Which Broadband and Home Phone Provider

[The Mad Monk]

I am with Plusnet. I pay £43 pm for phone and broadband.

Line rental. Talk anytime. Unlimited fibre. 1471. Caller display.

Happy with the service, would I get similar service at a better price elsewhere?

No, not TalkTalk, I would rather have a Corbyn government than go back to TalkTalk.

Any advice, please?

[WIRREN]

I'm with Now broadband ( Sky ) ... £18 / month and free £50 John Lewis voucher.
Line rental + anytime calls + standard broadband.

If you check the Martin Lewis website the Now fibre package, unlimited calls etc. starts at £24 for 12 month contract.

[snuffy]

The Mad Monk said:

I am with Plusnet. I pay £43 pm for phone and broadband.

Line rental. Talk anytime. Unlimited fibre. 1471. Caller display.

Happy with the service, would I get similar service at a better price elsewhere?

No, not TalkTalk, I would rather have a Corbyn government than go back to TalkTalk.

Any advice, please?

That's the same as mine. I've been wondering about changing to someone cheaper but can I be bothered ? It's been very reliable over the several years I've been with Plusnet now.

[recordman]

If you've been with Plusnet for 18 months or more (you're out of contract), phone them up and ask them for a better deal. They're currently offering new customers lower rates, so ask for those rates. It'll mean locking in for another 18 months.

[The Mad Monk]

recordman said:

If you've been with Plusnet for 18 months or more (you're out of contract), phone them up and ask them for a better deal. They're currently offering new customers lower rates, so ask for those rates. It'll mean locking in for another 18 months.

Done that.

They offered me £2.50 a month off the landline rental if I pay a year in advance and £3 a month off the broadband charge. I sucked my teeth and said I would think about it.

[recordman]

The Mad Monk said:

Done that.

They offered me £2.50 a month off the landline rental if I pay a year in advance and £3 a month off the broadband charge. I sucked my teeth and said I would think about it.

In that case cancel Plusnet and go with John Lewis (still Plusnet)

[PF62]

The Mad Monk said:

I am with Plusnet. I pay £43 pm for phone and broadband.

Line rental. Talk anytime. Unlimited fibre. 1471. Caller display.

Sounds expensive given they are offering new customers 66Mb speeds for £23.50 a month + whatever the cost of anytime calls, but then why not use a cheap mobile contract for that.

Caller Display is now free with all the companies - a recent change.

Edited by PF62 on Sunday 18th August 17:58

[NDA]

Does anyone use a landline any more?

I have BT superfast (100Mbps) which I have reduced to 35Mbps for £29 a month - it includes a landline, but I don't use it. Also can't see the point of massively fast downloads - 35 seems plenty fast.

[Timbuktu]

PF62 said:

The Mad Monk said:

I am with Plusnet. I pay £43 pm for phone and broadband.

Line rental. Talk anytime. Unlimited fibre. 1471. Caller display.

Sounds expensive given they are offering new customers 66Mb speeds for £23.50 a month + whatever the cost of anytime calls, but then why not use a cheap mobile contract for that

That does seem expensive, I'm just coming to the end of my first 12 month contract with plusnet and I'm only paying £20 for Unlimited fibre, landline with 2000 minutes/m to mobiles and caller display/ call waiting.

They'll probably try and bump up the price when the contract ends in which case I'll switch again.

NDA said:

Does anyone use a landline any more?

Yes, lots of people.

[heisthegaffer]

I'm with BT fibre which is £31 a month for BB and line rental.

I got this deal from money saving expert which meant I got £100 prepaid mastercard and a £40 M and S gift card. Also, 3 weeks after set up they emailed me to say I had the choice of a Samsung tablet, fit bit or Amazon echo 2.

The router is pretty good, been very reliable and just carried out a speed test which resulted in 39Mbps d/l and 9Mbps u/l. This is with my son streaming you tube at the same time (if that makes a difference).

I was with Vodafone previously but had to cancel the contract mid term as the speed was very slow so I got them in to investigate and it stopped working as soon as the bloke drove off. It took them two weeks and multiple phone calls, all at least an hour long before it worked again.... Was barely any quicker. And the cheeky gets had the front to charge me delivery for the replacement router.

So the moral of this story is avoid Voda but BT really quite good.

[bitchstewie]

I'm also on Plusnet and like yourself once out of contract it's more expensive than "new customers".

Zen look a good deal given their reputation.

Though I only use the landline because you have to have one for broadband, I don't know how their phone service compares.

[Zirconia]

BT are peeing me off with the constant price hikes and no loyalty worth a jot if you have been with them for a while. No real competition where I live. Once this contract is over I am off (plus net probably). If you get a good deal with them to sign up, be prepared to walk at end of contract.

46.99 after discount for broadband and weekend calls and unlimited BB at 62mb/s (long time customer). The broadband does work well.

I keep getting emails to sign up to the "plus" for an extra £3 a month, but that needs a new contract for 18 months stating from sign up date. End of contract can't come soon enough for me. Not the quality of service, no issues there.

Mind you, virgin are digging the streets up around here, might start to get some good retention deals.

[The Mad Monk]

The Mad Monk said:

recordman said:

If you've been with Plusnet for 18 months or more (you're out of contract), phone them up and ask them for a better deal. They're currently offering new customers lower rates, so ask for those rates. It'll mean locking in for another 18 months.

Done that.

They offered me £2.50 a month off the landline rental if I pay a year in advance and £3 a month off the broadband charge. I sucked my teeth and said I would think about it.

I pay Plusnet:-
£15.99 pm for fibre broadband.
£18.99 line rental.
£7.00 Anytime calls

I can reduce the total by £5.50 pm. Doesn't sound bad, or push for a bit more?

[Mr Pointy]

The Mad Monk said:

I pay Plusnet:-
£15.99 pm for fibre broadband.
£18.99 line rental.
£7.00 Anytime calls

I can reduce the total by £5.50 pm. Doesn't sound bad, or push for a bit more?

Do you actually use the landline phone for calls? Zen Unlimited 1 would be £32/mo (35Mb down/6Mb up). Unlimited Anytime calls (to landlines) would be £6.51 extra. Zen have a no-increase policy for as long as you stay with them (mind you,it's no reductions as well, as I found out).

[The Mad Monk]

Mr Pointy said:

The Mad Monk said:

I pay Plusnet:-
£15.99 pm for fibre broadband.
£18.99 line rental.
£7.00 Anytime calls

I can reduce the total by £5.50 pm. Doesn't sound bad, or push for a bit more?

Do you actually use the landline phone for calls? Zen Unlimited 1 would be £32/mo (35Mb down/6Mb up). Unlimited Anytime calls (to landlines) would be £6.51 extra. Zen have a no-increase policy for as long as you stay with them (mind you,it's no reductions as well, as I found out).

We use the landline for all calls at home, except for calls to mobiles.

Is this a silly question? Do I have to have a landline?

I can't see 'er indoors using a mobile for all her calls.

[PF62]

The Mad Monk said:

I pay Plusnet:-
£15.99 pm for fibre broadband.
£18.99 line rental.
£7.00 Anytime calls

I can reduce the total by £5.50 pm. Doesn't sound bad, or push for a bit more?

Sorry, but paying £34.98 for broadband and line rental is crazy, particularly when Plusnet are offering new customers the same for £23.50. Only a mug would pay 50% more for the same product.

Zirconia said:

BT are peeing me off with the constant price hikes

I love BT's constant price hikes. Each time they do it gives me an opportunity to cancel (or threaten to) and negotiate a better deal.

[anonymous-user]

heisthegaffer said:

I'm with BT fibre which is £31 a month for BB and line rental.

I got this deal from money saving expert which meant I got £100 prepaid mastercard and a £40 M and S gift card. Also, 3 weeks after set up they emailed me to say I had the choice of a Samsung tablet, fit bit or Amazon echo 2.

The router is pretty good, been very reliable and just carried out a speed test which resulted in 39Mbps d/l and 9Mbps u/l. This is with my son streaming you tube at the same time (if that makes a difference).

I was with Vodafone previously but had to cancel the contract mid term as the speed was very slow so I got them in to investigate and it stopped working as soon as the bloke drove off. It took them two weeks and multiple phone calls, all at least an hour long before it worked again.... Was barely any quicker. And the cheeky gets had the front to charge me delivery for the replacement router.

So the moral of this story is avoid Voda but BT really quite good.

I bet the bloke who drove off wasn’t Vodafone. Will have been openreach who is the same bloke who doesn’t fix your BT BB when it has issues!

[PF62]

The Mad Monk said:

We use the landline for all calls at home, except for calls to mobiles.

Is this a silly question? Do I have to have a landline?

I can't see 'er indoors using a mobile for all her calls.

I presume suggesting using a Google Home or Mini to take advantage of free phone calls wouldn't go down well.

[Zirconia]

PF62 said:

I love BT's constant price hikes. Each time they do it gives me an opportunity to cancel (or threaten to) and negotiate a better deal.

Not much else’s around here and they know it and I hung on for the 4k sport. Not anymore, and if virgin are digging the trenches then another option has just presented itself on renewal.

[Teebs]

We had rubbish service from BT, slow broadband on their top package and constant price increases.

Switched to Virgin BB last year and it's far better. Just renewed for another 12 months and they gave me a free month and reduced my previous monthly price by another 15%.