Downgrade from Fibre to Standard...Not possible?

grimble37

Have just tried to downgrade from fibre to standard broadband and was told its absolutely not possible, not with my current supplier or with any supplier that I may wish to change to. The agent on the phone said its not possible for anyone (not just for me). He seemed really clued up about everything (not new to the job at all) and did say that most customers are unaware of this.
Personally I've never heard of this before and googling around I can't see anything to back up is claim. Is it true? 

daveyjp

Without details of which supplier you are talking about its difficult to comment.

BT have installed FTTP local to me and anyone who opts for it has the old copper cable replaced with a fibre optic from the same pole.  Once its done thats it.

JenB79

grimble37 said:

Have just tried to downgrade from fibre to standard broadband and was told its absolutely not possible, not with my current supplier or with any supplier that I may wish to change to. The agent on the phone said its not possible for anyone (not just for me). He seemed really clued up about everything (not new to the job at all) and did say that most customers are unaware of this.
Personally I've never heard of this before and googling around I can't see anything to back up is claim. Is it true? 

What do you mean by "fibre"? FTTC or FTTP? If the latter then its not unusual to see FTTP only properties (ie no copper feed), typically they tend to be new builds. What does the checker here show for your property? (use the address option if your phone number isn't recognized)

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com

If the above checker shows ADSL2+ speeds then you can order ADSL2+ from the likes of Plusnet and TalkTalk. AFAIk BT and Zen have stopped selling ADSL2+ where FTTC speeds are greater, as there's not a huge difference in cost between ADSL2+ and FTTC 40/10 services.

jackieblack

grimble37 said:

Have just tried to downgrade from fibre to standard broadband and was told its absolutely not possible, not with my current supplier or with any supplier that I may wish to change to. The agent on the phone said its not possible for anyone (not just for me). He seemed really clued up about everything (not new to the job at all) and did say that most customers are unaware of this.
Personally I've never heard of this before and googling around I can't see anything to back up is claim. Is it true? 

I was told the same thing by BT after finding out my 81 year old father had been talked into ‘upgrading’ by a salesperson who told him it would be better for him 😡 (he only uses an iPad for email and reading the news)

grimble37

jackieblack said:

grimble37 said:

Have just tried to downgrade from fibre to standard broadband and was told its absolutely not possible, not with my current supplier or with any supplier that I may wish to change to. The agent on the phone said its not possible for anyone (not just for me). He seemed really clued up about everything (not new to the job at all) and did say that most customers are unaware of this.
Personally I've never heard of this before and googling around I can't see anything to back up is claim. Is it true? 

I was told the same thing by BT after finding out my 81 year old father had been talked into ‘upgrading’ by a salesperson who told him it would be better for him 😡 (he only uses an iPad for email and reading the news)

Wow, I can't believe they are allowed to do this and not warn people beforehand, rather unscrupulous, I'm surprised that Martin doesn't warn about this either.
I didn't need fibre either but was advised to get it by a technician who could not find an intermittent fault with my standard broadband (or could not be bothered to find it - I am aware how they work)

grimble37

daveyjp said:

Without details of which supplier you are talking about its difficult to comment.

BT have installed FTTP local to me and anyone who opts for it has the old copper cable replaced with a fibre optic from the same pole.  Once its done thats it.

Shell broadband. 

grimble37

JenB79 said:

grimble37 said:

Have just tried to downgrade from fibre to standard broadband and was told its absolutely not possible, not with my current supplier or with any supplier that I may wish to change to. The agent on the phone said its not possible for anyone (not just for me). He seemed really clued up about everything (not new to the job at all) and did say that most customers are unaware of this.
Personally I've never heard of this before and googling around I can't see anything to back up is claim. Is it true? 

What do you mean by "fibre"? FTTC or FTTP? If the latter then its not unusual to see FTTP only properties (ie no copper feed), typically they tend to be new builds. What does the checker here show for your property? (use the address option if your phone number isn't recognized)

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com

If the above checker shows ADSL2+ speeds then you can order ADSL2+ from the likes of Plusnet and TalkTalk. AFAIk BT and Zen have stopped selling ADSL2+ where FTTC speeds are greater, as there's not a huge difference in cost between ADSL2+ and FTTC 40/10 services.

I tried the link but it didn't recognise the phone number, no idea about the FTTP etc. 

JenB79

grimble37 said:

JenB79 said:

grimble37 said:

Have just tried to downgrade from fibre to standard broadband and was told its absolutely not possible, not with my current supplier or with any supplier that I may wish to change to. The agent on the phone said its not possible for anyone (not just for me). He seemed really clued up about everything (not new to the job at all) and did say that most customers are unaware of this.
Personally I've never heard of this before and googling around I can't see anything to back up is claim. Is it true? 

What do you mean by "fibre"? FTTC or FTTP? If the latter then its not unusual to see FTTP only properties (ie no copper feed), typically they tend to be new builds. What does the checker here show for your property? (use the address option if your phone number isn't recognized)

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com

If the above checker shows ADSL2+ speeds then you can order ADSL2+ from the likes of Plusnet and TalkTalk. AFAIk BT and Zen have stopped selling ADSL2+ where FTTC speeds are greater, as there's not a huge difference in cost between ADSL2+ and FTTC 40/10 services.

I tried the link but it didn't recognise the phone number, no idea about the FTTP etc. 

You need to click on 'address checker' option:

JenB79

Well Shell Broadband seem to offer Standard broadband (ADSL2+ based) to new customers online, even where FTTC is available. So i find it very strange why they cannot downgrade an existing customer (assuming ADSL2+ is available)

grimble37

JenB79 said:

Well Shell Broadband seem to offer Standard broadband (ADSL2+ based) to new customers online, even where FTTC is available. So i find it very strange why they cannot downgrade an existing customer (assuming ADSL2+ is available)

Interestingly, I had phoned Shell an hour before my last call and that particular agent did actually offer me the standard non fibre broadband at £14.99 and at that time I said no I don't want it because I'd found a cheaper one (plusnet at £13.99) but an hour later I decided that switching to plusnet wasn't worth the hassle for £1 a month so I rang Shell back and this later agent said that I should never even have been offered the standard non fibre broadband as its completely impossible to do and explained that the earlier agent that I spoke to was new and that he would be reporting him to his manager!

prowla

One option could be to see if you can get a 2nd POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) phone line to the house.