Shortest broadband contract ever

[husoi]

Hello guys, 

 

Posting this so nobody else have similar problems.

The background story

Been with EE for several years but when the contract ended the price went from under £32 to over £41.

EE couldn't be bothered to give me a courtesy call asking if I wanted to sign a new contract, just a wee letter saying that the broadband price was going up.

 

Near the end of the contract I decided to look for a greener grass...

The cheapest provider (you know me, always after a bargain) was a company called OneStream (OS). their price was a whopping 23.99 for the same speed so it was a no brainer.

Or was it?...

Nowadays broadband work similarly to energy supplier, you pick the one you want and the "winning supplier" will deal with the transfer from the "loosing supplier".

Or at least is what you would think these cowboys would do.

The service was supposed to start on the 10th but only started on the 16th. So 5 days on mobile data.

The router arrived the day after the engineer visit so he couldn't install or test it.

The only way to contact OS is by email as their webchat service is a joke and they are as helpful as fleas on a dog.

The complaints department is operated by some idiot with the commercial awareness of a potato and if you think they will do anything helpful you will be as deluded as they are.

 

Today, 29th I signed to another provider, only today because of the holidays.

Going to raise a formal complaint with the operator later today.

 

So my contract is in effect 13 days long. 

 

If you're thinking about changing ISP (Internet Service Provider) be aware that if the grass seems greener, probably is artificial. They all work on OpenReach infrastructure they they are all rated very poorly by costumers.

I won't disclose which I've signed with because I don't want to be responsible for bad experiences. Nevertheless, I have now picked the highest rated ones  

[skyrider]

26 minutes ago, husoi said:

Hello guys, 

 

Posting this so nobody else have similar problems.

The background story

Been with EE for several years but when the contract ended the price went from under £32 to over £41.

EE couldn't be bothered to give me a courtesy call asking if I wanted to sign a new contract, just a wee letter saying that the broadband price was going up.

 

Near the end of the contract I decided to look for a greener grass...

The cheapest provider (you know me, always after a bargain) was a company called OneStream (OS). their price was a whopping 23.99 for the same speed so it was a no brainer.

Or was it?...

Nowadays broadband work similarly to energy supplier, you pick the one you want and the "winning supplier" will deal with the transfer from the "loosing supplier".

Or at least is what you would think these cowboys would do.

The service was supposed to start on the 10th but only started on the 16th. So 5 days on mobile data.

The router arrived the day after the engineer visit so he couldn't install or test it.

The only way to contact OS is by email as their webchat service is a joke and they are as helpful as fleas on a dog.

The complaints department is operated by some idiot with the commercial awareness of a potato and if you think they will do anything helpful you will be as deluded as they are.

 

Today, 29th I signed to another provider, only today because of the holidays.

Going to raise a formal complaint with the operator later today.

 

So my contract is in effect 13 days long. 

 

If you're thinking about changing ISP (Internet Service Provider) be aware that if the grass seems greener, probably is artificial. They all work on OpenReach infrastructure they they are all rated very poorly by costumers.

I won't disclose which I've signed with because I don't want to be responsible for bad experiences. Nevertheless, I have now picked the highest rated ones  

do you reckon you shot yourself in the foot 

[Gerontious]

my phone provides internet for the laptop and desktop upstairs.

I don't have a TV.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Gerontious

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

As soon as 5g is available I’ll be getting rid of bt broadband, I think their prices are ridiculous.
But not as ridiculous as sky television (slightly off topic I know) but it slipped by me they were charging £90 a month for tv and £10 a month ‘insurance’ for the box. I suppose I stopped looking at the amount they charged when my boys were small because the children’s television, the sky movies and the sport were used all the time.
Never crossed my mind someone could charge £100 per month- an insane amount for television that’s now rarely used. Even if they were a much cheaper provider of broadband they could take a hike. Companies that rip you off or mess you about don’t seem to comprehend you don’t forget and won’t be back. I hope Netflix finishes them!

[Guest Swagman]

I’ll stick with my open reach contract for now it went down this time by near on £20 to £34 per month, mobile coverage is not good enough here so won’t bother with that.

[S-Westerly]

My wife has us signed up for Vodafone. They are okay and at least give us a rebate when the actual  connection speed doesn't match the reality. So far we've had a rebate every month. Supposed to be getting a new router in January which is supposed to improve things. They were rubbish on mobile phone though.  Didn't cut the price at the end of the contract period once the phone was paid. Hence I'm now back with an O2 phone with 5G. Assuming the local swampies don't burn down any more phone masts when we get I'll  think about using just mobiles.

[Ian Frog]

I am in the middle of resolving a fairly large dispute with Vodafone which so far has seen me have to resort to the final letter prior to court proceedings stage but I will be very interested in your progress with 5G and going mobile only.

I am hoping we can share info and experiences on here and help each other to save a few quid and get something approaching better service.

Staggered at the costs mentioned by @Slowlycatchymonkey but aware if not watched broadband and Tv suppliers like insurers will creep up and lift your leg so that was a timely reminder.

I would also suggest it is worth checking what you pay for any virus/ malware protection you have as those fookers are prone to it as well.

Cheers

Ian

[Bender]

We just switch between ee and BT when contacts are up, cash back is usually in the region of £90. Just switched back to BT, router is best by far for signal.

 

5g could well be a game changer, my 4g regularly runs 60m if 5g turns out to be reliable it will be a 5g hub next time.

[husoi]

The only reason why I didn't ditch broadband altogether is just because the hoose thermostat is connected to the WiFi together with the freeview box. 150gb a month on virgin is more than enough for what I need.

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

5G is hotly anticipated around here. We already have an additional 4G mobile router on top of the usual mobile contracts to try and alleviate the stress the poor broadband causes. They said it would automatically switch to 5G when it arrives but it’s already better than the fixed line.
My son had to upload some music coursework before Christmas and it nearly started world war 3! In the end I had to send him to a friends office nearby who pays over £300 a month for a dedicated line. 
BT stopped the rebates round here because it’s that bad!
It’s the first question a home buyer asks now- what’s your speed?! I’m told “Depends on the bike” isn’t the right answer

Edited December 29, 2020 by Slowlycatchymonkey

[runningman]

Took out a 4G broadband with 3. Cancelled it within hours of the router arriving. £15 a month for unlimited data.

 

Sounds good.

 

It was until neither me or the Mrs's work laptops couldn't connect due to using a VPN. Called 3, yes that's right we block VPNs. FFS. Why didn't they say this up front, especially with so many people working from home at the moment.

 

Got Virgin Media down to £22.77 a month from £39.78, so not too bad in the end.

[onesea]

Internet jealousy here, we have broadband that slows when it rains, disconnects in heavy rain and wind.

 

Our speed is said to be: Download 41.7 Mbps Upload 7.2 Mbps from the router an online speed test just gave 27mpbs and then 15mpbs download.

 

I don't know if that's fast or not, it's the fastest money can buy round here. Copper phone cables? Apparently the speed changes depending how high up the box you are. On one occasion the engineers even switched out house to another number, apparently they mixed 3 sets of wires and 3 houses had the wrong number. They will pleased 2 of us worked out what happened it made it easier for them to work it which wires to switch back.

 

Mobile phone signal is no better I cannot make a phonecall in the house without WiFi calling. Only 3 years ago I had to stand in front garden to get mobile phone signal.

 

We do get useable 3G, however if a weekend, Summer holidays, Christmas or just busy time it drops out constantly.

Useable 4G is available about 1 mile nearer the center of town.

 

Looking forward to 5G as when they rolled out 4G the 3G signal became stronger. Hopefully the same will happen this time.

 

Yes I have tried O2, EE presently on Three which is not as good as EE but much cheaper.  But I would rather pay less for poor service that 20% more for only very marginally better service and crap customer care.

 

I have tried complaining about slowness and disconnections in rain / wind have been beaten by wall of rubbish that is BT.

 

A couple of years ago we had phone and internet outage, due to reqiments in logging faults to lift phone listen, check this, check that after several days trying to get past each step using bad mobile phone signal I gave up.

 

I advised them off the fault by Snail mail. In fairness they fixed the fault 2.5 days after I sent the letter..

Edited December 30, 2020 by onesea

[husoi]

You have to keep in mind that the broadband speed they tell you is available to your router is the speed when the computer is plugged into it not WiFi speed.

[Guest]

Damn the evil EU and their super fast fibre optic......I wanted 9.9k dial up!

 

 

[Bender]

34 minutes ago, XTreme said:

Damn the evil EU and their super fast fibre optic......I wanted 9.9k dial up!

 

 

That's fab, now go live in one of many abandoned villages and troll them on how good the EU is  

 

I can get 100meg 5g for £20 that's more than enough to run heating, TV and anything else.

 

 

[onesea]

2 hours ago, husoi said:

You have to keep in mind that the broadband speed they tell you is available to your router is the speed when the computer is plugged into it not WiFi speed.

You sound like my internet provider when I am trying to explain we have NO internet.

Or its so slow loading a forum page takes a minute or so, I am the only one home to use the internet.

Your using WiFi that's the problem, not when my 1 bar if 3g friggin is quicker. 

Sorry Rant over for the minute.

[Guest]

39 minutes ago, Bender said:

That's fab, now go live in one of many abandoned villages and troll them on how good the EU is  

 

I can get 100meg 5g for £20 that's more than enough to run heating, TV and anything else.

 

 

 

That upload speed is awful though.

 

And how do you run the heating through it?

[Bender]

2 hours ago, XTreme said:

 

That upload speed is awful though.

 

And how do you run the heating through it?

I don't that's just the average 4g phone signal, we have 5g where I live I just don't have a 5g phone to test it.

 

Heating control uses minimal for connectivity and I'm going to change it for a system that will control individual radiators.

[onesea]

8 minutes ago, Bender said:

I'm going to change it for a system that will control individual radiators.

I have a Bosch easy control system, do you know a cheap alternative to the Bosch £60 one?

[Bender]

Just now, onesea said:

I have a Bosch easy control system, do you know a cheap alternative to the Bosch £60 one?

What you want it to do? 

 

 

[onesea]

3 minutes ago, Bender said:

What you want it to do? 

 

 

Presently we have normal TRV's is just the lounge has log burner and it would be nice to turn it off when it's on.

Am I being pedantic and the TRV should just deal with it.

[peatear]

On 29/12/2020 at 14:30, Ian Frog said:

I would also suggest it is worth checking what you pay for any virus/ malware protection you have as those fookers are prone to it as well.

Cheers

Ian

Wait, what... people PAY for that!?!  

 

 

21 hours ago, runningman said:

Took out a 4G broadband with 3. Cancelled it within hours of the router arriving. £15 a month for unlimited data.

 

Sounds good.

It was until neither me or the Mrs's work laptops couldn't connect due to using a VPN. Called 3, yes that's right we block VPNs. FFS. Why didn't they say this up front, especially with so many people working from home at the moment.

 

Got Virgin Media down to £22.77 a month from £39.78, so not too bad in the end.

Not bad getting Virgin down in price, I tried when we tried having it in Manchester but no luck.
I miss VM so much. SO fast, and never went down. Ever.
I was lucky I never had to deal with their customer service.
 

On 29/12/2020 at 12:49, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

As soon as 5g is available I’ll be getting rid of bt broadband, I think their prices are ridiculous.
But not as ridiculous as sky television (slightly off topic I know) but it slipped by me they were charging £90 a month for tv and £10 a month ‘insurance’ for the box. I suppose I stopped looking at the amount they charged when my boys were small because the children’s television, the sky movies and the sport were used all the time.
Never crossed my mind someone could charge £100 per month- an insane amount for television that’s now rarely used. Even if they were a much cheaper provider of broadband they could take a hike. Companies that rip you off or mess you about don’t seem to comprehend you don’t forget and won’t be back. I hope Netflix finishes them!

They do take the piss, but i've known people who manage to always keep the price mega low. Apparently just letting the one year run out. Cancel. Then resign up.
Every year. Have to push them a bit, but works apparently. I've never had Sky or any extra TV stuff, never watch TV so would be pointless.
Netflix is enough for me.

[Bender]

9 minutes ago, onesea said:

Presently we have normal TRV's is just the lounge has log burner and it would be nice to turn it off when it's on.

Am I being pedantic and the TRV should just deal with it.

Trv will shut it down, but as it closes they tend to be noisy, this is why I'm going to fit ours with individual motorised remote heads, they ain't particularly cheap ad a set.

 

If your happy turning them on and off with your phone plenty of options exist 

 

https://www.bestheating.com/milano-connect-smart-radiator-thermostat-81992?gclid=CjwKCAiA57D_BRAZEiwAZcfCxT9Oxd8liBuRT9D34MqgDI_lxCxVzmkVZwSIwVtQ3PqwucGH5cKs3xoCepsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[husoi]

This is probably what we all going to end up with.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55625071

https://www.starlink.com/

 

Although £439 etpu and £84 a month is not a good starting point, it is new and likely for price to drop as it gets widely available.

[onesea]

Present prices are probably for remote it offshore locations. 

Not convinced I wanna see his satellites polluting the sky.  

Plus they are so low what else are they listening to?

Just a thought.