Is EE Or Myself Being Unreasonable ?

I am leaving PlusNet after 15 years because I could not agree with the full fibre engineer installer a suitable place for installation and he offered no alternative, took less than 5 minutes, a barely known company in my area and as expected a disaster.

So my logical alternative would be mobile broadband with EE. I later got a PlusNet agent to put me through to EE after supplying my account details. The woman called me by my name so obviously the PlusNet agent passed this on.

When I enquired about the smart hub which is £50 a month and £50 "upfront". I asked her to explain what the "upfront" was for, she said the router.

I asked her what would be required from me to get the smart hub , she said name,address,email and bank details which would be fine.

But then she said my date of birth would be required . As I have been with PlusNet for over 15 years I am obviously over 18 years of age so surely this is unnecessary, stating that I am over 18 should be sufficient.

She then said as part of the process a standard credit check would have to be done and I would have to supply my job title as well as my salary and that all these are standard questions.

I can understand if I was making an application for a credit card , but surely most of these questions are intrusive and unnecessary for a smart hub and I told her so !

If I were to supply the details requested I could be inundated with other offers from EE or have details passed to other third party's. Something I have always avoided in the past with other company's.

I'm wondering if the online application process would be less intrusive, or am I once again stuck in a corner. I want EE for its UK / Ireland call centre and am prepared to pay the £50 a month costs for this mobile broadband.

I look forward to you becoming the “happyguy” and posting a tale of success and happiness 👍.

So let’s get there!

The EE questions are normal. Essentially everyone gets asked these questions. Age and occupation aren’t unreasonable in light of credit worthiness and basic KYC (know your client). Provide the answers and be happy.😃

Buy your own router, put a sim of your choice in it that has monthly data, happyguy has arrived.

In reply to a post by sadguy:

I am leaving PlusNet after 15 years because I could not agree with the full fibre engineer installer a suitable place for installation and he offered no alternative, took less than 5 minutes, a barely known company in my area and as expected a disaster.

So my logical alternative would be mobile broadband with EE. I later got a PlusNet agent to put me through to EE after supplying my account details. The woman called me by my name so obviously the PlusNet agent passed this on.

When I enquired about the smart hub which is £50 a month and £50 "upfront". I asked her to explain what the "upfront" was for, she said the router.

I asked her what would be required from me to get the smart hub , she said name,address,email and bank details which would be fine.

But then she said my date of birth would be required . As I have been with PlusNet for over 15 years I am obviously over 18 years of age so surely this is unnecessary, stating that I am over 18 should be sufficient.

She then said as part of the process a standard credit check would have to be done and I would have to supply my job title as well as my salary and that all these are standard questions.

I can understand if I was making an application for a credit card , but surely most of these questions are intrusive and unnecessary for a smart hub and I told her so !

If I were to supply the details requested I could be inundated with other offers from EE or have details passed to other third party's. Something I have always avoided in the past with other company's.

I'm wondering if the online application process would be less intrusive, or am I once again stuck in a corner. I want EE for its UK / Ireland call centre and am prepared to pay the £50 a month costs for this mobile broadband.

Can you actually get an ee signal at your house.......... I have no clue as how you ended up in this route.

In reply to a post by Taras:

I have no clue as how you ended up in this route.

I think most of us are thinking the same.

Considering that what I recall from your Plusnet post was going into the process expecting it to go wrong, I think that you are somewhat making your own luck here.

In reply to a post by PCJM40:

I think most of us are thinking the same.

I know a couple who are already doing it or tethering from their phone and some who are looking at it.
I did think about it, but the price I got for my internet is good, so I will stay as I am. If the TV licence is fixed onto broadband then that will change.

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

In reply to a post by PCJM40:

I think most of us are thinking the same.

I know a couple who are already doing it or tethering from their phone and some who are looking at it.
I did think about it, but the price I got for my internet is good, so I will stay as I am. If the TV licence is fixed onto broadband then that will change.

I don't know if you remember, at one time there was an internet tax to increase rural internet infrastructure spending. It was 50p i think per month. It didn't doo much at all ..

also at £11 pm its less than the current tv license and that would mean a cut to the bbc.

further

Part of the fee also contributes towards Freeview and Freesat, and towards the UK broadband rollout, funding local TV channels and S4C, the Welsh language TV channel, as agreed with the government as part of the 2010 licence fee settlement.

so the think tanks grand idea has some plot holes

Personally I'm not adverse to paying for a TV licence although I don't agree with the ongoing scope creep of what it covers.

I do massively disagree with loading up the cost of broadband as a sneaky workaround for them to get money off those who don't currently need a TV licence.

Whatever next? may be a new tax on bog rolls to pay for the BBC?

In reply to a post by PCJM40:

Personally I'm not adverse to paying for a TV licence although I don't agree with the ongoing scope creep of what it covers.

I do massively disagree with loading up the cost of broadband as a sneaky workaround for them to get money off those who don't currently need a TV licence.

Whatever next? may be a new tax on bog rolls to pay for the BBC?

just remember this is from a "think tank". Many think tanks either have wacky ideas or have ones that have an agenda ........

In reply to a post by PCJM40:

may be a new tax on bog rolls to pay for the BBC?

My grandma always used to buy the Radio Times. After it had served it's main purpose, it was torn up into squares, threaded on string and hung on the back of the toilet door (that was outside before those unhygienic indoor toilets were invented)

In reply to a post by longedge:

In reply to a post by PCJM40:

may be a new tax on bog rolls to pay for the BBC?

My grandma always used to buy the Radio Times. After it had served it's main purpose, it was torn up into squares, threaded on string and hung on the back of the toilet door (that was outside before those unhygienic indoor toilets were invented)

And according to some, it’s been going down the pan ever since.


(getting my coat already)

Did the Radio Times back then use the glossy, shiny paper it has done in modern times, Would make for a non-absorbent, smeary experience if it did!

In reply to a post by gomezz:

Did the Radio Times back then use the glossy, shiny paper it has done in modern times, Would make for a non-absorbent, smeary experience if it did!

Just like IZAL then.

The trick lay in scrunching well before use

ORIGINAL POSTER HERE

To bring the topic back to my original question. I have still not reached a final decision on what I will do.

I spoke with Plusnet a few days ago and explained I wasn't happy about the personal questions that EE would want answered. Plusnet told me that the two companys had different policys on what info was required to open an account !

He then said I should consider having one last chance to stay with Plusnet which I wasn't expecting him to mention.

I said I didn't want the mostly unknown company that visited me last time to do so again. He said Plusnet could try and ask for an actual Openreach engineer, but could make no promises.

Full fibre basic with Plusnet is approximately half the price of an EE unlimited sim, and after over 15 years with Plusnet I have strong loyalty towards them.

If I do get a FTTP appointment I want someone who can make suggestions regarding the cable entrance point, and actually have a discussion with me, rather than the previous guy who arrived over one hour early, in an unmarked van ,no identification on him," its in the van", and left after 3 minutes. I don't want that lot again.

I'm not saying an Openreach engineer would be great, but I would be more trusting of them.

In reply to a post by sadguy:

If I do get a FTTP appointment I want someone who can make suggestions regarding the cable entrance point, and actually have a discussion with me, rather than the previous guy who arrived over one hour early, in an unmarked van ,no identification on him," its in the van", and left after 3 minutes. I don't want that lot again.

Generally, you would do better to do your research on what is required for an installation and make your own reasonable judgement on what would work and is best for you - and then make that the easiest option for an install. From the installer's point of view, a customer who asks for suggestions and yet appears very particular about things might rightly or wrongly be a big red flag for a job which is likely going to sour, worst of all after he has driven away without hearing a complaint.

Edited by DFScale (Wed 30-Sep-26 22:21:17)

In reply to a post by sadguy:

ORIGINAL POSTER HERE

To bring the topic back to my original question. I have still not reached a final decision on what I will do.

I spoke with Plusnet a few days ago and explained I wasn't happy about the personal questions that EE would want answered. Plusnet told me that the two companys had different policys on what info was required to open an account !

He then said I should consider having one last chance to stay with Plusnet which I wasn't expecting him to mention.

I said I didn't want the mostly unknown company that visited me last time to do so again. He said Plusnet could try and ask for an actual Openreach engineer, but could make no promises.

Full fibre basic with Plusnet is approximately half the price of an EE unlimited sim, and after over 15 years with Plusnet I have strong loyalty towards them.

If I do get a FTTP appointment I want someone who can make suggestions regarding the cable entrance point, and actually have a discussion with me, rather than the previous guy who arrived over one hour early, in an unmarked van ,no identification on him," its in the van", and left after 3 minutes. I don't want that lot again.

I'm not saying an Openreach engineer would be great, but I would be more trusting of them.

Are you being unrealistic ?

Answer = Yes.

At the end of the day a FTTP wired system is definitely the best option and how/where the FTTP cable enters your house partly depends upon the existing infrastructure, (in your street, (ie. telegraph poles or underground ducts), and the location inside your house of a suitable electric socket, (if you do not want to pay to add new sockets to another location).

Nothing much has changed since your last query on another thread so I have copied my previous answer below:

In reply to a post by Fido:

Personally I would make a fresh start and I would ignore my dissatisfaction with the existing/redundant cables, (which you can then either live with as you do now or you can remove or can have them removed at a later date to suit you).

I would treat this new FTTP installation as a fresh start but you do have a few constraints and the first limitation is the way in which the new FTTP cable travels down the street to get to your house.

You indicated that you have telegraph poles and then you said you do not want your path or garden disturbed but unless you have underground ducting in your area, (which is what we have to our home - we do not have or want any telegraph poles), the grounds around your home would not need to be disturbed because the cable will probably run from the same telegraph pole to the same location/bracket on your house that the existing ADSL cable already runs to. - (If it had needed to run via the garden it would not have been a big deal as garden/grass soon recovers).

From that bracket location you then have a few decisions to make.

(1). How do you want the fibre cable to move around the outside wall of your house?

(2). Where do you want the fibre cable to enter your house?

Personally, (if you do not want to have a new electrical socket installed), I would choose a location on the exterior wall of the house where an electrical socket already exists inside of the house and that would be the location that the new ONT is installed near to the existing electrical socket. - A new hole could be drilled through the wall near to the existing electrical socket. - A junction box/slice box would be fitted on the outside wall to cover the new hole and the new FTTP cable could be run externally from the cable bracket to the new junction boxed, sliced and then enter the house to feed the new ONT.

The new router would them be sited next to this new ONT and would just connect via WIFI until when/if you use ethernet cables.

You can then, if you wish to keep to, your existing ADSL contract running until it ends and use FTTP at the same time or you may have decided to just change over to FTTP immediately and no longer bother using ADSL.