Am I mad to leave BT for Virgin?

[bean612]

I'm an old-fashioned gal who, despite much evidence to the contrary, feels like BT is fundamentally The Best Option, largely because it's been around for so long and I don't like change, think wistfully back to the days of finger-dial phones, etc. However, I can't ignore the tangle of wires on our living room floor any longer and it's time to switch to wireless. DH has done lots of research and Virgin seems to be coming out top among friends and general internet opinion. Should we go for it? I just feel like if we leave BT the sky will fall in, the ravens will leave the Tower, etc. TIA!

I've been with virgin for 3 years and the sky hasn't fallen in here

We've got Virgin and it's fine. BT is sooo expensive in comparison.

We've been with Virgin and it's predecessors for years, it's perfectly fine. They even laid a new cable when a fox chewed through one.

We have had virgin (which was previously telewest) for years and currently I think it's the best choice as everyone else in our street has been without phone or internet for the best part of 3 wks thanks to BT (abysmal service too I've heard, they've promised everyday it's been off that'll it be back tomorrow, check our website for updates )

We are seriously thinking of leaving BT too. We want fibre optic internet but don't need a landline anymore.

I could save £18 a month by going to Virgin.

Oh good! Sounds like I should stop being a wuss about it then

Virgin is fine when it's working, but their customer service is shockingly bad when things go wrong (as they sometimes do)

BT's customer service is nothing to write home about either tbf, and I'm an ex employee!

Their customer service is not great, but their internet is the fastest.

Ask around your neighbours, see who has Virgin, and check what their experience is. I've been with Virgin for about five years, and have had no problems - extremely fast broadband, customer service helpful when occasionally needed.

But I think the reliability and speed of the broadband and phone lines can vary quite a bit depending on where you are, so neighbours are the best bet to find out what kind of service you are likely to get, rather than friends or internet people in other areas.

Same here, we've been with Virgin (and Telewest before that) for years and never really had any problems. When there has been an issue with the TV or the phoneline, tbh, I'e found the customer service to be very good.

I joined Virgin (then NTL) in 2001, and got a package with them. I stayed on when they changed hands, and I could not complain about them. We had a V+ box, and had to return this when we moved to Oz. We now have Foxtel (Aussie version of Sky) It's crap!
Never had a problem with Virgin in the 10yrs, and they were pretty spot on with everything like appointments etc.
My mum only changed from BT to Virgin about 3 yrs ago, she hasn't regretted, in fact she was pleased she did it!
Ditto about the customer service!

I am going to do the same OP, the only thing I am annoyed about is that to move from BT to Virgin, because it is a move to cable, BT want to charge me £30 to leave them.

Right, the deed is done, thanks to all your useful info. The Virgin guy is coming in a couple of weeks to do whatever it is they do to switch over. Thanks ladies!