Don't know what to do 27 December 2007 at 9:52PM in Broadband & internet access 5 replies 598 views

kendalls_cave

i don't know what to do about my broadband and phone. Let me explain. I am with pipex for broadband . I pay £14.99 a month. I know Pipex have had bad press, but I've never really had any trouble with them. I am with BT for my phone and on option phone. Now I know this isn't probably the cheapest way of getting broadband and phone and that is my delema
Do I change broadband to a bundle that provides phone and broadband and if so who do i go with? Or do I go on to Pipex's home call as well as broadband? i am scared of changing broadband providers. been disabled I rely heavily on the internet for banking, shopping, soical life, everything. I don't really want to be without it., and I've read the horror stories of people leaving Pipex on here. Please can someone help me? Thanks

Pitchshifter

Hi, I'm in pretty much the same situation as you as I'm with BT option 1 and Pipex for internet. Today I rang Pipex and asked for my MAC number and it should arrive in a few days, then I can choose another ISP easily. As long as you are outside the contract period there are no charges and they said they would refund for any days not used.

My personal feelings are, I would rather stick with BT for my phone line for simplicitys sake, after all they own the lines so if there is a problem you deal directly with them.

I want a faster and cheaper internet provider so I'm going to try Be Broadband.
Their cheapest option is £14, so you would only save £1 per month.

I assume you need a cheaper deal than that and they only way to do it is to have a bundle as you suggest. My Dad has a Tiscali package and it's been working fine now for a few months.
They offer by far the cheapest service of all, because they include line rental (which costs you £10.50 at the moment) and free weekend calls for £14.99, this is with unlimitted 8Mb broadband. So it's like having broadband for £4.50.
Setting it up was really easy for him and the billing change was all automatic. He's getting faster internet than me and paying over £15 less per month!
Pipex is expensive, I'm glad to be leaving.

[Deleted User]

Pitchshifter, I have been looking at Tiscali myself but I am a bit apprehensive as most of what I hear about them is negative. Has your Dad been happy with the service from Tiscali?

Pitchshifter

It's been all smooth, no problems. I do know that people have problems, but all ISPs have their problems. You have to take a balanced view when you choose an ISP and read reviews. For instance I've been very happy with Pipex's customer service, but unfortunately the price I'm paying for that luxury is too high so I'm prepared to take a bit of a gamble and try another ISP (I'm talking about Be Broadband) that is offering more performance for less cash. I've read the reviews and yes there are some negative comments as people have had problems, the call centre is Bulgarian so accents on the phone could be slightly difficult and you have to send back the "free" router when you cancel. Apart from these things which I accept, the comments are generally very positve.
Tiscali is just the same, my Dads experience so far has been fine, the phone billing is correct and broadband is working well. I know someone at work who had the opposite experience with them, he couldn't get a decent connection with them and they failed to rectify the problem for him so he left and went with Sky.

To the OP Kendals Cave, don't be scared to switch, you stand to save over £10.50 a month.

billsavings

I notice Martin MSE has removed Tiscali from his Broadband Article. I wonder why ?poor customer service perhaps where you have to call an expensive 0871 number.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-broadband#cheapest

Pitchshifter

You get what you pay for. It's the cheapest so as long as you don't have to ring them no problem.

I should add, £14.99 per month is actually not bad and if the easiest thing to do is stay with Pipex then do that. If you swith you will have to pay a £30 connection fee to the new ISP, which you'll save by staying. If you don't download videos or music you might want to go for Pipex lite service which is £9.99 per month with some free phone calls into the bargain. This might be a easy, safe way to continue using the same provider and save a few quid.