a month may look more tempting but would probably work out more expensive because you'd have to pay additional fees for usage once you exceed 1 GB in a month - which isn't much. In effect, it's a PAYG service - moreover, the free modem supplied with "Option 1" it is not wireless.)


You'll be entering into a rolling contract of 1 month (i.e. you can cancel it at any time, by giving just one month's notice). You'll get a free wireless modem (not as elegant as O2's but perfectly adequate) and a £28 rebate from Quidco.

The fact that it's a monthly contract carries the useful additional advantage that if and when your exchange is modified to enable you to receive the O2 "Standard" service, you'll be able to switch suppliers immediately, without having to serve out the remaining months of a one-year contract.

(Alternatively, you could then ask PlusNet to match the £7.50 a month discounted tariff of O2, if you can't be bothered to migrate to O2 itself: PlusNet won't know whether you actually have an O2 mobile 'phone contract!)


The best way to go about it all would be to go to an O2 retail shop, if you have one locally - click on THIS LINK to find out - and ask them what they could supply you with. They'll carry out the checks on the spot, using your telephone number and postcode, and if their "Standard" service isn't currently available to you they may be able to tell you how soon it will be. (You could even buy an O2 PAYG mobile SIM card, while you're there!)

Then, if you want the Quidco discount (or can't get the "Standard" service and want to opt for Plusnet instead) thank them for their help, go home and sign up online, via Quidco.


The main thing is that with either of these two suppliers, O2 and PlusNet, you should get excellent broadband for about the cheapest rate at which that's available, without limiting your future options. They both have good reputations, with British-based Customer Support and should provide you with reliable, hassle-free service.

I've been using PlusNet myself for the last three years and can recommend it highly. I'm now switching to O2 because I want their higher speed service (and I have an O2 mobile 'phone contract that I'm intending to keep!)

This, in the absence of any further details about your situation and needs, is what I would recommend you to do. Choosing anything cheaper could cause you problems that far outweigh the modest saving that you might make by subscribing to them.

Hope that helps. (But do the research if you can!)

want2bmortgage3

wouldnt it be cheaper to go for talktalk even if you dont use the phone? if their 16.39 deal includes line rental then thats all you pay. instead of £10 (guess)+£12.50 = 22.50 for o2?

Leopard

It could be cheaper but it's not the wisest option.

It would only be cheaper if "TalkTalk" can unbundle the telephone line. Then, "TalkTalk" has you by the nuts, because you can't switch to another supplier if you don't like their service without first going back to BT (or Kingston Communications) and that will cost you £125.

If "TalkTalk" can't unbundle your line it's then only cheaper than PlusNet if you make a vast number of otherwise expensive telephone calls, but "PlusNet" will give you the flexibility of a monthly contract whereas "TalkTalk" will lock you in for at least a year.

That's without taking into account the quality of the service - and you only have to read the threads on this forum to see what that's like!

(For example: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=7148613#post7148613 )

something_girl

Hmmm after reading this thread, perhaps my decision to move my line rental from BT to Tiscali (as I have calls and broadband with them), isn't such a great idea?

I just spoke to their customer services and they say their £14.99 all in with free line rental isn't available to me because my phone exchange is being upgraded and will be complete in 6-8 weeks, so until then, they would offer me 25% off their normal line rental of £11 a month (or was it £10.50), it would only last 2 months and they would also waive the £30 set up fee because of it. He read all this off so fast, he is obviously used to saying it, so I wonder if ANYONE has managed to get the £14.99 all in package, or are they just roping customers in with the expectation of not having to pay their reduced line rental after a couple of months.....

pennypincher61

hmmm, that package wasnt available in my area either....

they 'forgot' to upgrade mine in Feb and I'm still trying to get it sorted

I have been with Tiscali for many years without a problem, but moved my line to them In Feb and now have problems, feel like I've been 'hoiked' in and trapped now they have my line !

but didnt want to pay BT the extra payment for not paying by Direct Debit either so maybe its the price I pay for stamping my feet and leaving BT !

espresso

pennypincher61 wrote: »

but didnt want to pay BT the extra payment for not paying by Direct Debit either so maybe its the price I pay for stamping my feet and leaving BT !

Much less hassle paying BT by DD than going to the most complained about ISP for many years! At least you have a guarantee when using a DD mandate. How do you pay Tiscali then?

:rolleyes:

pennypincher61

I pay Tiscali by DD, but have always paid BT as and when and objected to paying a penalty when they make billions

point of principle I'm afraid !

hopefully its all a blip, as I said I've been with Tiscali trouble free for years.

If not they will know about it !

espresso

pennypincher61 wrote: »

I pay Tiscali by DD, but have always paid BT as and when and objected to paying a penalty when they make billions

point of principle I'm afraid !

Oh dear!

So you don't mind paying Tiscali by DD but BT is different due to a "point of principle"!

:rolleyes:

pennypincher61

hmm, when you put it that way, but also Tiscali line rental is only £8.25, so I'm not totally crazy - well, at least I hope not and BT really doesnt need to make all its customers pay whats basically a fine for not paying by DD.

espresso

pennypincher61 wrote: »

BT really doesnt need to make all its customers pay whats basically a fine for not paying by DD.

The way that I see it, they are only doing what their competitors have done for years i.e. Tiscali etc. It has been challenged in the courts and is perfectly legal.