Changing Broadband Provider

ForeverAddickted

Thought I'd turn again to the font of knowledge that is CharltonLife for some advice

Currently with SKY; pay £36 a month for Standard Broadband with Phone Line where I get free calls on Evenings and Weekends

Had a look around and can see via. uSwitch that I can get Standard Broadband (63mb) with TalkTalk and Free Calls anytime during the day

Basically my question: Is TalkTalk worth changing to, what are people's experiences of them and is there anyone better worth going with?

(Note: I cant get Fibre Optic in my area as its not available hence why I'm on Standard Broadband; Dont really want to pay Virgin Media prices)

North Lower Neil

Talktalk and Sky use the same Openreach lines I believe so the speeds should be similar.

Virgin are the only one to not use Openreach.

ForeverAddickted

North Lower Neil said:

Talktalk and Sky use the same Openreach lines I believe so the speeds should be similar.

Virgin are the only one to not use Openreach.

Thats interesting to know - To be honest I dont pay much attention in the Speeds;

TalkTalk say 63mb | SKY say 23mb (for example) but you know your not going to get download speeds like that in the UK unless your in certain areas

cafcfan1990

If your going to change, go through topcashback or quidco. Won’t make you a millionaire but few extra quid for nothing. 

I switched from sky to bt as you get the sport cheap, I got about £70 from topcashback and a £100 mastercard aswell. Haven’t had any complaints with them to be honest, I didn’t rate Sky. 

shine166

We have sky, virgin was much better

superchrissypowell

Virgin currently have a pretty good offer for 33 quid a month. Their 55mbs data (which is enough for most people), TV and phone. Their service has always been excellent for me and the internet speeds have been great

southamptonaddick

I have Sky. Never had a problem.

If you think you're paying too much with Sky but are happy with there service, get on the phone tell them you're leaving and get a better price.

ShootersHillGuru

Just moved from TalkTalk to Sky. A month or so ago Sky we’re doing an offer that for me as a Sky tv customer made it cheaper than TalkTallk. Plus faster speed guaranteed and my Q boxes act as broadband hubs. Never really had a problem although once my router burnt out literally, smoke and all. Spoke with technical advisor ( Indian call centre) who wanted to take me through a whole lot of unplugging and other fixes. She couldn’t seem to understand it was fucked and had partly melted. Ended up with having to speak with her supervisor who wanted to charge me for replacing it. After some ridiculous wrangling she made it sound like they were doing me a favour by replacing it. 

Talal

I was with talktalk for a few years. Had one bad problem with the line which left me without Internet for a month but it affected the whole area. Fine other than that though do expect to get phone calls from scammers saying you have problems with your connection. String them along, it's fun. 

ForeverAddickted

Talal said:

I was with talktalk for a few years. Had one bad problem with the line which left me without Internet for a month but it affected the whole area. Fine other than that though do expect to get phone calls from scammers saying you have problems with your connection. String them along, it's fun. 

Thankfully we're in a non Cold Call area so those types of scamming calls arent able to happen - Is a bit of a shame in a way

Gravesend_Addick

I pay  £26.50 a month for unlimited fibre with Sky.  Admittedly it doesn't include calls but  £36 a month seems excessive.  I would contact sky, tell them the other deals available to you & see if they'll reduce the cost.

Edit:  I've realised you said you can't get fibre.  Skys basic broadband is absolute rubbish. I was delighted when we finally got fibre. 

If you can't get fibre optic in your area, I can't see how you'll get 63MB

ForeverAddickted

Gravesend_Addick said:

I pay  £26.50 a month for unlimited fibre with Sky.  Admittedly it doesn't include calls but  £36 a month seems excessive.  I would contact sky, tell them the other deals available to you & see if they'll reduce the cost.

Edit:  I've realised you said you can't get fibre.  Skys basic broadband is absolute rubbish. I was delighted when we finally got fibre. 

If you can't get fibre optic in your area, I can't see how you'll get 63MB

Yeah cant wait for Fibre to become available in Strood if it ever does - Its why I ignore both SKY and TalkTalk (or anyone for that matter) when they talk about the maximum speeds we can get

Gravesend_Addick

If you're on basic Internet, you shouldn't be paying  £36 a month . Contact sky armed with other offers & get a reduction on your bill 

mcgrandall

To echo what everyone else has said, unless you have Virgin you are using the Openreach network. Different providers rent that line off Openreach, so you are really paying for customer service.

If you get fibre in your area, you probably have fibre to the cabinet which uses part of the old copper network (prone to breaking). Unless you are one of the limited area's that have fibre to the premises. Which is where the industry is going, Openreach plan to replace the copper network with fibre by the mid 2020s. 

Talk talk have a pretty bad rep and have had a serious data breach a while back. Personally I would have a look at Zen. I deal with them on a daily basis. They are really helpful, friendly and have a lifetime price guarantee offer last time I checked. I went with Virgin because it is the best network and only pay £27 a month.

Edit: if uswitch is saying you can get 63mb in your area, it is either wrong as copper can only do 20Mbps or you can have Gfast or fibre has become available.

bbob

I’m with BT, copper to the house from the cabinet and average 50mbps. Just ran a Wi-fi speed test and have 63mbps download. 
Customer service is good, hub/router has been reset 3 times in 18months so very pleased with the service.