Updated Find the cheapest broadband discussion thread

buglawton

Plusnet have just rammed through a price hike (Sept) on existing users - well above inflation. Makes them look like bait'n'switch merchants and builds up a store of resentment hereabouts, so will be researching the next provider as of now.

[Deleted User]

Nobleman wrote: »

Just posted this on the TV Money Saving board for anybody who may be interested in potentially getting BT Broadband, Phone and Sport free for 12 months!
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5033956

No need to repeat your posts throughout the forum. The deal isn't as good as it first appears to be, anyhow.

erb

It appears that the Value Line Rental cost has increased from £141 to £172.20 according to the TalkTalk site here. Then at the bottom of the page under Small Print click on the Simply Broadband link.

Did not seen any notification anywhere of this price increase and Martin's article on cheap broadband is still quoting the £141 so will need updating. See this has now been updated, that was quick!

pinuk

Agreed, that was pretty sneaky, TalkTalks value rental was only £141 for 12 months the other day.

Another thing, you can't purchase VLR as part of the sign up process anymore either so that needs updating on the cheap broadband page. Dunno when that changed either.

dvdhat

I challenged Plusnet about their price increase, because I found that The Post Office could provide a similar service for £20/month. Living in a rural area of Norfolk, many of the special offers of cheap broadband are unavailable, but having spoken to Post Office Broadband, I was assured that they were able to supply this cheaper product. When speaking to PlusNet about this, it was suggested that the Post Office product wouldn't be available to me and that their price couldn't be beaten. I wasn't swayed by this and said that I wanted to leave and change provider. I was then told that there would be a cost as my contract period hadn't ended. I still insisted that I wanted to leave and was transferred to another department. I then had a different type of conversation. Firstly that there wouldn't be a charge to leave due to the price increase and secondly, they would match the price offered by the Post Office. I have stayed with PlusNet for the time being, but they have lost my confidence in their commercial honesty. Don't give in!

G6JPG

Could I put in a plea that - not every time you mention broadband/calls, but maybe one in three (or at least one in ten!) times - MSE do a survey of what's available to those of us not lucky enough to be in the alleged 90% [i. e. those on a BT-only exchange, I think is what that means]? It gets very frustrating reading about all you folk with peanut charges, 24 MB speeds, and so on !

G6JPG

DavidP24 wrote: »

@G6JPG
You can blame OFCOM for this complete shambles, all their stupid rules mean that the ISP's only invest where there are a load of users.
[rest of rant snipped]

I'm no lover of OFCOM: I find them toothless, and - in their radio spectrum management role - too easily swayed by industry interests, or at least that's how it looks to me. (They're slowly but surely killing off terrerstrial TV broadcasting, IMO, by quietly snipping large chunks of its band away - and giving them to users who'll put transmitters in them that will overload boxes made before they did this, which many less-tech-savvy people won't realise is the problem, and just be driven to Sky ot internet TV. OK, my rant over ...)

However, in this case, I was appealing to MSE/Martin, not moaning about OFCOM: I was just saying that, whenever they report (say in the monthly newsletter) some new BB offer "available to 90%", they bother to say what the best deal is for the rest of us. (Yes, I know I can do it myself, but MSE are better at spotting good deals than I am - that's why I take the newsletter.)

mywifenow33

Ordered talk talk unlimited broadband and phone, then rang to cancel after a couple of weeks waiting for my line to be installed. When I told them I was cancelling to go to EE the retentions guy offered me free line rental for the year (£172.20)!

So i'm paying £3.50 a month, plus I get £70 quidco, meaning I make £28 over the year!

G6JPG

DavidP24 wrote: »

[]It is a con that you get charged to terminate a service, another reason why OFCOM is not fit for purpose.[]

If you cease broadband altogether, BT charge a fee for turning the line back to just 'phone, and the ISPs pass that on. If you switch to another provider but continue to use broadband (i. e. you use a MAC), this fee doesn't apply. (If you break out of a long contract you've signed up to, they can charge you for doing that, unless it's because of a price rise.)

sneaky

Sky package of Broadband and phone was coming to an end in September. Rang Sky this morning told them the deal plusnet are offering me also can get cashback from quidco. The lovely lady gave me free internet for 12 months plus £50 credit to cover the cash back. I just had to pay the line rental in advance which was cheaper then plusnet.Worked out well plus saved the hassle of switching.