ISP Reviews by David W

During the 20-odd years prior to my signing up with Pulse8, my ISPs had been Metronet, Plusnet, ADSL24, Coms.com and Timico respectively. Moving from the excellent Metronet and ADSL24 was forced on me due to changes in ownership, and the result in both cases was a massive deterioration in quality.

The need to change again arose a few months ago, this time at my own instigation after Timico had 'accidentally' instructed Openreach to disconnect my line and needed 9 (nine!) days and lots of chasing before they requested reconnection following a catalogue of further internal errors. Chasing Timico via their premium rate customer service number cost over £30 in call charges, though this was eventually refunded without argument and they gave me a month's free subscription as 'goodwill' in answer to my request for three months.

I researched intensely for an ISP that I could trust to give the highest level of service at reasonable cost, looking into every provider listed within ISPreview. Pulse8 eventually made it to the top of my short list, but I had one more test to try in the form of an email asking several questions, and I received their fully answered and personalised reply just 12 minutes later. That sealed it for me, similar emails to a couple of other providers of high repute (and higher cost) receiving slow and/or not fully helpful replies.

Once I'd signed up with Pulse8, the transfer went without a hitch except that I'd chosen to use my own router and couldn't figure out the settings needed to connect. I called their customer service number (free-phone) and they answered within five seconds (no 'press 2... press 3...!). I was impressed that they already knew the make and model of my router (TP-Link Archer VR900 v2) from our previous correspondence, and they soon had the instructions for it on their screen. They talked me through the necessary key presses and connection was made quickly and easily.

A couple of days later I received an email asking if all was still OK and inviting suggestions for improvements to their service. I replied with the suggestion that their 'new customer' letter be made clearer on the method of connection for those, like me, who decide to use their own router. I received a reply from their senior partner the very next morning in which he outlined an addition he hoped to make to the letter to meet my suggestion.

Download and upload speeds have been well up on the estimate they provided (test results just now were 37.4/9.5, on their 'Up to 38/10' offering - I'm 500 metres from the green cabinet), with never a hiccup. Their service includes useful touches such as the monthly direct debit invoices listing phone calls by number, duration and cost - which my previous (more expensive) ISP was unable to provide - and their phone call charges are impressively low. Their monthly broadband plus line-rental charge is slightly higher than some of the bigger outfits, but they are so worth it (hence my ten star award).

I now see how they have the confidence to operate without tying customers to contracts. If all continues as at present, I won't ever be leaving!