New ISP

[cruiser2]

Got an email this week to say that one of the broadband suppliers was giving a deal. So yesterday I phoned and have got a deal with a different company starting in December at less than half I am now paying
This includes line rental, calss to landlines and mobiles and broadband witha garuanted speed of 3oMB. Price is foxed for the eighteen month contract. It cannot be increased.
Contact is for 18 months which is now normal for most companies.
Put it on here as it is about computers.

[Workingman]

Who with, Cruiser?

I am thinking of changing.

[Suff]

Sounds pretty good Cruiser.

Pity that in France I have to use Orange which is France Telecom and owned by the government. If you don't take Orange your speed is way lower.

Also if you use your own router your speed is significantly lower but if you use their LiveBox, they charge you a monthly fee.

Openness, freedom of choice, enterprise, competition. All concepts totally Alien to the service industry in France.

[Workingman]

.... if you use your own router your speed is significantly lower....

I found that with TalkTalk when their router fell over and I was waiting for a replacement. I used a decent spec Netgear but the speed dropped from about 16 Mbps to 10 Mbps. When the new router turned up, a TT badged Huawei, it jumped to 20+.

My bill email arrived on Wednesday and as it is a fixed price I just filed it, but Cruiser's post got me thinking. The upshot is that TalkTalk have just lost a customer as they could offer no customer loyalty. Nine years of contracts lost in seconds. I have now signed up with Vodaphone fast fibre. They are giving me three times my current speed for £17 per month less than TT. The very best, super-douper, rock bottom price TT would give me was twice my current speed for a £13 saving per month. The cheeky blinders are offering that deal to all and sundry on the Internet.

Any company that wants my loyalty to them has to offer some back to me.

[Suff]

Any company that wants my loyalty to them has to offer some back to me.

Vodafone keep hassling me about broadband but I don't have anywhere I can get it.

It is a bit of a cheek what TT is doing. But they are banking on simple inertia to keep the business.

I need to upgrade my Orange at home to what France Telecom calls "Fibre" but is actually fibre to the box and VDSL to the home. I can do all the ordering online till it gets to the last part, then it barfs and insists I go to a shop and have a "consultation". Which is never going to happen because Mrs S is not interested. It is not a big increase in the down speed but it is a 10X increase in up speeds and a LOT of what I do with the machines is remote from somewhere else. I need the up speed.

Some day. Although I will need an engineer as two of my three pairs in the cable from the wall are broken. I know this because the last time we had a problem the engineer told Mrs S that we'd have to get a new cable if we had another issue. Mrs S, naturally, immediately forgot this as it is "Technology" and therefore not worth remembering. Although woe betide me if her mobile loses signal, the iPad doesn't work anywhere inside and outside the house, flawlessly or the Laptop has an issue. She's a bit more forgiving about UK Amazon Prime and Netflix in the house. But not much.....

[cruiser2]

Who with, Cruiser?

I am thinking of changing.

WM, I was wwith BT
Am changing to TalkTalk.
I do not need superfast speeds and don't do games or watch films on my computer.
I did it by phoning but having their web site on my computer to check prices.
Watch out you may have to pay a leaving charge with yur existing supplier

[Workingman]

Cruiser, It is TalkTalk I am leaving.... and as I am out of contract there will be no leaving charged. We have already spoken.

Tips:

Make sure to set an alarm for 18 months time because if you let this contract run one second over TalkTalk will start charging the new rate without any letter, call or email - it will just be done.

Don't expect much sense from the talk centre in Bangalore. It might be easier for you to learn Gujarati or Punjabi.

Be aware that TalkTalk customers are the most scammed of all ISP customers in the UK. I warn you now that you will get calls and they will be persistent. I bought a whistle to deter them as posted on Cafe some months back.

Good luck, you are going to need it.

[cruiser2]

WM,
I wish I had never agreed to go with TalkTalk.
I only have an order number. No account number or Welcome letter.
Just sent a har4d copy of a compalint letter to the CEO of complaints at Salford.
Will let you know what happens.

[Workingman]

Cruiser, to be fair, once the service is up and running it is rock solid, it is their customer services and loyalty that is lacking.

The Huwawei router you get is one of the best, and their DNS (gets you to the sites you want) is super fast compared to many others.

Just be aware that the deal you are now on might not be the best on offer in X months time and TT will not let you know. Broadband prices are collapsing but TT will keep you on your current deal unless you act.

I moved because of that.