Broadband, what are my options?

[Cuchilo]

My virgin media service is down and they have said it will take a week to get someone to look at it so im looking at my options. Im happy to get rid of the tv and home phone as i have freeview on the tv and only use my mobile.
Ive never bothered looking into this before but the last few days of using a tablet has me wanting to use my home pc plus id like to be using zwift for the turbo trainer.
So any tips for a tech numptie on what to do?

 

[Drago]

Sound to me like they're in breach of their own contract.

 

[marinyork]

Sound to me like they're in breach of their own contract.

There may be changes afoot soon with this sort of thing. Ofcom are making a lot of grandiose noises and promises on this one right now. Have to see how long until it takes to bring in these loss of service compensations they are talking about so much right now.

 

[marinyork]

https://my.virginmedia.com/faults/service-status

What does this say? Does it say a week?

 

[Cuchilo]

Im not to bothered about contracts as they are getting told to do one.
I would like to know what options i have for a broad band service. Any good deals, cheapest way, best way but not the cheapest?

 

[Vapin' Joe]

You need to do a search to find the best deals. For my part I'm with PlusNet and happy enough with them.

 

[NorthernDave]

Virtually every provider insist that you take a landline as part of the package, which really gets my goat as we could quite easily cope without one.

We've got BT Infinity (fibre) and have to say it's spot on - downtime has been negligible in the 3 years we've had it, but it's certainly not the cheapest out there

 

[classic33]

Worth bearing in mind that BT will be able to put their name where EE has theirs at present, come the end of May.
Both companies are in "competition" at present.

 

[slowmotion]

1) Do not even think of defecting to TalkTalk.

2) I signed my mother up to BT Infinity last July for her place in Cornwall. What's it like? Search me, we're still waiting for it.

 

[ufkacbln]

You need to do a search to find the best deals. For my part I'm with PlusNet and happy enough with them.

IIRC Plusnet is in fact BT

 

[Freds Dad]

If you are going for non fibre broadband then choose on price as they all use the same copper pair from the exchange to your home. They may use different line cards in the exchange but generally the download speed will remain the same. As @slowmotion say keep away from TT as their customer service is awful.

There are quite few comparison sites on line for you to use but look at the total cost over the contract length as a lot of providers try to tempt you in with the first few months cheap.

 

[swee'pea99]

IIRC Plusnet is in fact BT

Is correct. The exact same thing, different badge. Much cheaper.

The transfer process can be a mare - mine was, really. I can't begin to tell you how bad it was. Months. Seriously. Months. Endless emails, phone calls ('we're experiencing high call volumes at the moment....' - every moment, for 27 calls, minimum wait 15 minutes). Seriously. I cannot begin convey what a nightmare it was. To get transferred from BT to a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT. Just gobsmacking.

But since it was finally setup, it's been exactly the same (which is to say, v reliable, v fast) but much cheaper. Much.

 

[slowmotion]

IIRC Plusnet is in fact BT

I think that's right. Plusnet's ratings in the Which? reviews went through the floor recently. They used to be highly regarded for customer satisfaction. No more.

 

[slowmotion]

Is correct. The exact same thing, different badge. Much cheaper.

The transfer process can be a mare - mine was, really. I can't begin to tell you how bad it was. Months. Seriously. Months. Endless emails, phone calls ('we're experiencing high call volumes at the moment....' - every moment, for 27 calls, minimum wait 15 minutes). Seriously. I cannot begin convey what a nightmare it was. To get transferred from BT to a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT. Just gobsmacking.

But since it was finally setup, it's been exactly the same (which is to say, v reliable, v fast) but much cheaper. Much.

I had the very same problems switching to Plusnet. Ghastly.

 

[grumpyoldwoman]

1) Do not even think of defecting to TalkTalk.
.

I've been with Talk Talk for over a year now,no problems ever.Speed consistant. No outages.Customer service has always been spot on......for me.