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Original poster

Fairly basic tv, broadband and line rental wanted.

18 replies

CatNamedEaster · 13/09/2022 21:04

For elderly relative.
She's cancelling Virgin as their service (quality of what's provided, signal interruptions and ability to get anyone to help on any issue) has been terrible.

She rarely flicks further on than Channel 5, doesn't stream tv or music, internet is browsing only, but does make long phone calls during daytime.

Must be able to speak to a nice human if she needs to ring them, without having to sift through 75 automated menus.

Does anyone have basic packages AND experienced good customer service when there have been problems?

I realise this is boring so it might fall straight out of Active but I live in hope😂

OP posts:

Original poster

CatNamedEaster · 14/09/2022 06:50

Anyone? 🙂

OP posts:

dalisdrippingclock · 14/09/2022 07:02

Does she really need TV in her package? My DM is with Vodafone for Broadband and phone, it's around £26 per month IIR. She watches TV via Freeview.

Cestmoiici · 14/09/2022 07:03

Now TV? No experience of their customer service but has been ok for my relative. Have to keep on top of yearly package deals to get the best price.
I’m not recommending it especially but that’s what we use. 🍀

Original poster

CatNamedEaster · 14/09/2022 07:17

Thanks. I did wonder about not having a tv package. She has a smart tv so can get freeview (I think?) so I'll look at what channels that would actually give her. She'll want a box too, to record and pause tv so I'd need to get that even if she doesn't want any kind of package.
I was looking last night at whole packages but maybe I should just look at bb and phone then work out tv separately.
I've heard good things about Plusnet in terms of customer care so I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience of them too.

OP posts:

LuftBalloons · 14/09/2022 08:27

Have a look at TalkTalk. Their service isn’t great but their price is rock bottom.

DisplayPurposesOnly · 14/09/2022 08:35

It doesn't sound like she needs a TV package. I just use Freeview myself (my TV is very old!) and don't have any subscriptions. I do have a DVD player and recorder too.

For internet/phone I have Plusnet. Can't comment on their customer service, as I've never needed to contact them.

Original poster

CatNamedEaster · 14/09/2022 12:29

Yeah I'm leaning towards just phone/internet and a box to record tv but no package. She said again today she doesn't want any sky/film/sport channels but I just need to research decent (and easy to contact) customer service as Virgin have been appalling and that will be really important to her.

OP posts:

DisplayPurposesOnly · 15/09/2022 13:07

Just looked at Which? They have Zen Internet as their top broadband provider followed by Vodafone then Plusnet. Vodafone and Plusnet both get four stars (out of five) for customer service but Zen is unrated (due to not enough responses to survey). Zen seems to be quite a bit more expensive tho.

Vampirethriller · 15/09/2022 13:09

Italk- I'm with them and it's very cheap, £16.99 a month for wi-fi and line rental. No problems with them at all in 5 years.

Pixiedust1234 · 15/09/2022 13:33

placemarking as this is something I might be needing. Does she already have a recorder?

Original poster

CatNamedEaster · 15/09/2022 18:48

I saw that Vodaphone had good deals so that's interesting that they get good scores for customer service.
She has a recorder but it's a virgin one so would become obsolete once her contract is cancelled.

I've never heard of Italk or Zen so will look at them too. Thanks guys.😉

OP posts:

Ilovetocrochet · 18/02/2023 14:08

CatNamedEaster · 13/09/2022 21:04

For elderly relative.
She's cancelling Virgin as their service (quality of what's provided, signal interruptions and ability to get anyone to help on any issue) has been terrible.

She rarely flicks further on than Channel 5, doesn't stream tv or music, internet is browsing only, but does make long phone calls during daytime.

Must be able to speak to a nice human if she needs to ring them, without having to sift through 75 automated menus.

Does anyone have basic packages AND experienced good customer service when there have been problems?

I realise this is boring so it might fall straight out of Active but I live in hope😂

I have just read your question and was wondering what solution you decided on? I am in exactly the same situation, want to leave Virgin due to massive price increase but cannot make my mind up!

I use my TiVo box a lot so definitely need a recording device as well as broadband but am wondering if I still need the landline as I only use my mobile for calls now. I can’t have a dish on my bungalow as the signal is very poor due to the lie of the land and tall trees. I don’t want a fancy tv package as I only watch a few channels which are all available through my smart tv.

I used to get broadband and landline through Plusnet who were very good re customer service and price but the Wi-Fi connection throughout was not consistent and I ended up having to have my printer located right next to the router to get the signal. Hopefully with new equipment, this issue will not reoccur!

I seem to spend hours searching for deals but am struggling to find the best one for me.

Original poster

CatNamedEaster · 18/02/2023 21:09

Hi @Ilovetocrochet 😊. She hasn't done anything yet unfortunately. We have trouble getting her to make changes even though she isn't happy and a few events took us over so suddenly it's February and we still have it on our list 😂.

It's such a pain in the arse sifting through all the choices isn't it? We actually need to do the same for our own tv as we cancelled Sky so are currently using a firestick. We're perfectly happy with it but it would be nice to be able to record things.

OP posts:

Ilovetocrochet · 18/02/2023 21:56

Yup, very time consuming and so many options! Then when I decide on a plan, I’ll need to pull up my big girl knickers to face phoning Virgin to cancel!

A couple of years ago I got through to Retentions to try to negotiate a better deal and they just said if I was not happy with the price then I could cancel! No attempt to keep me as a customer.

Yarrawonga · 18/02/2023 22:00

We actually need to do the same for our own tv as we cancelled Sky

We cancelled Sky and got a Freesat box that records.

Original poster

CatNamedEaster · 19/02/2023 21:26

@Yarrawonga is that the same as freeview?

For us, I don't miss any of the channels that we lost from Sky, I do miss live pause and recording stuff though so we could definitely do with a box.

OP posts:

Yarrawonga · 19/02/2023 21:33

It’s like Freeview but satellite rather than through a tv aerial. You can use your existing sky Sky satellite dish with the FreeSat boxes. There’s no subscription to pay.

We tried Freeview when we cancelled Sky but the picture kept pixelating. In bad weather it was unwatchable.

Original poster

CatNamedEaster · 21/02/2023 20:19

Thank you. I will look at that then.😊

OP posts:

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