A year of discounts - now what?

[busterdan]

About a year ago, as a regular member on here I decided to call NTL and protest at how as a long standing customer I was supplementing new members.

At the time I already had Talk Unlimited 24 and NTL decided to in effect give me thos for free over the next 12 months... I later removed TU24 but the discount remained so by all accounts I have been very happy with that.

Over the year I have scaled back my packages further and I now have the following....

Base pack - 21.50
2mb BB - 24.99
TU Local - £2
Itemised Billing - £1

Total £49.49

I called NTL this evening to see if they could extend the discount and they said no... but I then noticed they have a value pack for £49 that includes the Family pack, 2mb BB and also Talk Unlimited.

So for the same money I could get two of the services upgraded for free.

10mb BB would be good but not a priority currently.

Then I started looking at the competition... I know Bulldog Broadband have had much bad press but their 8mb unlimited BB and telephone service at £32 per month seems to knock spots off NTL. I was also surprised to see calls to mobiles during the day with Bulldog are 10p cheaper per minute than NTL!!

Also the basic packages with Sky would cost me £18 and I would get many more channels for the money (most of course I would not watch...but then that is true of NTL too).

This has left me a little unsure what to do.... Overall I think I'd rather stay with NTL but with competition outside the cable providers being so fierce it's making me wonder whether I should jump ship.

If anyone has any opinions or suggestions then please let me know.... I'd appreciate any advice on where to go with this.

I would be very very very carefull of bulldog. They are still over selling and under installing equiptment. Delays of over 2 months are no uncommon waiting for them to take over and setup your broadband and phone. They even have there very own hell site now.

[quadplay]

Based on your current package, you could get the Talk Unlimited Local, 1Mb Broadband & Base Pack TV Value Pack discount added to your account, which would save you £8.50 per month (meaning you'd pay £40.99 per month for your current services, as you'd still pay the difference between 1Mb and 2Mb broadband).

[SLM]

Sorry for being so blunt and rude but....you should go else where, when you write about supplementing new customers did you not get a deal when you 1st signed up, I am sick of people on here thinking its there god given right for a discount.
Do you get discounts from your supermarket..no a can of beans is X amount if you do not want to pay that much you starve, ntl provide a comfort service (you do not require it to stay alive) so why should you get money of.

In short please do all of us that are happy paying for a very fair priced service and GO ELSE WHERE. Sorry if this has offended.

Originally Posted by SLM

Sorry for being so blunt and rude but....you should go else where, when you write about supplementing new customers did you not get a deal when you 1st signed up, I am sick of people on here thinking its there god given right for a discount.
Do you get discounts from your supermarket..no a can of beans is X amount if you do not want to pay that much you starve, ntl provide a comfort service (you do not require it to stay alive) so why should you get money of.

In short please do all of us that are happy paying for a very fair priced service and GO ELSE WHERE. Sorry if this has offended.

Funny i was thinking the same thing. But with recent events on this forum and the amount of arguments there seems to be when ever anyone says the truth i was going to refrain. But as you have know said what i was thinking then Well said.


It irks me as well when someone gets a discount and then goes crying for more. If there where not as many grabbing discounts for no reason the rest of us might not have to pay as much. You have had your pound of flesh now go somewhere else and grab from them.

[busterdan]

SLM...Bill...

No thats fine I appreciate your comments...

This isn't supposed to be a "I'm so hard done by" thread... I'm not bemoaning the fact that I can't get more discounts from them... I'm merely saying that the end of my discounts has made me reassess my current packages with NTL.

There is nothing wrong with asking for advice and opinions and likewise I can accept when they are negative too. I'm certainly not offended and I definately respect your point of view.

I originally became a cable customer through Bell Cablemedia, then Cable and Wireless and now NTL (I think there was some other company in their...) anyway it's been nearly 10 years - foolishly or otherwise I always had the premium packages... it's only over the last year that I have scaled back.

Any other suggests on Bulldog or alternatives... obviously if I stick with NTL the triple pack seems the best option.

Originally Posted by busterdan

SLM...Bill...

No that's fine I appreciate your comments...

This isn't supposed to be a "I'm so hard done by" thread... I'm not bemoaning the fact that I can't get more discounts from them... I'm merely saying that the end of my discounts has made me reassess my current packages with NTL.

There is nothing wrong with asking for advice and opinions and likewise I can accept when they are negative too. I'm certainly not offended and I definitely respect your point of view.

I originally became a cable customer through Bell Cablemedia, then Cable and Wireless and now NTL (I think there was some other company in their...) anyway it's been nearly 10 years - foolishly or otherwise I always had the premium packages... it's only over the last year that I have scaled back.

Any other suggests on Bulldog or alternatives... obviously if I stick with NTL the triple pack seems the best option.

My comments where made because it seems to be the fashion at the moment to phone up and complain about the slightest thing and then demand discount or they will leave. Funny thing is i have after 6 years as a customer decided to change to Sky for my tv as i need a pvr. At no time was i offered any form of incentive to stay. I would not have taken it anyway as cut price tv would not give me a pvr. So how others get offered all these fantastic deals they brag about on here i dont know. Maybe i should cancel the lot and see . Knowing my luck the way they have just mucked up my disconnection for my TV, They might charge me to disconnect as well, Thats one way of covering for all the discounts others get.

I will be having my TV disconnected on the 14th. I have been assured it will go ok this time and to be truthful i think it will as there are 2 very good members of staff on this website watching it for me . I looked at moving my phone and broadband as well but in the end came to the conclusion that there was not point as it would not of been any cheaper in the long run and the service i get from NTL for my phone and broadband is second to none. I would look long and hard before you move your phone or your broadband, The grass is not always greener on the other side.

[littld]

Many of the customers who have been offered deals will only stay while they have them.

The minute ntl try charging me full rate I am off. There is no way I will stay with ntl out of sympathy for them.

Originally Posted by littld

Many of the customers who have been offered deals will only stay while they have them.

The minute ntl try charging me full rate I am off. There is no way I will stay with ntl out of sympathy for them.

Then it might be time for NTL to charge full rate and get rid of the scroungers

[ian@huth]

Originally Posted by littld

Many of the customers who have been offered deals will only stay while they have them.

The minute ntl try charging me full rate I am off. There is no way I will stay with ntl out of sympathy for them.

You go with the provider who gives you the service that you want at a price you are willing to pay. Sympathy doesn't enter into it. You can move to other providers who are cheaper but you have to ask yourself why they are cheaper and can they sustain and improve their services if they aren't generating sufficient revenue to do so. You may find that you don't get what you expect when you move elsewhere to save a few quid.

There are many moans on here about how poor UK services are compared to those in other countries. It takes cash to improve things and low prices and discounts don't generate sufficient cash to do what some people want.

[ikthius]

sometimes it is better the devil you know.

or the grass is always greener.

many people may say that their telephone is cheapest and their TV package is the best and don't forget about my BB is the fastest.

but..... you could switch and have an absolute terrible time of it, and wish you hadn't left.

I personally think the NTL BB is great. I have had a couple of probs, but nothing major, not the same as some of my friends who are forever changing provider.

I would prefer to get sky+ mainly for the extra choos your own game for the champions league, but there is no point taking that just now, as we are happy with what we got.

ik

[busterdan]

OK...a positive outcome.

Called Bulldog this morning.... found them very helpful indeed and they confirmed I was in a Bulldog/Higher speed area (presumably they have their own hardware in my local exchange).

Also for £1 they would install a brand new telephone line...all the cabling etc but I would be required to fulfil a 6 month contract. Also the phone package seemed very good, also included 1 month of free calls 24/7.

Then called NTL... spoke to again...a very helpful operator and we discussed the various Value Packs... I hadn't realised that you could mix and match but apparently you can.... so my current services would as part of a pack cost just £39.99

Apart from the obvious reason of wanting to charge more money why do NTL not automatically place people on these value packs when they are available. After much discussion I decided to go for this. In the meantime I asked about 10MB broadband, this can also be combined into a value pack and will save me about £8.50 off the standard separate prices.

At the moment I have a Samsung STB and would prefer a standalone cable modem so I have agreed to sign up for 10mb, but I can cancel this at anytime. Also an engineer will need to route a further cable to the modem... so I'm hoping in the process he can tidy up the cabling we currently have to make installation easier for him and place the masterbox in a less obviously and closer position to our TV (currently the cabling runs around the skirting board in our living room).

So going back to my original post I have been charged £49.49 and this will increase to £52.99 because of the 10mb BB. But unlike Bulldog I can reduce the costs at any time by downgrading BB speed.

I also need to weigh up whether the mobile calling plan is worth the £2 (which it seems like it probably will be) as the calls to mobiles are much much cheaper.

Conclusion is that I'm a happy customer, and NTL get a few quid extra from me each month too!!

Originally Posted by busterdan

OK...a positive outcome.

Called Bulldog this morning.... found them very helpful indeed and they confirmed I was in a Bulldog/Higher speed area (presumably they have their own hardware in my local exchange).

Also for £1 they would install a brand new telephone line...all the cabling etc but I would be required to fulfil a 6 month contract. Also the phone package seemed very good, also included 1 month of free calls 24/7.

Then called NTL... spoke to again...a very helpful operator and we discussed the various Value Packs... I hadn't realised that you could mix and match but apparently you can.... so my current services would as part of a pack cost just £39.99

Apart from the obvious reason of wanting to charge more money why do NTL not automatically place people on these value packs when they are available. After much discussion I decided to go for this. In the meantime I asked about 10MB broadband, this can also be combined into a value pack and will save me about £8.50 off the standard separate prices.

At the moment I have a Samsung STB and would prefer a standalone cable modem so I have agreed to sign up for 10mb, but I can cancel this at anytime. Also an engineer will need to route a further cable to the modem... so I'm hoping in the process he can tidy up the cabling we currently have to make installation easier for him and place the masterbox in a less obviously and closer position to our TV (currently the cabling runs around the skirting board in our living room).

So going back to my original post I have been charged £49.49 and this will increase to £52.99 because of the 10mb BB. But unlike Bulldog I can reduce the costs at any time by downgrading BB speed.

I also need to weigh up whether the mobile calling plan is worth the £2 (which it seems like it probably will be) as the calls to mobiles are much much cheaper.

Conclusion is that I'm a happy customer, and NTL get a few quid extra from me each month too!!

good news

[MikeyB]

Originally Posted by littld

Many of the customers who have been offered deals will only stay while they have them.

The minute ntl try charging me full rate I am off. There is no way I will stay with ntl out of sympathy for them.

What has "sympathy for them" got to do with it?
It's simple, you want the services they provide, you should pay the price for them.

As others have said, the more people who insist on discounts, the more ntl (or
any other company) have to charge other people.

I like SLMs reference to beans. Only way to get cheaper beans is to shop elsewhere, Asda won't give you 10p off your beans because you feel like you deserve it.

[littld]

What I mean by sympathy is I won't pay ntl more than another provider just because it's ntl.

So if Tesco are selling beans at 5p instead of 10p then I'd be a fool to pay Asda the 10p, wouldn't I? And if Asda is closest and says "OK, we'll let you have the beans for 5p" and I accept, then who loses out?

Quite frankly, I don't believe that the price paid has any impact on the services offered or the quality of service. ntl, like every other company, wants to charge as much as it can for as little as possible, while we consumers want the earth for nothing. In the middle we find a price.