Do not sign-up with NowTV Broadband/Calls more than 2wks before end of your existing contract

Chipping

In summary:

-they won't give you a chance to enter the date your contract ends at sign-up

-they won't let you change the switchover date they give you, even though they'll tell you they will

-their emails to you will be coincidentally timed to after your cancellation deadlines end

-not sure if the 6.2/10 customer service rating on MSE broadband comparison is correct as they've plain ignored what I've written in my email to them or asked them to do (and this is during trying to get me as a customer) (and, as with all British providers, there are other people with similar NowTV problems in forum).

The details:

I signed up with them for fibre-broadband & anytime calls last month. The sign-up process was straight-forward but DID NOT ASK for a preferred switchover date in case your contract with your existing provider hasn't ended yet. The reason they should is they will set the date DURING SIGN-UP (just over 2 weeks away in my case) and they WILL NEVER CHANGE IT. I phoned them the very next day to tell them to change the date to six days later, as thats when I was out of contract with EE broadband. EE will charge me an early exit fee. I was told they would make a note that I need to change the date but they couldn't change it at the time as the automated setup process was happening. They would change it when possible.

They then waited exactly 10 days, **until the free cancellation period ended,** and only 3 days before switchover date, to contact me by email to tell me they couldn't change the date. That I had to contact EE to do it because EE set it. Even though NowTV told me the date DURING SIGN-UP. This is either someone who doesn't know how switchover happens or was downright lying. Because both EE and NowTV/Sky are on Openreach network its called a "One Stop Switch", which means the customer only deals with their new provider. They don't need to contact their existing provider AT ALL. The NowTV sign-up process even boldly told me its a wonderful 'One Stop Switch' when I told it my existing provider. According to Ofcom, this is a "gaining provider-led process". The losing provider, EE in my case, CANNOT CHANGE the switchover date. And yet, the NowTV customer support told me to contact them. Of course, I did contact EE, and got told they couldn't change it, only NowTV could. The only thing EE could do was to CANCEL THE SWITCH.

NowTV's dodgy activites don't end there. I replied to their email the same day telling them about their own 'One Stop Switch' and Ofcom rules and asked them to check if their advice to me was correct. There were still 3 days before switchover. I got no reply. So, the next day, two days before switchover, I sent another email giving them 3 options (change the date, cover any early exit fee, or cancel the switch). I didn't get a reply...until...guess when? Until it was too late for me to CANCEL THE SWITCH. Their reply completely ignored my request that they check Ofcom rules. Completely ignored my options. Their reply arrived at 4.20pm the day before the switch, and their deadline for doing anything was 3.30pm. After this the switch was set in stone. Even EE could not cancel the switch anymore.

OK, the early exit fee from EE is tiny, so its not a problem, but I will persist with this because it stinks. I want to see exactly how bad customer service is with the new company I'm signing up to. Why would a company mess a brand new customer about like this? I used to work for a telecom company, setting up broadband lines. AFAIK the only things stopping them from changing a switchover date are a) inability to efficiently manage their order processing department, b) inability to setup an effective order entry system (automated website or human phone operator) or c) once customer signed up, use any underhanded means with zero care about the customer's own circumstances to get them roped into a contract to tie them in.

This is still ongoing, so lets see where it goes. Lets see if there's someone in NowTV with some brains & an actual willingness to make customers happy, who will make me happy. Happy I chose NowTV & not look for a way of dumping them. Apart from this, the deal is great and the sign-up process is reasonably good. And, in other news, Ofcom rules mandate that both NowTV and EE write to me to tell me a switch is going to happen. These usually are automated emails or letters. I got nothing from EE. Not a sausage.

redux

I signed up with Now broadband about a year ago.

I was given a changeover date two weeks ahead, the router came in time, and it went through exactly as predicted.

By the way, the old provider emailed me 3 hours after my new application to confirm the switch.

No need for any other contact with either provider.

A month later the previous provider sent a closing bill of 8 pence.

Neil_Jones

Having switched round various providers over the last few years none of them give me an option for a specific hand over date.

If you switched too early and ended up with (albeit tiny) exit fees from EE, that's your own fault.  Yes another payment would have gone out but you would have had the bulk of it back.

Nothing you've written about is anything out of the ordinary.

brewerdave

Since all ISPs are dependent on Openreach and engineer availability for changeovers, they can only give an estimate of changeover date. In some areas, workload is so heavy that changeovers can be delayed for weeks or even months .

Chipping

Update: the switchover happened today with no problem, everything setup fine but:

1. Finally got, not one, but two letters from EE *today* telling me about the switchover - and how to cancel! Not only that but both letters state a slightly different exit fee! Mickey mouse land or what? Both dated 31st August. Obviously, the two phone calls I made to EE each caused the operator to generate this letter.

2. The NowTV home gateway is more cheaply made than the EE one. It only sits flat on its base (can't put it up on its side), only has vents at the bottom (and gets pretty hot), doesn't have a pullout card for wifi password (just a bit of card) & only has two ethernet ports (which is probably fine for 99.99% of people).

Chipping

Thanks for the replies telling me this is all normal, but I am aware 'what is normal' in broadband switchover. I've been switch two households (to different providers) every year for over a decade. The important thing I was pointing out was that their customer service has been bad. The reason I chose them, apart from the great deal, is their good customer service rating. Customer service ratings won't be accurate unless people post their experiences - that what I'm doing.

neilmcl

Chipping said:

Update: the switchover happened today with no problem, everything setup fine but:

1. Finally got, not one, but two letters from EE *today* telling me about the switchover - and how to cancel! Not only that but both letters state a slightly different exit fee! Mickey mouse land or what? Both dated 31st August. Obviously, the two phone calls I made to EE each caused the operator to generate this letter.

2. The NowTV home gateway is more cheaply made than the EE one. It only sits flat on its base (can't put it up on its side), only has vents at the bottom (and gets pretty hot), doesn't have a pullout card for wifi password (just a bit of card) & only has two ethernet ports (which is probably fine for 99.99% of people).

That's easily resolved, get a Sky SR203 router from ebay. I got one for less than £25 and I'm assured it works with Now as they are part of the Sky network.

neilmcl

Chipping said:

Thanks for the replies telling me this is all normal, but I am aware 'what is normal' in broadband switchover. I've been switch two households (to different providers) every year for over a decade. The important thing I was pointing out was that their customer service has been bad. The reason I chose them, apart from the great deal, is their good customer service rating. Customer service ratings won't be accurate unless people post their experiences - that what I'm doing.

If you are already aware of the process and "what is normal" then why contact EE in the first place to tell them you're leaving, you should just leave it to the receiving ISP to do all the work. I can't help feeling you brought a lot of this on yourself.

Chipping

neilmcl said:

Chipping said:

Thanks for the replies telling me this is all normal, but I am aware 'what is normal' in broadband switchover. I've been switch two households (to different providers) every year for over a decade. The important thing I was pointing out was that their customer service has been bad. The reason I chose them, apart from the great deal, is their good customer service rating. Customer service ratings won't be accurate unless people post their experiences - that what I'm doing.

If you are already aware of the process and "what is normal" then why contact EE in the first place to tell them you're leaving, you should just leave it to the receiving ISP to do all the work. I can't help feeling you brought a lot of this on yourself.

I think you should do a bit more reading. I.e. read my post before commenting. The receiving ISP told me to contact EE. I knew it would avail of nothing, but I had to do it so they could not accuse me of not following their instructions and because I'm not big-headed enough to think that I'm always right.

neilmcl

Chipping said:

neilmcl said:

Chipping said:

Thanks for the replies telling me this is all normal, but I am aware 'what is normal' in broadband switchover. I've been switch two households (to different providers) every year for over a decade. The important thing I was pointing out was that their customer service has been bad. The reason I chose them, apart from the great deal, is their good customer service rating. Customer service ratings won't be accurate unless people post their experiences - that what I'm doing.

If you are already aware of the process and "what is normal" then why contact EE in the first place to tell them you're leaving, you should just leave it to the receiving ISP to do all the work. I can't help feeling you brought a lot of this on yourself.

I think you should do a bit more reading. I.e. read my post before commenting. The receiving ISP told me to contact EE. I knew it would avail of nothing, but I had to do it so they could not accuse me of not following their instructions and because I'm not big-headed enough to think that I'm always right.

I did read it, but if you simply followed the normal process instead of trying to get providers to change dates etc, then there would've been no need to speak to anyone and the changeover would've taken place without hassle.

Chipping

neilmcl said:

Chipping said:

neilmcl said:

Chipping said:

Thanks for the replies telling me this is all normal, but I am aware 'what is normal' in broadband switchover. I've been switch two households (to different providers) every year for over a decade. The important thing I was pointing out was that their customer service has been bad. The reason I chose them, apart from the great deal, is their good customer service rating. Customer service ratings won't be accurate unless people post their experiences - that what I'm doing.

If you are already aware of the process and "what is normal" then why contact EE in the first place to tell them you're leaving, you should just leave it to the receiving ISP to do all the work. I can't help feeling you brought a lot of this on yourself.

I think you should do a bit more reading. I.e. read my post before commenting. The receiving ISP told me to contact EE. I knew it would avail of nothing, but I had to do it so they could not accuse me of not following their instructions and because I'm not big-headed enough to think that I'm always right.

I did read it, but if you simply followed the normal process instead of trying to get providers to change dates etc, then there would've been no need to speak to anyone and the changeover would've taken place without hassle.

If you did read it, you would have seen, and I write it yet again, that I'm letting people know about my customer service experience. Apparently, your purpose here seems to be to tell me I'm the problem and I shouldn't post my experience. Do you work for Sky or NowTV?