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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

TalkTalk down again!! Can anyone recommend me a broadband provider that actually works?!

37 replies

Dongdingdong · 12/01/2019 19:54

I have TalkTalk broadband and it’s utterly crap. Download speeds are abysmal (it takes about a minute to upload a 5MB file - surely that’s not normal!) and the router just randomly stops working on a fairly regularly basis. Currently we have WiFi but the router has stopped connecting to the TV box, so we can’t watch any catchup. When you tweet or ring them for help they just ask you to go through the same pointless routines (checking it’s plugged in correctly - uh, yes Hmm) and are often unable to resolve the problem.

I previously had Virgin and wasn’t happy with them either - they consistently put the price up most months and were a nightmare when we moved house and needed to end the contract.

AIBU to ask you to recommend a broadband provider that’s fast and reliable?! I came across Zen recently, which has a lot of positive reviews online - does anyone have any good experiences of them?

OP posts:
Houseonahill · 12/01/2019 20:03

I'm with EE and they are great, I get better speeds than they estimated, all the people are super helpful if you have a problem and if your mobile is with them as well you get 5gb to use on your phone free very month. I pay £19.50 a month its unlimited and I get speeds of about 15mbs.

TrickyD · 12/01/2019 20:08

Know nothing about Zen, but I agree that Talktalk is dreadful.

We have had an unresolved complaint since September, four engineers visits, two new routers , a new phone socket ( they managed to disconnect burglar alarm monitor, only discovered when alarm man came for regular service)

Changed to Fibre, slightly faster, but the connection still keeps dropping out. I have to keep going to 'settings' to reconnect every few minutes. We are at our wits' end.

Original poster
Dongdingdong · 12/01/2019 20:16

Thanks House - will look into EE. Will you be switching provider soon Tricky?

OP posts:
Ultramic · 12/01/2019 20:16

BT are great. Super fast fibre (unlimited) line rental included with free evening & weekend calls for £22.99 a month. Never had an issue :)

Original poster
Dongdingdong · 12/01/2019 20:21

Ultramic I’ve seen some dreadful reviews of BT online which completely put me off! Maybe I should consider them though...

OP posts:
TrickyD · 12/01/2019 20:23

Dunno, Dongding. Our TV and landline all run off it and they work fine. Not sure how changing supplier will work.

DaysOfCurlySpencer · 12/01/2019 20:43

Zen is very good, have used it for a long time.

HermioneWeasley · 12/01/2019 20:45

Zen are brilliant - they have their own broadband (apparently others all share bandwidth so they all slow down when it’s busy). They cost more but you get a better product and service.

FiveGoMadInDorset · 12/01/2019 20:49

How did you get BT for that price? Are you still in your first contract? We pay £50 a month for BT for kind rental and broadband

Original poster
Dongdingdong · 12/01/2019 20:49

Thanks - yeah, Zen are about £40 per month I think (and I’m paying about £22 now). But to be honest I’m happy to pay more for fast and reliable broadband as we use it all the time! How’s the customer service @DaysOfCurlySpencer and @HermioneWeasley? Also, do you get a TV box that allows you to watch catchup? (Sorry - complete tech Luddite here!)

OP posts:
feelingverylazytoday · 12/01/2019 20:49

I'm with virgin media, never had any complaints. Tried BT once, never again. They're probably the worst company I've ever dealt with, for anything.

HermioneWeasley · 12/01/2019 20:51

Customer service is excellent and U.K. based. I don’t have tv with them so not sure if they offer it

Unfinishedkitchen · 12/01/2019 21:05

BT are fucking appalling. I’ve actually put the contract end date in my phone and sent an invite to DH (September) so we remember to cancel it. Never again. I’m getting nowhere near the speed advertised. It also drops out. I’m also paying astronomical prices (my fault because I wasn’t checking/noticing the annual price rises until recently). They treat loyal long term customers appallingly. Absolute thieves.

Ultramic · 12/01/2019 21:07

FiveGoMadInDorset no I'm in my third year with them - I just phone them when each year's contract is due, am super nice, and ask them what their best price is, and name a couple of competitors.

Always works! Same with my EE phone contract. I pay £7 a month for unlimited minutes & texts and 5GB data. Just ask! :)

Kizziebel · 12/01/2019 21:14

I went over to NowTV fibre and can't fault it so far, getting spot on the promised speeds and the change over was so pain free! Plus you don't need to pay for a phone plan, I never use my home phone, it's not even plugged in so I went for the PAYG calls option.

OutPinked · 12/01/2019 21:15

I switched to Talk Talk last year to save money because Virgin cost me a fortune for what was substandard internet. Argh, wish I’d never bothered! Have had to upgrade to fibre because their regular broadband is not fit for purpose but it’s not hugely better.

As soon as my contract is up I’m leaving. It took them a month to set up the internet when we moved house too due to various issues, their customer service is abysmal.

Sitranced · 12/01/2019 21:18

Virgin fibre optic, pricey but never skipped a beat in 7 years. We called them up a few years back and said it wasn't reaching the whole house as it did previously, still working but not everywhere. They came and replaced the router next day free of charge and upped the speed connection.

Original poster
Dongdingdong · 13/01/2019 07:46

We had the same when we moved house OutPinked. They are dreadful! I think I’m going to give Zen a go, assuming you can get the catchup TV service with them.

OP posts:
Daffodils07 · 13/01/2019 07:53

BT are awful, expensive and every day it goes off.
Can not wait until contract ends.

charlestonchaplin · 13/01/2019 07:53

I've found both BT and EE to be almost problem-free, though I tend to switch around to keep prices low. I thought Virgin was alright till I moved to BT but there were quite a few faults with the service when I was with them, unlike with BT.

charlestonchaplin · 13/01/2019 07:57

I think the replies so far demonstrate that the best provider varies, perhaps based on location.

Consolidatedyourloins · 13/01/2019 07:59

Dong you can get catch up TV on the Now TV stick or smart box, as well as Now TV broadband.

Slamadramafamalam · 13/01/2019 08:00

I had terrible trouble with TalkTalk until I emailed the CEOs office. After that my broadband issues were finally properly investigated and it was decided that TalkTalk were unable to give me what they had offered re speed and connectivity so they compensated me and I went to BT and have had no problems.

adaline · 13/01/2019 08:00

We had nothing but problems with BT - poor connection, appalling customer service and just an all round shoddy service.

TalkTalk were even worse with the connection dropping out most days and even when it did work it was slow.

We're now with SKY and the one time our connection dropped we got a text saying it had happened and another when it was back up (minutes later). Good customer service and a reasonable price.

Slamadramafamalam · 13/01/2019 08:02

Oh and always renegotiate your contract to get the same price as a new customer, it's appalling that companies put prices up more the longer we've been with them but they all give us the new customer price if we ask.