I see your point. Although you cant expect BT to replace a wireless router for free when you are out of contract. The currect customer service issues are well known. If things go well - it is great. It's when you have a problem that things go downhill.
If your neighbour has no wish for a further lock in and the associated benefits then I would suggest that he buys a cheap new router - that should cure his wireless problems. Alternatively - he can move to another ISP.
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Forums are always full of complaints - it's human nature to shout up when somethign is wrong - people hardly ever mention it when things are going well.
AFAIK the Homehubs are a bit Like the Sky Digiboxes.
They are given to you when you signup unlike some providers where you rent the modem/stb/whatever they are yours to keep, which unfortunately also means once the 1yr warranty runs out they become your problem to sort out.