Broadband selection, and losing the will to live!

[Dave2002]

BT have this rather "amusing" web site - http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/d...id/13922/c/346

[mangerton]

BT have this rather "amusing" web site - http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/d...id/13922/c/346

Quite! I think they've thought of every excuse under the sun. I'm so glad my broadband comes zooming in at 50MB from Virgin - though they too have their moments.

[Dave2002]

Virgin in Dundee is good. Unfortunately they don't go out further north, say to Inverness and beyond.

[Sir Velo]

Quite! I think they've thought of every excuse under the sun. I'm so glad my broadband comes zooming in at 50MB from Virgin - though they too have their moments.

As, for example, when I called them the other day to be met with their standard greeting, "Just so you know, we may record this telephone call, in order to make sure that you get the best customer service possible" before twice, in a matter of moments, bumping me off the line after calls lasting in excess of 3 minutes. They've also taken to starting each call to customer service with a completely unnecessary 30 second bit of blurb on Sky Sports.

[Nick Armstrong]

No cable operators 'do' central London - Virgin pulled out a few years back, having taken over what was the earliest cable network (Westminster Cable / NTL), and found it was too expensive to upgrade. So they just stopped.

I changed to BT when that happened, and had been suffering a pretty basic internet service - for the same expense reasons, 'Infinity' was slow to get to the centre of London - and all the wriggles and caveats on that page, Dave, irritated me as the date for activation was put off and off...

And then, in June came the email announcing that Infinity was now available in our street; I subscribed, am paying less than before, and get a speedy 75 Mbps and a reliable service (so far, after about 4 weeks).

So am currently feeling not badly disposed towards BT....

[Dave2002]

So am currently feeling not badly disposed towards BT....

Neither am I, at present, because we got what I thought was a reasonable deal before Christmas last year. However the phone calls are exorbitant, but we have worked out ways of avoiding those because we have another line. Not everyone is able to do that.

The telephone patent has been noted as being the most lucrative ever.

Companies now bundle up services, so that one may not notice that parts of the deal which may work out expensive are also included.

Ideally one might want separate suppliers for phone, internet, TV etc., but that's not the game that most providers want one to play.

We are currently trying also to set up broadband, phone etc. in Scotland (not Dundee, been there, done that ...) and promises of high speed internet in the Highlands, which were made much of not so long ago by politicians wanting TV airtime etc. are just not materialising yet.

[John Wright]

BT have been very good, been with their broadband I think since 2009. I've used customer service only twice when I've wanted Outlook to work on a new computer and they were great.

BT Infinity very fast here in Coventry. Our BT phone/Broadband bills are about £50 a month (includes overseas calls £5 a month) which is still quite a lot considering we use mobiles mostly for 'phone calls'. I have a low usage O2 £15 a month (a non-smart phone with internet) and Mrs W has big usage smart phone costs her £28 a month.

[gurnemanz]

Yesterday I got an email from BT headed: "You've been chosen for an exclusive free upgrade" (to Infinity). "No catches. No hidden charges." I went online and signed up. I seem to be getting a new hub and someone is coming round next week to install. So far, so good.

[John Wright]

gurnemanz, yes they upgraded us earlier this year with a free BTHub5 and Infinity and totally wireless now. Vast improvement, we have good speeds in Coventry (but I don't know what they are) and Mrs W makes good use of Sky OnDemand for her soaps There were changes to charges but in total no increase.

(doh last year I had forked out for a Hub4 as first Hub was behaving suspiciously).

[Dave2002]

Perhaps others here are prepared to pay more. I try to keep our total bills down under £1000 per year - including all charges. Maybe I fail.

Clearly some smartphone enthusiasts are willing to pay a lot, but I have in the past known people who were very reluctant to move from dial-up broadband because of the cost.

My view of BT is that they are relatively expensive, and they don't always give the best service - but it does depend on where one is located, and one's pattern of usage. Some cheaper providers do have pretty appalling service though. BT are not perfect, and in our area we had outages for several weeks due to problems with the BT infrastructure.