Broadband rip off
Discussion
s2kjock said:
I'm paying £56 pm for the basic VM BB, phone, TV package and have just ordered a 4g router. I reckon I use about 40-50GB a month currently, so will trial it with Giffgaff for a month and if good can at least look to cancel VM.
I have a rubbish communal TV aerial though which I can't easily upgrade, so freeview options are limited for more than about 4 channels.
At least I can give the 4g a decent go, and if it doesn't work out I plan to pass on to my folks so they can ditch their dreadful BT service (always losing t'internet).
Are you in an upstairs flat with a loft space by chance ?I have a rubbish communal TV aerial though which I can't easily upgrade, so freeview options are limited for more than about 4 channels.
At least I can give the 4g a decent go, and if it doesn't work out I plan to pass on to my folks so they can ditch their dreadful BT service (always losing t'internet).
Reason I ask is that last weekend I stuck an aerial in a loft dropped a cable down into the bedroom below and got a full set of channels incl the HD ones
Grumpy old git said:
Can I ask who your supplier in Spain is? We're still on crappy satellite broadband and pay more than that for 10gb a month!
Mangatel but I think they may be regional rather than national.https://www.mangatel.com/
techiedave said:
Are you in an upstairs flat with a loft space by chance ?
Reason I ask is that last weekend I stuck an aerial in a loft dropped a cable down into the bedroom below and got a full set of channels incl the HD ones
I tried this several years ago but sadly it was no better. It's a semi flat roof so the loft space is only 5 feet high and trusses/bracing everywhere which I suspect messes with the signal.Reason I ask is that last weekend I stuck an aerial in a loft dropped a cable down into the bedroom below and got a full set of channels incl the HD ones
If I move away from Virgin - what are the options regarding the actual physical connection? The reason I ask is :
I have the Virgin cable box thing at the front of the house next to the front door, but the broadband wire runs from that around the side of the house and through the wall into the cupboard under the stairs - which is where my router is, and where I want it to stay.
I have a phone socket in the wall at the front of the house - but I assume this is Virgin rather than the BT one. Not sure I have a BT socket anymore - I vaguely recall it being plastered over many years ago.
So I assume that if I switch, I'd need a new telephone socket installed. And that I'd still need the router connection to be separate from that phone socket.
I have the Virgin cable box thing at the front of the house next to the front door, but the broadband wire runs from that around the side of the house and through the wall into the cupboard under the stairs - which is where my router is, and where I want it to stay.
I have a phone socket in the wall at the front of the house - but I assume this is Virgin rather than the BT one. Not sure I have a BT socket anymore - I vaguely recall it being plastered over many years ago.
So I assume that if I switch, I'd need a new telephone socket installed. And that I'd still need the router connection to be separate from that phone socket.
davek_964 said:
If I move away from Virgin - what are the options regarding the actual physical connection? The reason I ask is :
I have the Virgin cable box thing at the front of the house next to the front door, but the broadband wire runs from that around the side of the house and through the wall into the cupboard under the stairs - which is where my router is, and where I want it to stay.
I have a phone socket in the wall at the front of the house - but I assume this is Virgin rather than the BT one. Not sure I have a BT socket anymore - I vaguely recall it being plastered over many years ago.
So I assume that if I switch, I'd need a new telephone socket installed. And that I'd still need the router connection to be separate from that phone socket.
Go and look at the outside of the property. If it's a house then there should be a cable hitting it from somewhere and you can look to see where that enters and maybe work out where the socket is/ was.I have the Virgin cable box thing at the front of the house next to the front door, but the broadband wire runs from that around the side of the house and through the wall into the cupboard under the stairs - which is where my router is, and where I want it to stay.
I have a phone socket in the wall at the front of the house - but I assume this is Virgin rather than the BT one. Not sure I have a BT socket anymore - I vaguely recall it being plastered over many years ago.
So I assume that if I switch, I'd need a new telephone socket installed. And that I'd still need the router connection to be separate from that phone socket.
You will probably have to get a new BT socket installed and generally you would connect the new ISP router to that socket. You may be able to get BT to run the cable into where that cupboard is and terminate into a socket
techiedave said:
Go and look at the outside of the property. If it's a house then there should be a cable hitting it from somewhere and you can look to see where that enters and maybe work out where the socket is/ was.
You will probably have to get a new BT socket installed and generally you would connect the new ISP router to that socket. You may be able to get BT to run the cable into where that cupboard is and terminate into a socket
Thanks.You will probably have to get a new BT socket installed and generally you would connect the new ISP router to that socket. You may be able to get BT to run the cable into where that cupboard is and terminate into a socket
I know where the old BT socket was - it used to be roughly where the Virgin one is. I'll take a look at the wires outside - I know there is a telephone line connected to the top of the house (from a telegraph pole almost opposite the house) but where it goes into the house I'm not sure.
I'll have to make some calls, although I suspect the average telephone operator won't be able to answer me. It's a deal breaker if I can't have the router in the cupboard though. (Mind you, given how useful a landline is these days - perhaps I just need a single socket in the cupboard)
I just checked my bank statement over the year, and I really don't understand what's happened to my prices. Here's what I've been paying :
Nov 2018 : £40 (was the same in July 2018)
Dec 2018 : £43
Mar 2019 : £45
Apr 2019 : £53
Aug 2019 : £56.50
In 8 months, it's gone up by 41%. No idea why, but I'm about to call them to find out!
Nov 2018 : £40 (was the same in July 2018)
Dec 2018 : £43
Mar 2019 : £45
Apr 2019 : £53
Aug 2019 : £56.50
In 8 months, it's gone up by 41%. No idea why, but I'm about to call them to find out!
.So - apparently, the story is something like :
My contract came to an end in September, so the price went up.
A month or two later, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
In Feb, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
And now, the price is going up for everybody.
If I renew the contract, they can offer me discounts........ but only down to ~£45 a month for the existing 100MB package I'm on.
They can offer me 50MB for £41
Or I could ditch the phone and do just 50MB broadband for £34
All still sound a little pricey to me. I will call around and see whether any of the other providers are confident they can install a socket in my cupboard. Even if there is an installation cost, Virgin have annoyed me.
My contract came to an end in September, so the price went up.
A month or two later, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
In Feb, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
And now, the price is going up for everybody.
If I renew the contract, they can offer me discounts........ but only down to ~£45 a month for the existing 100MB package I'm on.
They can offer me 50MB for £41
Or I could ditch the phone and do just 50MB broadband for £34
All still sound a little pricey to me. I will call around and see whether any of the other providers are confident they can install a socket in my cupboard. Even if there is an installation cost, Virgin have annoyed me.
davek_964 said:
So - apparently, the story is something like :
My contract came to an end in September, so the price went up.
A month or two later, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
In Feb, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
And now, the price is going up for everybody.
If I renew the contract, they can offer me discounts........ but only down to ~£45 a month for the existing 100MB package I'm on.
They can offer me 50MB for £41
Or I could ditch the phone and do just 50MB broadband for £34
All still sound a little pricey to me. I will call around and see whether any of the other providers are confident they can install a socket in my cupboard. Even if there is an installation cost, Virgin have annoyed me.
Without wishing to appear arrogant. I just knew as soos as I saw your earlier post the reasons why you had been hit with odd price increases. I made a point of this earlier on.My contract came to an end in September, so the price went up.
A month or two later, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
In Feb, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
And now, the price is going up for everybody.
If I renew the contract, they can offer me discounts........ but only down to ~£45 a month for the existing 100MB package I'm on.
They can offer me 50MB for £41
Or I could ditch the phone and do just 50MB broadband for £34
All still sound a little pricey to me. I will call around and see whether any of the other providers are confident they can install a socket in my cupboard. Even if there is an installation cost, Virgin have annoyed me.
I believe it goes like this You get a price increase letter so you ring them and Agent A finds a way to apply a discount to some part of your package. Sometimes they apply 2 discounts but start one immediately and one a month later. You get another increase letter later in the year and Agent B finds a way to apply another discount.
Thing is its not clear when the discounts end
There is just no transparency with the procedure. I do firmly believe the retention guys are under pressure to minimise the discounts given. I think they are both targeted to get so much and have incentives as part of their targets the less they give away the more they get
Its a complete farce and looking at some other forums its really starting to hack people off.
davek_964 said:
So - apparently, the story is something like :
My contract came to an end in September, so the price went up.
A month or two later, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
In Feb, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
And now, the price is going up for everybody.
If I renew the contract, they can offer me discounts........ but only down to ~£45 a month for the existing 100MB package I'm on.
They can offer me 50MB for £41
Or I could ditch the phone and do just 50MB broadband for £34
All still sound a little pricey to me. I will call around and see whether any of the other providers are confident they can install a socket in my cupboard. Even if there is an installation cost, Virgin have annoyed me.
We basically had exactly the same so cancelled Virgin.My contract came to an end in September, so the price went up.
A month or two later, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
In Feb, a discount I had came to an end, so the price went up.
And now, the price is going up for everybody.
If I renew the contract, they can offer me discounts........ but only down to ~£45 a month for the existing 100MB package I'm on.
They can offer me 50MB for £41
Or I could ditch the phone and do just 50MB broadband for £34
All still sound a little pricey to me. I will call around and see whether any of the other providers are confident they can install a socket in my cupboard. Even if there is an installation cost, Virgin have annoyed me.
Sounds like you could do what I did and go with Plusnet for £27.50 a month with £70 cashback. We got the 'Unlimited Fibre Extra' on an 18 month contract - including line rental. We had to pay £50 for the line connection as you won't have one - it'll have been disconnected when you joined Virgin.
The install is £50 so you're £20 up from the cash back. Don't buy a phone package so you're still at £27.50. I haven't even got a home phone plugged in to mine.
The max download speed on plusnet is 76MB, max upload is 19MB. Support is UK based and whenever I needed them in my last house they were VERY good. They dug half the road up to fix an intermittent signal interference issue and didn't bill me whilst the service wasn't working properly.
Had my Plusnet set up yesterday, Openreach wired the port to exactly where I wanted it (wasn't an easy location) and it's been solid. 50MB in peak, and I had about 80 last night after dark.
Plusnet also do referral discounts - 75p off monthly cost of broadband + £25 gift card for each of us. If you click here it will refer you and we both get discounts - https://www.plus.net/refer.php?strReferralsUid=d98... !!! I think!
Edited by ashleyman on Wednesday 17th July 17:59
Looks like I've ended up with EE.
I looked up their deal on the website today (my mobile is EE), and it asked me for my postcode and landline number. Didn't enter any other details, and saw that their fibre plus broadband / phone deal was £32.
They've just called me, and said : how'd you like it for £26 for 18 months?
Speed between 48 / 72, guaranteed minimum of 40.
They assure me the engineer can put the box wherever I want, installation will be £50.
They'll give me an extra 5GB of data on my mobile for free for the 18 months, although I already use a fraction of the 20GB I have. Still nice though.
Only minor concern is that it's really BT and I'm unimpressed with my girlfriend's BT broadband. But the router will be in modem mode anyway.
Bye bye Virgin.
ETA: Or maybe not, since I called their cancellation department and have been on hold for 28 minutes. Shocking.
They could offer it for free now and I'd still leave.
ETA2: finally answered after 45 mins. Tried to persuade me what a great service I get, I said you're too expensive, I'm leaving. Oh I'll have to transfer you for that. I pointed out I'd chosen the options for the cancellation department so there should be no need for transfer. "Oh, it must be a mis-routed call, we're customer service".
On hold again. I've heard they make it very hard to cancel - seems to be true!
I looked up their deal on the website today (my mobile is EE), and it asked me for my postcode and landline number. Didn't enter any other details, and saw that their fibre plus broadband / phone deal was £32.
They've just called me, and said : how'd you like it for £26 for 18 months?
Speed between 48 / 72, guaranteed minimum of 40.
They assure me the engineer can put the box wherever I want, installation will be £50.
They'll give me an extra 5GB of data on my mobile for free for the 18 months, although I already use a fraction of the 20GB I have. Still nice though.
Only minor concern is that it's really BT and I'm unimpressed with my girlfriend's BT broadband. But the router will be in modem mode anyway.
Bye bye Virgin.
ETA: Or maybe not, since I called their cancellation department and have been on hold for 28 minutes. Shocking.
They could offer it for free now and I'd still leave.
ETA2: finally answered after 45 mins. Tried to persuade me what a great service I get, I said you're too expensive, I'm leaving. Oh I'll have to transfer you for that. I pointed out I'd chosen the options for the cancellation department so there should be no need for transfer. "Oh, it must be a mis-routed call, we're customer service".
On hold again. I've heard they make it very hard to cancel - seems to be true!
Edited by davek_964 on Wednesday 17th July 19:50
Edited by davek_964 on Wednesday 17th July 20:16
davek_964 said:
stuff
]
IF you want to keep your landline number you have to be careful your virgin thing doesn't disconnect before the other is installed !]
I am likely yo leave them myself but have been advised to start the new services THEN give notice to Virgin
Also I don't believe there is a simple modem mode setting on the EE Hub. You can get round it but I'm pretty certain there isn't a dedicated modem mode setting
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 17th July 21:00
EE website told me I couldn't keep my landline number - and I never use it anyway. Virtually nobody I know even has it!
Finally cancelled after being on hold for an hour and twenty minutes. Despite me saying I wanted to cancel from 28th August, she confirmed my contract would be cancelled... From 16th August. I repeated 28th and she assures me she changed it, and I'll get written confirmation within 48 hours.
It's amusing when they start trying to persuade you to stay. I'm afraid I interrupted and said : you know a good way to convince me I'm right to leave? Keep me on hold for an hour and twenty minutes when I call the cancellation department.
She gave up at that point.
Finally cancelled after being on hold for an hour and twenty minutes. Despite me saying I wanted to cancel from 28th August, she confirmed my contract would be cancelled... From 16th August. I repeated 28th and she assures me she changed it, and I'll get written confirmation within 48 hours.
It's amusing when they start trying to persuade you to stay. I'm afraid I interrupted and said : you know a good way to convince me I'm right to leave? Keep me on hold for an hour and twenty minutes when I call the cancellation department.
She gave up at that point.
Edited by davek_964 on Wednesday 17th July 21:03
davek_964 said:
EE website told me I couldn't keep my landline number - and I never use it anyway. Virtually nobody I know even has it!
Finally cancelled after being on hold for an hour and twenty minutes. Despite me saying I wanted to cancel from 28th August, she confirmed my contact would be cancelled... From 16th August. I repeated 28th and she assures me she changed it, and I'll get written confirmation within 48 hours.
It's amusing when they start trying to persuade you to stay. I'm afraid I interrupted and said : you know a good way to combine me I'm right to leave? Keep me on hold for an hour and twenty minutes when I call the cancellation department.
She gave up at that point.
One of the amusing things is when they tell you the amount of stuff you consume off them that would have cost you a fortune if you go elsewhere. The highlight for me is that I watch lots of TV.Finally cancelled after being on hold for an hour and twenty minutes. Despite me saying I wanted to cancel from 28th August, she confirmed my contact would be cancelled... From 16th August. I repeated 28th and she assures me she changed it, and I'll get written confirmation within 48 hours.
It's amusing when they start trying to persuade you to stay. I'm afraid I interrupted and said : you know a good way to combine me I'm right to leave? Keep me on hold for an hour and twenty minutes when I call the cancellation department.
She gave up at that point.
She said I average about 6 hours an evening. Its news to me
How they calculate this is how often your V6 box is on. Theres one problem with that. Its in standbye mode but sometimes is switched on when the TV is switched on and it assumes ownership of the V6 box ( I think its called Anynet+ HDMI or something
Then when the TV is s witched off unless the V6 box is switched off at the remote it stays on for a bit
Yeah, I'm still in my 24 month into period of £30/m. Which to me is reasonable for the level of service offered. Not sure what I am going to do when the period is out, can't even really threaten to take my business elsewhere, BT lines to my house top out at ~8mbps down, virgin I believe is upwards of 300, although I get a reliable 100 which I utilise fairly heavily. But at the same time I can't really afford the £55 or so they would be asking as an existing customer.
Makes you really sympathise with Americans, where this type of 1 or 2 company dominance is common in most areas.
Makes you really sympathise with Americans, where this type of 1 or 2 company dominance is common in most areas.
I am in the process of sorting out our broadband at work as our contract with BT has expired and it goes from £45 to £80☹️
So have had a quote from Virgin and they have offered £45 on an 18 month contract but reading the stories on here I am not going with them.
BT want £54 on a 2 year contract which is no good to us as my partner wants to retire in 18 months and does not want his name on anything so need a 18 month contract broadband only and we do not need a lot, currently have 6 mb download and .8 upload so something around 30 would be nice, any recommendations?
So have had a quote from Virgin and they have offered £45 on an 18 month contract but reading the stories on here I am not going with them.
BT want £54 on a 2 year contract which is no good to us as my partner wants to retire in 18 months and does not want his name on anything so need a 18 month contract broadband only and we do not need a lot, currently have 6 mb download and .8 upload so something around 30 would be nice, any recommendations?
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