Broadband Access - A Word Of Warning

Sunday_Morning

In sites like Rightmove and MSE where it asks you to put in a postcode, and even Broadband Genie where you specify the address within the postcode, the results that come up from companies are NO guarantee that the company can provide the service.

I have learned this the hard way.  11 months into a 18 month contract with Virgin, my landlord wants to sell up and so I am forced to move.  In choosing a new property I wanted one that ideally had a good broadband speed and even more so had Virgin so I could continue my contract.

I saw property I liked, checked the broadband speed on both Rightmove and Broadband genie, was delighted to see the Virginmedia service I currently have as one of the advertised services, and so went on ahead and agreed to a contract.

Alas, only then did I check with VirginMedia itself only to be told Virgin Media isn't available at the address.

Now I realise, without Virginmedia, there is nothing available beyond the relative speed of a tortoise!

A painful lesson for me as it looks like I will have to pull out of the contract having paid a holding deposit as a result.

But hopefully my bad experience will prompt someone else in the future to not be as careless as I was! 

oldernonethewiser

Sunday_Morning said:

In sites like Rightmove and MSE where it asks you to put in a postcode, and even Broadband Genie where you specify the address within the postcode, the results that come up from companies are NO guarantee that the company can provide the service.

I have learned this the hard way.  11 months into a 18 month contract with Virgin, my landlord wants to sell up and so I am forced to move.  In choosing a new property I wanted one that ideally had a good broadband speed and even more so had Virgin so I could continue my contract.

I saw property I liked, checked the broadband speed on both Rightmove and Broadband genie, was delighted to see the Virginmedia service I currently have as one of the advertised services, and so went on ahead and agreed to a contract.

Alas, only then did I check with VirginMedia itself only to be told Virgin Media isn't available at the address.

Now I realise, without Virginmedia, there is nothing available beyond the relative speed of a tortoise!

A painful lesson for me as it looks like I will have to pull out of the contract having paid a holding deposit as a result.

But hopefully my bad experience will prompt someone else in the future to not be as careless as I was! 

A lesson learned.

Always check directly with the provider.

These online "guides" as a starting point only.

There are some options in my area that aren't listed at all on these sites.

Hope you manage to get something sorted to your satisfaction.

Katifer_5

I have just made a similar mistake of signing up for EE full fibre as the salesman in the shop told me fibre is definitely available where I’m moving to. After 2 visits from openreach, yes, fibre is available in the area but not to my flat. Landlord has said no to putting another cable in 8-) Yay. 

So, the provider won’t necessarily tell you accurately either. As the wise Openreach man said “well yeah salesmen will tell you anything” 

iniltous

No provider is going include  , ‘if you rent , because its not you that gives permission but your landlord, we will show it’s not available, because your landlord may refuse the installation , that would be ridiculous 

The  ISP T&C’s will state availability is assuming that any permission from the owner will be given , that’s not the provider being inaccurate , checker sites are not broken down into private ownership and rental , for one thing it’s impossible to know if any particular address is owner occupied or rented , so in your case fibre is available to your  flat , your landlord is not allowing it , expecting the network owner or ISP to add a caveat is unrealistic 

Katifer_5

iniltous said:

No provider is going include  , ‘if you rent , it’s not you that gives permission so it’s available depending on your landlord ‘ , on the checker sites , it sort of goes without saying ….that’s not the provider being inaccurate , it’s something renters should already know , or makes strides to find out .

I think you’re missing my point. I was agreeing with the OP how important it is to do thorough research and not rely on what postcode checkers tell you / the salesman in the shop.
However with regards to your point that renters should already know - other than doing an address check and asking the letting agent (who in this case lied to me) how else are they to “already know”? Track down the current tenant and ask them?
Thanks. 

iniltous

I’m not saying renters should know , but anyone renting will be ( or should be ) aware that any changes to the fabric of the building will need the landlord to agree …so something like broadband over a new network will require some ‘work’ on the fabric of the building, something relatively insignificant like changing an overhead wire , to something more intrusive like excavation through a garden and because of this the tenant should make enquiries with the landlord before approaching the ISP , my point is that asking an ISP ‘can I get FTTP’ will depend entirely on the proximity of the network, not the potential hurdles, like a recalcitrant landlord when it’s a rented property, the addresses survey return makes no distinction between property that is ‘to let’ and owner occupied,  but ultimately in cases like this ,  it’s the renter that gains permission not the ISP .

I hope I’m not coming over as critical as that’s not my intention, I sympathise with your situation and lay the ‘blame’ squarely at the landlord , the fact that if you get FTTP installed, it would make the property more ‘rentable’ in the future seems lost on them 

flashg67

If there's a decent mobile signal(check which is best first) then a 4g router and unlimited sim might work for you. I did for me and still keep one as a back up as I'm in a rural location