Updated Find the cheapest broadband discussion thread

makara

"That particular call wasn't recorded" - yeah, right - had it been the other way round, I bet they would have "found" the recording then...

jnm21

I can't stand big companies mentality - 90% of them seem to be of the opinion we are big, we have your bank details & we'll take what we want, then if you are brave enough to reclaim the DD money, we'll then employ a debt collection agency to bully you into paying "what you owe us" even if we have nothing other than our word to prove it! The old saying !!!!!! Turpin wore a mask comes to mind!

Anyhow, I came on this thread to let folks know that I recently tried to sign up via the MSE links to Primus - I had to do it on the phone, as their buy now links failed - went through all of the details, then right at the end, they hit me with the news that they would be increasing the phone rental part by nearly 10%, potentially before my first bill! Reluctantly having provided all of my details (and defeating the weeks of research I had done) I agreed!

I was unsure that I had done the right thing (the price rise needled me & the usage charge of £2 per GB over the cap of 20GB worried me), then came an email saying that they could not set up a direct debit & to check my confirmation email - this was when alarm bells rang! The confirmation email (correctly) blanks out most of the key details (I hate it when they email all sorts of details), so my bad first impression was further renforced by a stupid second contact. The third straw was no reply to my email asking them how I could sign in to check the details & the final straw was trying to call them, only for the customer services option to continually disconnect me, the sales number connecting instantly but when they transferred me to CS I was placed on hold for a long time before giving up!

My decision to email to cancel (asking for prompt confirmation as I intended to go elsewhere) was the corrrect one - as their failure to acknowledge that email has confirmed! They even had the cheek to ring me today about my DD details (didn't seem to know about my emails, both sent at least a week ago)!

In short, if all goes well, they are cheapish, but they (like all other telecoms companies I have experienced) are not afraid to sign you up to a cheap price, then increase it even during your tie in (i.e. while they have you over a barrel).

I personally would rather risk talk talk (whose offer I missed waiting for Primus to confirm my cancellation) who were the cheapest - their CS can't be that much worse (from my experience).

Patr100

jnm21 wrote: »

I personally would rather risk talk talk (whose offer I missed waiting for Primus to confirm my cancellation) who were the cheapest - their CS can't be that much worse (from my experience).

Can't they?

TalkTalk and KC have been voted as worst telecoms firms for customer service, in a massive poll of 24,056 votes.

Worryingly for TalkTalk, of the five broadband providers ranked lowest in the MoneySavingExpert.com survey, it and three other members of the TalkTalk Group – Tiscali, Pipex, and AOL – occupied four out of the five spots, with Hull-only KC scoring worst of the lot.


It was a similar story on landlines with KC worst and the TalkTalk Group occupying three out of the worst five spots.

The results heap more pressure on TalkTalk which has regularly caused frustration for its customers due to poor service. Last month, it was found guilty of mis-selling landline services by communications regulator, Ofcom

.




http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/phones/2011/06/talktalk-worst-of-big-guns-for-customer-service

Ganga

I have just renewed my Talktalk package, i paid the phone rental upfront ( £114.00 ) i think but talktalk essentials at half price-£3.25 less a discount of £2.00 that i got last year plus a rebate of £1.50 per month that means broadband and call package for minus £0.25 per month! what a result:D

Ganga

bodley123

i,m with orange i get free broadband as long as i have a contract with them for my mobile which i pay 30quid a month. they now say i have to pay for there line rental of 15 quid a month on top, have they broke there contract? can i now tell em too shove there phone. im not breaking the contract they told me broadband was free for life, as long as ihad there phone. watch em.

ioscorpio

bodley123
Look at this thread
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4133021

Onyourcase

stulynes wrote: »

Primus dont provide any way of monitoring usage, other than a phone number. Their overuse charges are savage (my bill for April jumped from £20 to £144) and they refuse to see this as a problem.

Unless you only browse the internet sporadically I'd say stay away.

Yes, I was similarly tricked by this. 10GB/month sounded a lot so I signed up pleased that I'd slashed my broadband cost. We were actually as a family using 45GB/month on unlimited AOL before and so started getting excess charges wiping out the saving. We complained and Primus they shifted us to 60GB/month deal for £17.99. Now I've served my 1 year sentence..it's time to change. Best deal anyone?
:j

Jo4

I am currently signed up with Plusnet for broadband only but my contract is due for renewal at the beginning of October and it is increasing to £12.99 a month.

Is it possible to take out a new contract with Plusnet but in my husband's name because then we could have broadband for the first 3 months at £3.24 a month and £6.49 for the following 9 months? We could also change our phone line from BT and pay for 12 months in advance which would cost £113.88 and then the only other thing we would need is caller display which is 99p a month. Talk evening and weekends would then be free. Total cost for the year for broadband and line rental (including free evening and weekend calls) would be £193.89 instead of £155.88 for only broadband.

Jo4

Jo4 wrote: »

I am currently signed up with Plusnet for broadband only but my contract is due for renewal at the beginning of October and it is increasing to £12.99 a month.

Is it possible to take out a new contract with Plusnet but in my husband's name because then we could have broadband for the first 3 months at £3.24 a month and £6.49 for the following 9 months? We could also change our phone line from BT and pay for 12 months in advance which would cost £113.88 and then the only other thing we would need is caller display which is 99p a month. Talk evening and weekends would then be free. Total cost for the year for broadband and line rental (including free evening and weekend calls) would be £193.89 instead of £155.88 for only broadband.

Does anyone know the answer?

rubypeko

Jo4 wrote: »

Does anyone know the answer?

How long have you been with Plusnet?

I have been with them for 2 years and have the 60Gb limit Braodband-only service. Recently a flatmate moved in and we went over the limit for 2 months in a row. So I went on cashback website and applied for an unlimited broadband with BE for £8.50/month for 12 months.
When I asked for the MAC code from Plusnet, the guy was very helpful and within 5 mins he offered double the usage (120Gb now) and for the same price as BE - £8.50 without a contract - so I will virtually be charged £8.50 "forever" for 120Gb usage. (I cancelled BE with no issue)

BE might still be a better deal with unlimited broadband, but now I don't have to go through the hassle of changing out internet hub, and after 12 months I will still get charged the same amount where BE reverts to £17/month and I would have to change supplier again to get the best deal.

So what I am trying to say is if you have been with Plusnet for a period of time try to speak to them and get a reasonable long-term price rather than changing supplier every 12 months. I have the BT pay-in-advance for £129.
I am pretty happy with under £20/month phone+broadband that I don't have to swap supplier every 12 months.

Hope it works for you.