In reply to a post by Skilty:

The question is, what value does a rolling monthly contract have?

NONE!

I would say its just good to sty flexible but Pulse8 told me that if I leave within the first 3-4 months I would be charged normal cessation fee's (normally around £30) and then more because "apparently" they get charged more for a customer leaving in the first 3 months....

So not so flexible... however prices for activation jumped since then, so can't see why the cessation fee might not have jumped up too!

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Also the same applies with TalKTalk business i.e. even their own business products use different QoS variables

OK, So the reality of it is that Pulse8 isn't necessarily holding priority over TT Business as they operate multiple priority profiles for connections anyway.

In reply to a post by mlmclaren:

In reply to a post by Skilty:

The question is, what value does a rolling monthly contract have?

NONE!

I would say its just good to sty flexible but Pulse8 told me that if I leave within the first 3-4 months I would be charged normal cessation fee's (normally around £30) and then more because "apparently" they get charged more for a customer leaving in the first 3 months....

So not so flexible... however prices for activation jumped since then, so can't see why the cessation fee might not have jumped up too!

Looking at the T&Cs:

9. Termination and suspension

9.5 You may terminate this agreement with respect to the Broadband Service after the 1 month term providing all setup charges (if any) for a new line or broadband service have been paid. We do not provide refunds if you migrate away to another provider mid-month, but will refund any line rental or broadband charges paid if you are moving from one of our broadband and or line packages to a Pulse8 Fibre package.

We do not charge cease fee�s

Those are the only T&Cs I can find, and it does not differentiate between ADSL and fibre...

And the fact the "anti" poster keeps ignoring is that the £75 FTTC setup fee was introduced a few months ago as too many people from these forums had become aware of their monthly terms for FTTC. They were migrating in on/from ADSLx, upgrading cheaply to FTTC, then migrating out immediately to whatever ISP they wanted to be with, such as BT with Sport.

That was unsustainable, as there is still a 12-month Openreach term for a new FTTC connection.

What the "anti" poster is saying is that correct, but the "anti" poster is also saying that Pulse8 told him that people couldn't leave until after 3 months without being issued with an additional charge on top of a cease charge...

However apparently a cease charge doesn't exist now.

Anyway, sounds like an excuse to me as anybody in the right mind would just require people paid a deposit and then had it refunded after so much service.

Also "anti" seems a bit of a libellous claim... I'm in no way biased against Pulse8 or any other provider in that fact... I just point out flaws and concerns.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

And the fact the "anti" poster keeps ignoring is that the £75 FTTC setup fee was introduced a few months ago as too many people from these forums had become aware of their monthly terms for FTTC. They were migrating in on/from ADSLx, upgrading cheaply to FTTC, then migrating out immediately to whatever ISP they wanted to be with, such as BT with Sport.

That was unsustainable, as there is still a 12-month Openreach term for a new FTTC connection.

Which is more than fair, no company can be expected to make a loss etc.

I do have to hand it to Pulse8 though, they are good at communicating and both TalkTalk and Pulse8 have both said migrating from Sky is problematic requiring a downgrade and then a migration followed by adding fibre again. My problem is that I cannot have three weeks of 12mb ADSL, it is simply too slow as my wife and I both work from home.

It boils down to whether a rolling monthly contract is worth the extra £155 vs being locked into a contract for two years. In my mind the freedom to move if the service is not up to scratch for whatever reason is probably worth the cost of a couple of coffees a month, which is what it boils down to!

In reply to a post by Skilty:

The only issue I now have is that I would be charged £90 for a line installation and then £125 for a fibre installation. Doesn't make sense to me as the BT OR engineer needs to run the line, work at the exchange and the CAB anyway.

I actually just rang TalkTalk business and for a similar package which includes unlimited calls to UK landlines (01,02,03) and mobiles plus caller ID is £54.60 a month (inc VAT).

Now that is locking you into a 24 month contract but the connection fee is only £60 for a new line:

Complete Fibre (Free Installation)
� Unlimited Fibre (speeds upto 80mg)
� Free Wireless Router
� Unlimited Landline Calls
� Unlimited Mobile Calls
� 4 Static IP's
� Industry Leading Network Security, Worksafe
� All Inclusive Price- No Bill Shocks
� Business Call Features (call divert, call waiting, caller display etc)
� Line Rental
24 Month Contract
£45.50 ex VAT (£54.60 inc VAT)
One off connection fee £50 ex VAT


The question is, what value does a rolling monthly contract have?

Perhaps going with TalkTalk business directly is the way to go, something I am also considering.

-Sam

In reply to a post by ansam:

[Perhaps going with TalkTalk business directly is the way to go, something I am also considering.

-Sam
[/quote]

In the end I went with Pulse8, the £150 was worth it not to be locked in for 2 years. Made the same mistake with plusNet and don't want to get bitten again!

When I was comparing Pulse8 and AAISP the possibility of using TTB itself also occurred to me. A bit of browsing came up with the disconcerting fact they had in the past, I think more than once, kicked off non-business customers from the service. I didn't fancy that.

In reply to a post by ansam:

Perhaps going with TalkTalk business directly is the way to go, something I am also considering.

-Sam

Yep definitely worth considering. I've been with TTB direct for a few years now & a very satisfied customer.. Line speeds 24/7, top class Warrington based phone support 7 days a week and many of their phone support staff are ex-Zen broadband so won't be script monkeys. They also do a very nifty iOS/Android app which lets you use your landline calling plan on your smartphone and even lets you receive landline calls on your mobile. This app works abroad so you can save a few bob calling home free of charge. For what TTB offer, its a bargain as BT Business would charge you >£70pm for a similar package. TTB offer features such as 4 static ip addresses, free call waiting, caller ID, conference calling etc as standard whereas other ISPs would charge you an arm & a leg for it. On the downside they lock you into a 2 year contract but they offer free house moves. However during the 2 years you could leave without penalty if they increase their prices as they did recently.

Edited by deleted (Sat 31-Oct-15 12:59:53)