Home move - BT/Sky Cheaper than Incumbet VM for phone and BB even with Install charge

[TheBlueRaja]

Im moving home soon and after speaking with BT they told me there would be a 125 quid charge for activating the new house as the existing owners have had another provider for some time and as such it needs an engineer. I thought this was strange as the current owner had a phone so i asked them why BT were telling me they needed an engineer.

It turns out that they have Virgin for phone and Broadband services and dont have BT. This kind of scuppered my plans for the full Sky service (TV, SKy Talk Phone and Sky Broadband) but i thought i would just go with Virgin for the BB and the Phone seeing as the equipment was already there and they could get me running on day 1. (Sky TV was going with me though as they already have a dish up.)

Ok, i thought lets see what Virgin offer, so i phone up and get told that they can do 4mb BB and phone (Evening and Weekend call free package) for 25 quid or 20mb BB and phone (Evening and Weekend call free package) for 30 quid (inlcuding free TV which apparently the 4mb package did not).

I asked if i could remove the TV part from the 30 quid package as i wouldnt be needing it, "no" was the (polite) answer, however i was told i didnt need to actually use it, it was essentially a freebie apparently. There was also a mention of a one off 30 quid install price which he sounded like he would drop as i asked why i would need an engineer as there is already a line installed.

But im still thinking, BT line rental 11 quid a month, (albeit with 125 quid install charge) and then SKy BB Max for a further 10 quid a month (16 meg) and then Sky Talk which gives Unlimited calls at anytime to any uk landline AND to 10 international destinations for an extra 5 quid a month - total of 26 quid a month compared with the 30 quid package here.

Cheaper in the long run, but more expensive in the short term.

The other things that were running through my head were that Virgin could, apparently, have me up and running on day one when i move in. BT could also (for the phone), but Sky BB would take - well - they say 5 days but....:D

However, on balance, BT were cheaper and the call package from Sky was better, also with Virgin being Traffic shaped and Proxied i decided to go with the BT / Sky package again and pay the install charge for the long term gain.

So i phoned up BT to arrange and they let me know that they have an offer on at the moment where if I agrreed to take 18 Month line rental fromthem they would half the install charge to 62 quid - Deal!

So all in, VM just lost a potential customer due to their over-expensive BB offering and no "mid tier" package.

Not exactly great competition if they cant provide a cheaper service when a competitior is charging a big install charge. :td:

[lostandconfused]

how did you work that out? your post says sky is £26 per month and virgin is £30 a month. so sky is £4 cheaper.

with a 125 install charge it would take you just short of 3 years before you even break even. you've had half price install which is good, but still the prices are pretty much evenly matched IMO

[Druchii]

FYI, you may not get anywhere near 16Mb on ADSL. The VM service is not proxied, STM is supposedly only temporary until Docsis 3 is rolled out and you don't even need to attach the STB after the initial install (i.e. it can sit in the shed or attic or something gathering dust)

Just a few points :)

[TheBlueRaja]

how did you work that out? your post says sky is £26 per month and virgin is £30 a month. so sky is £4 cheaper.

with a 125 install charge it would take you just short of 3 years before you even break even. you've had half price install which is good, but still the prices are pretty much evenly matched IMO

I dont plan to move for a long time, 3 years is a relatively short period of time when it comes to buying a house.

Also, given the fact that the misses has a few friends in Oz, the Sky Talk 5 quid package could significantly reduce the time it takes to make a saving.

---------- Post added at 20:55 ---------- Previous post was at 20:55 ----------

FYI, you may not get anywhere near 16Mb on ADSL. The VM service is not proxied, STM is supposedly only temporary until Docsis 3 is rolled out and you don't even need to attach the STB after the initial install (i.e. it can sit in the shed or attic or something gathering dust)

Just a few points :)

And i may also not get anywhere near 20mb either. Incidentally, its a calulated risk, 10 meg would be fine as long as its always 10 meg, and im only going to live about 500 yards from my local exchange according to samknows.

[Druchii]

I dont plan to move for a long time, 3 years is a relatively short period of time when it comes to buying a house.

Also, given the fact that the misses has a few friends in Oz, the Sky Talk 5 quid package could significantly reduce the time it takes to make a saving.

---------- Post added at 20:55 ---------- Previous post was at 20:55 ----------



And i may also not get anywhere near 20mb either.
That's very true, until Docsis 3 is rolled out when in theory everything should be ok.

They do seem evenly matched though, how's Sky for download limits?

[TheBlueRaja]

That's very true, until Docsis 3 is rolled out when in theory everything should be ok.

They do seem evenly matched though, how's Sky for download limits?

None - well, fair use if you catch my drift. Never had any issues with it previously.

[tweetypie/8]

Im moving home soon and after speaking with BT they told me there would be a 125 quid charge for activating the new house as the existing owners have had another provider for some time and as such it needs an engineer. I thought this was strange as the current owner had a phone so i asked them why BT were telling me they needed an engineer.

It turns out that they have Virgin for phone and Broadband services and dont have BT. This kind of scuppered my plans for the full Sky service (TV, SKy Talk Phone and Sky Broadband) but i thought i would just go with Virgin for the BB and the Phone seeing as the equipment was already there and they could get me running on day 1. (Sky TV was going with me though as they already have a dish up.)

Ok, i thought lets see what Virgin offer, so i phone up and get told that they can do 4mb BB and phone (Evening and Weekend call free package) for 25 quid or 20mb BB and phone (Evening and Weekend call free package) for 30 quid (inlcuding free TV which apparently the 4mb package did not).

I asked if i could remove the TV part from the 30 quid package as i wouldnt be needing it, "no" was the (polite) answer, however i was told i didnt need to actually use it, it was essentially a freebie apparently. There was also a mention of a one off 30 quid install price which he sounded like he would drop as i asked why i would need an engineer as there is already a line installed.

But im still thinking, BT line rental 11 quid a month, (albeit with 125 quid install charge) and then SKy BB Max for a further 10 quid a month (16 meg) and then Sky Talk which gives Unlimited calls at anytime to any uk landline AND to 10 international destinations for an extra 5 quid a month - total of 26 quid a month compared with the 30 quid package here.

Cheaper in the long run, but more expensive in the short term.

The other things that were running through my head were that Virgin could, apparently, have me up and running on day one when i move in. BT could also (for the phone), but Sky BB would take - well - they say 5 days but....:D

However, on balance, BT were cheaper and the call package from Sky was better, also with Virgin being Traffic shaped and Proxied i decided to go with the BT / Sky package again and pay the install charge for the long term gain.

So i phoned up BT to arrange and they let me know that they have an offer on at the moment where if I agrreed to take 18 Month line rental fromthem they would half the install charge to 62 quid - Deal!

So all in, VM just lost a potential customer due to their over-expensive BB offering and no "mid tier" package.

Not exactly great competition if they cant provide a cheaper service when a competitior is charging a big install charge. :td:


et come home :erm:

[nicke261192]

Dont Forget: Bt Line Rental Payable! Thats Another £11 On Your Bill

[Shaun]

BT are getting a bit cautious over the install charge since Openreach took over.

Generally if there's been a line there before they'll do it for free but it's down to the install engineer on the day if they make a charge. I'd go with BT and chance it - it's more than likely they won't charge. I've had several family members told there will be a charge of £125 and it's never appeared. If there's still a box on the wall and the engineer just switches it on you'll be fine.

As for the extra £11 Nicke I think you'll see he's factored it into the price.

£11 BT
£10 Sky BB
£5 Sky Talk
---
£26

[colin-bennett]

Im moving home soon and after speaking with BT they told me there would be a 125 quid charge for activating the new house as the existing owners have had another provider for some time and as such it needs an engineer. I thought this was strange as the current owner had a phone so i asked them why BT were telling me they needed an engineer.

It turns out that they have Virgin for phone and Broadband services and dont have BT. This kind of scuppered my plans for the full Sky service (TV, SKy Talk Phone and Sky Broadband) but i thought i would just go with Virgin for the BB and the Phone seeing as the equipment was already there and they could get me running on day 1. (Sky TV was going with me though as they already have a dish up.)

Ok, i thought lets see what Virgin offer, so i phone up and get told that they can do 4mb BB and phone (Evening and Weekend call free package) for 25 quid or 20mb BB and phone (Evening and Weekend call free package) for 30 quid (inlcuding free TV which apparently the 4mb package did not).

I asked if i could remove the TV part from the 30 quid package as i wouldnt be needing it, "no" was the (polite) answer, however i was told i didnt need to actually use it, it was essentially a freebie apparently. There was also a mention of a one off 30 quid install price which he sounded like he would drop as i asked why i would need an engineer as there is already a line installed.

But im still thinking, BT line rental 11 quid a month, (albeit with 125 quid install charge) and then SKy BB Max for a further 10 quid a month (16 meg) and then Sky Talk which gives Unlimited calls at anytime to any uk landline AND to 10 international destinations for an extra 5 quid a month - total of 26 quid a month compared with the 30 quid package here.

Cheaper in the long run, but more expensive in the short term.

The other things that were running through my head were that Virgin could, apparently, have me up and running on day one when i move in. BT could also (for the phone), but Sky BB would take - well - they say 5 days but....:D

However, on balance, BT were cheaper and the call package from Sky was better, also with Virgin being Traffic shaped and Proxied i decided to go with the BT / Sky package again and pay the install charge for the long term gain.

So i phoned up BT to arrange and they let me know that they have an offer on at the moment where if I agrreed to take 18 Month line rental fromthem they would half the install charge to 62 quid - Deal!

So all in, VM just lost a potential customer due to their over-expensive BB offering and no "mid tier" package.

Not exactly great competition if they cant provide a cheaper service when a competitior is charging a big install charge. :td:

WHAT a biased thread
Let me make 2 points

Point 1
I order to get this package SKY will request you take out A tv package not see this charge in your calc's
if i missed it sorry.
What about the SKY BBI activation fee. Did not se this either.
Oh VM charge an installation fee how terrible but SKY charge an activation fee ohh thats ok.
Sky will be unable to do anything untill your BT line is active. 5 days after this to get ADSL MAX working ????.
VM cannot get things working on the day of your move but its ok to wait for the BBI to get activated at some point after your move.

Point 2
You and I have been involved recently in a thread where it claimed SKY paid for the BT install. I casted doubts on this but ohh no you said great on SKY.
May I ask why you have not got this deal. ?????.

I do hope people see this thread for exactly what it is. Biased with no basis on reality.

[TheBlueRaja]

WHAT a biased thread
Let me make 2 points

Point 1
I order to get this package SKY will request you take out A tv package not see this charge in your calc's
if i missed it sorry.
What about the SKY BBI activation fee. Did not se this either.
Oh VM charge an installation fee how terrible but SKY charge an activation fee ohh thats ok.
Sky will be unable to do anything untill your BT line is active. 5 days after this to get ADSL MAX working ????.
VM cannot get things working on the day of your move but its ok to wait for the BBI to get activated at some point after your move.

Point 2
You and I have been involved recently in a thread where it claimed SKY paid for the BT install. I casted doubts on this but ohh no you said great on SKY.
May I ask why you have not got this deal. ?????.

I do hope people see this thread for exactly what it is. Biased with no basis on reality.

Let me respond to your points:-

1) Point 1
I order to get this package SKY will request you take out A tv package not see this charge in your calc's
if i missed it sorry.
What about the SKY BBI activation fee. Did not se this either.

Im moving from a house with Sky to another house, there are no fees...

Oh VM charge an installation fee how terrible but SKY charge an activation fee ohh thats ok.

No BT are charging an activation fee, Sky arent charging squat, did you read my post?

Sky will be unable to do anything untill your BT line is active. 5 days after this to get ADSL MAX working ????.
VM cannot get things working on the day of your move but its ok to wait for the BBI to get activated at some point after your move.

I said above (if you bothered to read it which it looks like you didnt) that

"The other things that were running through my head were that Virgin could, apparently, have me up and running on day one when i move in. BT could also (for the phone), but Sky BB would take - well - they say 5 days but...."

This was actually a plus point for VM and a negative for sky, but you somehow read that as me VM bashing?? :confused:

Point 2
You and I have been involved recently in a thread where it claimed SKY paid for the BT install. I casted doubts on this but ohh no you said great on SKY.
May I ask why you have not got this deal. ?????.

Dunno, i didnt ask Sky as i forgot about it, daft me eh. I see your still bitter about it though eh..

---------- Post added at 23:52 ---------- Previous post was at 23:50 ----------

Dont Forget: Bt Line Rental Payable! Thats Another £11 On Your Bill

I didnt its incuded in the pricing.

[Mal]

This was actually a plus point for VM and a negative for sky, but you somehow read that as me VM bashing?? :confused:Nah, it's just that no one can believe that you are giving VM a plus point ;) :D

[TheBlueRaja]

Nah, it's just that no one can believe that you are giving VM a plus point ;) :D

:D

[colin-bennett]

:D

You forgot about SKY paying for the BT Install ????

As far as I am aware to take the package you quoted SKY require you to take a tv service.. I did not see this in your initial thread. I ws not making a point on the SKY install but the cost of the SKY tv package.

Me bitter because you forgot. What is that about ????

I did read your post which is why I responded.

Making the point you with SKY is no shock to any one on here my friend
If you move from a house where you have VM account their is no charge either so where is the comparison

[TheBlueRaja]

As far as I am aware to take the package you quoted SKY require you to take a tv service.. I did not see this in your initial thread. I ws not making a point on the SKY install but the cost of the SKY tv package.



Boring rambles aside, Sky do require me to take the TV service for that deal, also virgin required i take the TV service for the 30 quid deal (as i pointed out).

I was always going to go with TV via Sky, i didnt even look at the VM option on that one as it didnt interest me. What did interest me was Phone + BB from VM, and I compared it against the cost to me of the same service from BT / Sky.

You been drinking?

[colin-bennett]

Boring rambles aside, Sky do require me to take the TV service for that deal, also virgin required i take the TV service for the 30 quid deal (as i pointed out).

I was always going to go with TV via Sky, i didnt even look at the VM option on that one as it didnt interest me. What did interest me was Phone + BB from VM, and I compared it against the cost to me of the same service from BT / Sky.

You been drinking?

I see this thread going the same way as most threads you get involved in.
However not to worry as I am sure as with the BT install being paid for by SKY you will have forgoten this in the morning,

Good night

[TheBlueRaja]

Wow, somebody got a PS3 for christmas...

[colin-bennett]

Wow, somebody got a PS3 for christmas...

You been moved Mr blue.
Guess you forgot where you are now
May be good idea you read some threads here about BT and SKY BB

[TheBlueRaja]

Dear god man, I HAVE SKY BB ALREADY!

Dont you read?

[ezzie_uk]

Im moving home soon and after speaking with BT they told me there would be a 125 quid charge for activating the new house as the existing owners have had another provider for some time and as such it needs an engineer. I thought this was strange as the current owner had a phone so i asked them why BT were telling me they needed an engineer.

It turns out that they have Virgin for phone and Broadband services and dont have BT. This kind of scuppered my plans for the full Sky service (TV, SKy Talk Phone and Sky Broadband) but i thought i would just go with Virgin for the BB and the Phone seeing as the equipment was already there and they could get me running on day 1. (Sky TV was going with me though as they already have a dish up.)

Ok, i thought lets see what Virgin offer, so i phone up and get told that they can do 4mb BB and phone (Evening and Weekend call free package) for 25 quid or 20mb BB and phone (Evening and Weekend call free package) for 30 quid (inlcuding free TV which apparently the 4mb package did not).

I asked if i could remove the TV part from the 30 quid package as i wouldnt be needing it, "no" was the (polite) answer, however i was told i didnt need to actually use it, it was essentially a freebie apparently. There was also a mention of a one off 30 quid install price which he sounded like he would drop as i asked why i would need an engineer as there is already a line installed.

But im still thinking, BT line rental 11 quid a month, (albeit with 125 quid install charge) and then SKy BB Max for a further 10 quid a month (16 meg) and then Sky Talk which gives Unlimited calls at anytime to any uk landline AND to 10 international destinations for an extra 5 quid a month - total of 26 quid a month compared with the 30 quid package here.

Cheaper in the long run, but more expensive in the short term.

The other things that were running through my head were that Virgin could, apparently, have me up and running on day one when i move in. BT could also (for the phone), but Sky BB would take - well - they say 5 days but....:D

However, on balance, BT were cheaper and the call package from Sky was better, also with Virgin being Traffic shaped and Proxied i decided to go with the BT / Sky package again and pay the install charge for the long term gain.

So i phoned up BT to arrange and they let me know that they have an offer on at the moment where if I agrreed to take 18 Month line rental fromthem they would half the install charge to 62 quid - Deal!

So all in, VM just lost a potential customer due to their over-expensive BB offering and no "mid tier" package.

Not exactly great competition if they cant provide a cheaper service when a competitior is charging a big install charge. :td:


Dont forget Skys activation fee of £30, and then at least £17 for basic TV every month, so your looking at basically:

SKY:
TV £17
BB £10
Phone £5
Line rental £11

£43 a month, plus £125 install (or £62),
and £30 activation

Virgin:
TV £Free
BB £25
Phone £5.45
Line Rental £Free

£30 a month, £30 install fee

Then you've got the pro's and cons of ADSL over fibre optic cable, even if you live next door to the exchange it still wont help during busy period when everyone in your street is on the net at the same time.

[TheBlueRaja]

Dont forget Skys activation fee of £30, and then at least £17 for basic TV every month, so your looking at basically:

SKY:
TV £17
BB £10
Phone £5
Line rental £11

£43 a month, plus £125 install (or £62),
and £30 activation

Virgin:
TV £Free
BB £25
Phone £5.45
Line Rental £Free

£30 a month, £30 install fee

Then you've got the pro's and cons of ADSL over fibre optic cable, even if you live next door to the exchange it still wont help during busy period when everyone in your street is on the net at the same time.

No activation fee as im already with Sky, also the price of the TV doesnt come into it for me as im prepared to pay for Sky TV even if it does work out more expensive (i didnt check / Compare as i dont want Virgin TV).

This was purely a comparision of Phone and BB services. I was also told by Virgin i had to take TV package at the 30 quid a month deal and that there would be a 30 quid activation fee too (see my previous posts).

[tjay2]

I just thought I make a comment on sky paying for bt install!

When I moved into my new home about 18months ago i originally contacted sky and arranged an installation.

THe engineer came round only to tell me he could not really set sky up. I had no BT lines and trees would give me a bad tv signal apparently.

So i contacted then NTL and was fully set up with TV and Phone and just normal basic channels I have since gone to VM XL package

However sky have rang me a few times saying they have better technology which will get me a good signal and would i consider switching. I explained the BT line problem and was offered a credit on my future bills of whatever it cost!

So this is not a theory sky are offering it to select customers i suppose! However why do I want rubbish adsl and a picture that gets interference due to weather etc VM get my vote and i stayed

[Hugh]

Or you could have gone for this VM package
Linky (http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/bb_deal.html)
2Mb BB and Phone with unlimited weekend calls - £15.50, £30 install charge.

[Shaun]

To be fair I can see where TBR is coming from. He's stipulating Sky TV so you need to take that into account - there's no point saying you can get VM TV for this or that as he wants SKY.

When you take that out of it (if he's paying for it there's no point saying he need to include it in his calculations) Sky and BT is the cheaper - you can look at either the free (2 Mbit) 3GB limit) £5 (8Mbit 40GB) or £10 (16Mbit unlimitedGB) plus £11 for BT - max £21

VM - you're looking at £11 for the phone plus £18 (2Mbit) £25(4Mbit) £37(20Mbit)...or a deal like the 3 for £30

---------- Post added at 23:10 ---------- Previous post was at 23:09 ----------

Or you could have gone for this VM package
Linky (http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/bb_deal.html)
2Mb BB and Phone with unlimited weekend calls - £15.50, £30 install charge.

The same on Sky (with a 3GB limit admittedly) would cost just £11 plus install.

[colin-bennett]

The same on Sky (with a 3GB limit admittedly) would cost just £11 plus install.


You have to take SKY tv package to get this.
In my view you have to look at your total monthly charges and they will not be £11.00 to get SKY BBI

[Shaun]

The same on Sky (with a 3GB limit admittedly) would cost just £11 plus install.


You have to take SKY tv package to get this.
In my view you have to look at your total monthly charges and they will not be £11.00 to get SKY BBI

They will be if you already have Sky - that's what TBR is saying.

He has Sky and likes it - doesn't want to move so in effect he'd be paying £11 a month plus install for the service (or £21 for unlimited). Not something he can get from VM.

[PS1]

BT are getting a bit cautious over the install charge since Openreach took over.

Generally if there's been a line there before they'll do it for free but it's down to the install engineer on the day if they make a charge. I'd go with BT and chance it - it's more than likely they won't charge. I've had several family members told there will be a charge of £125 and it's never appeared. If there's still a box on the wall and the engineer just switches it on you'll be fine.



no its not.You WILL get an installation charge wether everything is in situ or not.
are you prepared to take a £125 chance and then find out the hard way?

[tucker61]

That's very true, until Docsis 3 is rolled out when in theory everything should be ok.

They do seem evenly matched though, how's Sky for download limits?

What difference will docsis3 make ?

[Shaun]

no its not.You WILL get an installation charge wether everything is in situ or not.

That's just not true.

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/34108103-post5.html

[TheBlueRaja]

That's just not true.

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/34108103-post5.html

Thats my understanding as well. BT say they will charge only if work is needed.