Best option for closing account

[inthewildteam]

Just did the maths,

NTL base pack, telephone and 150k broadband

versus

freeview, BT Together (option 1) Pipex 512 broadband!

anyone got the address for my cancellation letter please?

Ex CoCo ex Nynex in BN postal area please?

[Nikko]

Welcome to the forum

How did you do the calculation?

[inthewildteam]

Been here a while, and in the "com" site too btw.

On a monthly basis, including the cost of the 'phone calls without the 0.05p connection charge.

[Nikko]

OK, understood - how is it cheaper?

[inthewildteam]

Pipex and BT work out at £35.44 per month

NTL work out at £24.99 for b/band and £17.99 per month plus the £0.05 connection charge on a 'phone call for a busy signal on the 'phone .... even if I don't get connected!

[quadplay]

Hi,

You don't get charged the 5p connection charge if you're not connected (including engaged signals). At £17.99 per month for the phone, are you on Talk Unlimited? BT Option 1 is equivalent to the 6p talk plan, which is £11.50 per month, the same price as BT. You could consider moving to this talk plan. This would make your monthly bill (for 600k, and excluding calls) £36.49.

I'm not sure of the price of Pipex's 512k ADSL service, but assuming £11.50 for the BT line rental, that would make Pipex £23.94 - is that right? Just want to make sure you're making the right decision! If you're sure you are, best bet is to call customer services on 0800 052 2000 to give your 30 days notice then and there, then follow it up in writing to the address that Customer Services will be able to give you. You can then be (relatively) sure it will go to the right department - but I'd send it Recorded, just in case!

[Nikko]

Thanks jimbo - I was just typing most of that!

Either way its not comparing like for like, in fairness

[quadplay]

Sorry, inthewildteam, just noticed you have the base pack as well - give me a moment whilst I recalculate...

EDIT: OK, assuming you just drop the base pack TV (where, I assume you are on the 3-2-1 standard line rental at £9.50 per month), you could stay on 150k broadband for the grand total of £27.49 per month. Alternatively, you could move to 600k broadband, making the total £34.49. If you would prefer the 6p per hour plan (equivalent to BT's Option 1), my figure above of £36.49 is correct for 600k broadband, or 150k broadband would be £29.49.

[inthewildteam]

Thanks Jimbo,
still want the addy for my region. Don't want to go completely off topic, but I do get charged for a non-connection! And I do get charged for a non completed call, or a call to another NTL number off peak too!

I understand I have to call customer services, I want to back this up with a recorded delivery letter. I just want the address for ex nynex ex coco ex ntl in the bn post code area is all.

[quadplay]

If you're getting charged for calls which aren't connected, there's something funny going on. You might want to get that checked out. Local ntl to ntl calls I'm not sure about, but I don't know that they're free anymore... I'm sure someone can correct me on that!

Best people to ask for an address is the agent you actually confirm the disconnection with, for the reasons I gave above.

[Hell Fighter]

Originally Posted by inthewildteam

Thanks Jimbo,
still want the addy for my region. Don't want to go completely off topic, but I do get charged for a non-connection! And I do get charged for a non completed call, or a call to another NTL number off peak too!

I understand I have to call customer services, I want to back this up with a recorded delivery letter. I just want the address for ex nynex ex coco ex ntl in the bn post code area is all.

Why not stay with ntl for your broadband, if not for your telephone line?

You could subscribe to 600k broadband for £24.99, which is only slightly more expensive than the Pipex 500k service, and gives you upto an extra 100kbps of bandwidth.

You'd also have the added bonus of not having to pay any ADSL activation fees and not having to purchase ADSL equipment as ntl provide a cable modem as standard with all tiers of service, and a switch to 600k is literally as easy as pressing a few buttons at ntl's end and your speed would increase within 15 minutes.

[ntl customer]

Why not stay with ntl for your broadband, if not for your telephone line?

You could subscribe to 600k broadband for £24.99, which is only slightly more expensive than the Pipex 500k service, and gives you upto an extra 100kbps of bandwidth.

Pipex have an email system that works and can handle large attachments without a problem.

The ntl email system frequently falls over (or at least it used to) but still cannot handle large attachments (e.g. 2 x 7Mb) without rejecting the email.

Pipex do not used forced web caching.

ntl do and you have no option to turn it off. Also bear in mind that everything you download via HTTP goes through that so bear that in mind if you use any shopping sites (e.g. ebuyer) which do not force SSL when viewing account details (yes, I know HTTP can be intercepted by using things like a packet sniffer but this gives you no option - your HTTP traffic IS being recorded)

Pipex have 256k up which is double the amount ntl give you on their equivalent service.

You are tied to a 12 month contract when you sign up initially, unlike Pipex where you can leave after a month (but have to pay a £60 fee to do so)

ntl have a 1Gb a day cap and block ports, Pipex don't have any sort of cap or block ports.

On the plus side ...

You do not have to purchase your own equipment if you stick with ntl, the calls to their customer services department are free (although the on hold muzak is ****e), you can up or downgrade your speed at any time but you must stick with it for a month (minimum) before changing.

There is also broadband plus but I would refrain from using that in light of the 'cap'

[Macready]

Its worth mentioning, that BT do a cheaper line rental than the £10.50 a month that im currently paying, for a very low usage of the phone line (i.e. you get a line for broadband and dont intend making any calls on it), this works well for people like myself who are getting ADSL and want to keep the costs low.

Its around the £5 mark I believe, the cheapest "emergency calls" line rental that you can have.

[quadplay]

You can't have ADSL on the Light User Scheme. BT Price List, Section 3, Part 1.10.1 - Eligibility for Light User Scheme

[Macready]

my friend did have it, up until a point where his mother decided to make an international phone call on his phone line, that banged the price back up then.

He had ADSL originally and then rang up BT and told them that he didnt have the phone for anything else, then they changed the tarriff he was on.

Dont know about wether thats able to be done today, im talking about 8-10 months ago this was, as hes moved house since then.