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New ISP - Post Office or O2 Recommendations?

I really really want to leave Orange, and have done for ages, but I am very wary of signing up for a new contract as they turned out to be so awful! At the moment I am liking the sound of either the Post Office or O2 Access. PO will be cheaper as I have their line rental already, but I can find very few reviews. The line rental side of things has been spot on service wise for me so far. O2 has glowing reviews, but will be more expensive as I can only get the Access package I think it is called? Can anyone offer me any advice, I am so indecisive! :laugh: And while I dither I keep paying the abysmal Orange £19.99 a month!

Also, when is the best time to ask for a MAC? Do they charge on a pro rata basis for any time used, or for a full month regardless of when I leave?

Thanks. :)
 
How much do you use the internet?

For a very light user who just browses around the web, the Post Office might be OK if it saves you a few quid.

If you use the internet a lot, if you download lots of video or TV, then O2 might be the better choice as they seem to lolerate the heavier users more than other ISPs do...
 
I'd say reasonably heavy, but not ridiculously. I spend a lot of time online, watch a lot of Youtube, and upload 300+mb videos to there fairly often, surf round Myspace, listen to streaming stuff, watch iplayer/itv catchup, download the occasional programme. I've never touched the Orange 'unlimited' limit, but I have no idea where that is exactly. :D

I think the PO would work out around £14-5ish if I take out the line rental I pay already, and O2 £17.50 as I have a pay as you go with them? Both cheaper than Orange are right now.
 
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I've seen a few bad things said about PO, which uses BT's managed solution, that usually concern problems with customer support and actually getting the connection enabled on time. They wouldn't be my first choice and I might be inclined to consider PlusNet or Vispa's broadband and line-rental options over theirs, although the latter would be more expensive. There's always Madasafish too.

More bundles:
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/cgi-bin/listman/exec/bundles.shtml
 
Post Office

I have been with the Post Office since December 2007 and can't complain about the connection speeds or being connected on the arranged date.
What really annoys me is the "small" matter of not having had a bill in all that time.
I have written twice, emailed innumerable times and contacted Ofcom. The response from the PO has been "It is a known problem and we hope to resolve it soon". During the latest phone call I made I was informed that I would have three months free but would have to pay from the end of March onwards.
That is probably a fair solution but I am having to think seriously about trying to terminate my contract (expires December) as they haven't kept their end of the deal.
:mad:
 
I've seen a few bad things said about PO, which uses BT's managed solution, that usually concern problems with customer support and actually getting the connection enabled on time. They wouldn't be my first choice and I might be inclined to consider PlusNet or Vispa's broadband and line-rental options over theirs, although the latter would be more expensive. There's always Madasafish too.

More bundles:
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/cgi-bin/listman/exec/bundles.shtml


I'm not desperate for a bundle, I prefer to keep things separate, it was only because I was with the PO already that I considered it. If they're going to have customer service problems, maybe I should avoid, I've had enough of that with Orange! :laugh:

Any recommendations for just broadband? Has to be 'unlimited' in the Orange sense of the word, and £19.99 or less. I like the look of O2 mainly because it has a 50 day guarantee, I've had such trouble with Orange, I like the idea of a get out period before I'm committed!
 
all isp have problems and those are the cases which get highlighted, i know four people who use PO broadband and they were conected on time with good speeds and no disconections at all, one outage in 1 year for two of them,

one of them works with royal mail so got a discount which is why he went with them initial but has not regretted it in any way
 
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Be/o2 are not perfect. I'm trying to get my faulty modem replaced at the moment and its easier to get a mortgage at the moment than a new modem out of these guys. Generally happy with the connection/support.
 
I signed up my grandmother (!) on O2 on Wednesday, and her line should be enabled this coming Wednesday....
 
O2

I moved from Nildram after some years and after some research I decided to go with O2. I've Never looked back.

I pay £12 per month for an unlimited account where before i was paying £25, got a free ADSL modem and free connection. They currently have a 50 day cool off period in which time you can cancel your payments, after this it's a 12 months contract.

I use my own netgear modem with the O2 MAC address. Great speeds and saves me a bundle of cash each month.
 
Thanks for the replies, I'm practically decided on O2 now, I've only not moved so far as I've been trying out a Vodafone contract and haven't been topping up my O2 sim. Do I have to top it up before I start O2 broadband, or only sometime in the first 3 months? I'm cancelling the Vodafone thing in a couple of weeks as I don't get on with it, I hate the uncertainty, not knowing what I've spent!
 
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Hmmm, now I have a dilemma. Phoned up to cancel Orange, and they offered me 6 months free on a 12 month contract. I was really looking forward to moving, but not sure I can afford to turn it down. :D They've given me another month free to think it over.
 
Hmmm, now I have a dilemma. Phoned up to cancel Orange, and they offered me 6 months free on a 12 month contract. I was really looking forward to moving, but not sure I can afford to turn it down. :D They've given me another month free to think it over.

But ... despite me phoning on the 8th, and the money not leaving my account until around the 25th, they couldn't get their act together to make this month free. They very reassuringly told me I would get it next month when I rang back to ask why on earth it wasn't free. Add in the fact that my speeds have started to dip every evening and then come back as soon as we get to 11.30/midnight, and I'm glad I haven't committed myself yet!
 
Can't fault them for generosity I guess, it's better than having an ISP that prevents you from leaving by throwing the "big bill" stick your way. That being said, Orange do have a lot of problems to overcome and the last 12 months haven't made much difference, I guess it's up to you to decide whether the savings outway the failings. Oh that's a good line :) .
 
I'd like to see them try the 'big bill' thing on me, I've been with them since the demise of V21, and refused any upgrades, so I'm well and truly out of contract. :D It is a good offer, they also offered me the choice of 6 months at £12.99 on a 6 month contract, which I was leaning towards as a better option. Since I got my line fixed I've not had any massive problems, but I have noticed this speed dip in the evenings several times lately. Around half ten last night I had a 1-2mb connection, the minute half eleven came round, it leapt to 4mb.

I'm definitely going to leave, I just can't decide whether to do it now, wait 2 months to make sure I get the free month, or sign up for another 6 months and then go. I'm more or less decided on o2 as a replacement, anyone got any inkling what their prices are likely to do in the next few months? If there is a chance it might get cheaper, I should maybe hang on, but if it'll stay the same or go up, there's no point in waiting. :D
 
I guess it's up to you to decide whether the savings outway the failings. Oh that's a good line .

You've been waiting months to say that, haven't you!! :)

I have to admit that 6 months free would be tempting, but then if it goes wrong you are likely to be way down their klist of priorities - firstly because you have a 12 month contract, and second because you aren't giving them any money.
 
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That is a very good point. When I phoned to leave, I told the bloke it was because I couldn't bear the thought of ever having to speak to their 'technical' help ever again. He told me that there were people in his department that were technically trained, and that I could request a 'technical callback'. My immediate reply was, when I was phoning every single month ever since I joined them with speed problems and frequent disconnections, how come no-one had ever tried to help me? My line is only sorted now because my phone company did it, Orange weren't in the slightest bit interested.
 
anyone got any inkling what their prices are likely to do in the next few months? If there is a chance it might get cheaper, I should maybe hang on, but if it'll stay the same or go up, there's no point in waiting. :D

I wouldn't have thought they will get any cheaper, since they are already pretty cheap (on the LLU option, anyway) and they are very relaxed about usage caps etc, so probably don't have a lot of margin to play with.

If you have a mobile you could sign up to O2 to get cheaper rates - I think if you have a PAYG you have to agree to top up a minimum £10 every 3 months to get the cheaper broadband prices (check this - I could easily be wrong!). It's worth noting that if you want to transfer your number it is free and fairly painless to do (assuming you are not in the middle of a contract).

Andy
 
Sadly I can't get the LLU option as I live in the back end of nowhere. :D I thought as much, they're cheaper than other 'unlimited' options on non LLU I think, cheaper than Orange's usual price anyway if you get the mobile reduced rate.

I do have an o2 PAYG already, they give me 300 texts every month just for topping it up, so meeting the top up for the broadband wont be a problem. :laugh: I've been using a Vodafone contract for a couple of months as it came with a huge cashback deal, but I'm cancelling it soon, I prefer PAYG! Actually, if there are any Rpoints for joining o2, that'll make up for turning down the Orange deal. :laugh:
 
Edit - sorry, it's £25 on Quidco.
 
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