Swish vs Hey!?

Hi everyone,

We're about 15 months into an 18 month Swish contract and are generally quite happy with the service, but Hey! are doing a big push in our area right now and their current deal is incredibly attractive. 900Mbps for less than the cost of 500Mbps with Swish, and the first 6 months for free would enable us to buy out the remaining few months of our Swish contract and be no worse off.

I'm just a bit wary of the deal being too good to be true and wondering if anyone has experience of both ISPs and can lend an opinion either way?

Cheers all!

Edit: Took the punt, I'll give them a trial run during the 14 day cancellation window and then decide whether to keep them, though they're not off to the best start... I chose an install date of the 31st, which was confirmed by the order confirmation page, then the order confirmation email has me booked for the 29th! Have got it logged with their support so hopefully better sailing from here...

Edited by Noiz (Mon 21-Oct-24 17:22:51)

Without knowing the two prices (after the 6 months, it's hard to judge, but my feeling is the old adage - If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

To try to help: how long is the Hey offer open for, or don't they say? Is Hey actually live yet on your street, and if not is there any certainty as to when it will be?

What is the Hey contract length and what options are Swish offering at the end of your eighteen months? Might they be open to negatiation given the presence of Hey?

Very good questions!

Currently we're paying £31/month for the 400Mbps Swish package (that they upgraded to 500Mbps after the first year), plus £5/month for a static IP. After the contract ends it'll go up to £40/month total, or we can take out a new contract at whatever deal price they're offering. Interestingly they have no deals on at the moment.

Hey! are doing 900Mbps for £26/ month over 24 months (plus £5/month for a static IP) with the first 6 months free. After that, at least at the current pricing, it'd go up to £48 total, or we could downgrade to the 400Mbps package for £38. The deal is good for another 2 days and yes they're available in my street.

I'm somewhat put off by their terrible name and early-2000's insurance company mascot, which gives them a bit of an amateurish vibe. But I suppose we could have both running during the 14 day termination window and just compare and contrast...

Tricky, as implied by your OP. The catch is the 24-month contract at a high price.

I suggest giving Swish Sales, or Retentions if they have such a department as some Openreach providers do, and tell them you are thinking of jumping ship.

See if you can get a decent offer to stay with them.

Otherwise, do you still have a coin you could toss?

Good luck whatever you decide. Please let us know.

I'm currently waiting for brsk to get the fibre cables through Openreach ducting to our estate, which has all the Openreach telegraph poles carrying their kit now, and linked through. They've dug a hole dug at the corner with the main road of one of the two estate entry roads and another part way to the A6 where they've already seem to have planted a chamber

I ordered 500Mbps at £25pm on October 5, fixed for two years. Rang support the next week just to enquire on the expected go live of the main supply and it's expected for 30 November. They even have a referral scheme, £50 Amazon voucher for both the referrer and the new customer. No limit at the moment on how many I can refer!

In reply to a post by pluralist:

I'm currently waiting for brsk to get the fibre cables through Openreach ducting to our estate, which has all the Openreach telegraph poles carrying their kit now, and linked through. They've dug a hole dug at the corner with the main road of one of the two estate entry roads and another part way to the A6 where they've already seem to have planted a chamber

Sounds like you're on your way at least. We had a similar install from Youfibre and it took around 6 months from first hole in the road to being able to order (and a bonus three weeks after that for them to turn the exchange on!). It was an interminable wait, but the service since then has been excellent and it was well worth the torture!

Interestingly, youfibre also offer a referral scheme (I guess all of the alnets do as it's cheap marketing), and I expected that 75% of my street (who only have access to relatively low-speed, end-of the-wire FTTC) would sign up. In fact, there was two who were installed on the first day and two have installed since then (both this week) out of some 60 houses. I'm genuinely astonished, but I won't be retiring soon on my referral income!

There are reports that Hey have very limited peering. Maybe as little as 1 or 2 peers and may route a lot through Spain where they appear to be run from. This may or may not be a concern to you.

Edited by FibreBubble (Mon 21-Oct-24 20:51:11)

In reply to a post by pluralist:

Tricky, as implied by your OP. The catch is the 24-month contract at a high price.

I'm not sure if 18 months (after the first 6 free) at £26 per month is a "high price"?

I agree. It was more the 24-month contract in principle I was finding unpleasant. Though it looks like a growing trend amongst many providers. It's just an aspect the OP needs to bear in mind. Two years is two years if you've bought a pup, whatever the price is.

In case that appears contrary to my order with brsk, due to recent improvements in my own finances I may retain the Three Home Broadband as backup or even lend it to a friend who currently manages with just a phone on Three unlimited everything. I don't need to worry about that long minimum term contract on brsk.

I have the 1Gb Hey! service. First contract was £35 PCM, when that expired I renewed....for £29 PCM!

Service was a bit sketchy at the start with a few outages, but since then it's been pretty solid. I'll be staying with them whilst the price is still so low.

In reply to a post by daern:

Interestingly, youfibre also offer a referral scheme (I guess all of the alnets do as it's cheap marketing), and I expected that 75% of my street (who only have access to relatively low-speed, end-of the-wire FTTC) would sign up. In fact, there was two who were installed on the first day and two have installed since then (both this week) out of some 60 houses. I'm genuinely astonished, but I won't be retiring soon on my referral income!

The difference is that on here most of us are enthusiasts whereas for a lot of people as long as they can get their insta/facebook fix and stream BBC iPlayer without buffering they're happy.
I also know a few people who stick with BT though thick and thin because they have @btinternet.com email addresses they rely on and will lose them if they switch.