Moving fromn Supanet

An elderly uncle has been on Supanet for quite a few years, occasional problems but broadly it works. They've been in their present house for >3 years, all on Supanet, and they were on Supanet for >5 years at their previous house.

I'm well aware that Supanet have a pretty poor reputation and hopefully I can avoid getting posts along those lines on this thread.

However at the weekend my uncle had a problem and when the tried to contact Supanet on Monday it took 3 calls. The first 2 he was held in a queue for 30 minutes or so with no answer so he gave up. On the 3rd call he eventually got a reply. The person was quite rude and dismissive and clearly riled my uncle.

He's just rung me to say broadband is now working again but is starting to think about changing to another ISP, possibly BT so at least telephone and broadband are from the same (overall) company - yes, I'm well aware they are legally separate entities.

What I'd like to ask is what is the best, and least expensive, way of leaving Supanet and migrating to another ISP, e.g. BT?

I have a recollection from the past that Supanet have some very awkward ways of working and, unless it's done very correctly, the customer could get landed with a significant bill.

Any help or advice with the optimum migration process would be appreciated.

Is the phone with Supanet as well, or just the broadband?

Have a read of The MAC process. That should cover most questions. There is no charge for issuing a MAC, but I have no idea about any complications with Supanet. I believe there is/was an ISP, (not Supanet), that refused to accept notice until the migration had completed, thus forcing a month's redundant charge - I never did find out how they could legally do that.

Some ISPs these days tell you not to use your MAC for a week. Again, that's a very strange request, but easy enough to adhere to.

He might find Plusnet a good place to be, especially if it is a Market 2 or 3 exchange - see what samknows says about his phone number. UK Call centre and lots of reps on here and the Community forum you could access if desired. BT has nearly all its call centres in India, with apparently randomly understandable accents, and long scripts.

With any of the bigger ISPS such as BT or Plusnet, make sure you check out Quidco and TopCashBack. He may as well have anything that is going .

When you've time have a read through these:

http://www.supanet.com/live/pdf/supanet-broadband-se...

http://www.supanet.com/live/pdf/how-to-request-a-mac...

I should have quoted the SamKnows data, it's West Wigston, a Market 3 exchange.

He'd considered going AOL as one son is on AOL. I've suggested that there are better ISPs.

Speed is really not an issue, he only gets around 1-1.5Mb, partly due to the length of his external line (3km+) and partly due to the way he's routed his line internally (don't ask!). Be that as it may the speed is adequate for his needs. He has an old broadband modem, the original Supanet one - can't remember the make, so has to 'dial up' to connect to broadband. Thus, as far as I'm aware, not possible to get any line stats.

I was aware of the MAC process but had a dim memory of Supanet problems in that area and cancellation charges.

You're right that PlusNet may be a good bet for him.

Show him this, and tell him AOL belongs to TalkTalk anyway.

Edited by RobertoS (Tue 20-Nov-12 17:22:15)

Thanks Robert, sorry, yes I did tell him AOL was TalkTalk but forgot to mention (my excuse is that I wrote the post in a hurry as we were going out - excuses, excuses ).

I've been reading the various Supanet Ts & Cs, they routinely refer to the Price List, but nowhere on their web site can I find it. That's supposed to contain, for example, the cancellation fee if you cancel within the minimum contract period. Given that's quoted as 24 months - and they've been in the present property some 3 years it shouldn't be a problem. But to, seemingly, conceal the price list, or at least make it hard to find, makes me suspicious.

(I've just noticed that in the address for Supanet's registered office, it says Corner Them )

Makes interesting reading, should they give the same reply, Several instances of slamming in reverse.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthrea...

As Roberto asked, who's phone with?

You originally said "possibly BT so at least telephone and broadband are from the same (overall) company ". Does that mean phone is currently with BT, which should make migration easier?

Sorry, I could have sworn I'd said in one of the posts that the telephone was with BT. Looking back I clearly didn't.

Anyway, the telephone is with BT.

[Edit: Grammar]

Edited by cheshire_man (Tue 20-Nov-12 21:26:50)

With Plusnet he can leave his line with BT, which I did as I'm uncomfortable about moving it around, or move it to Plusnet and get the discounts and better cashback for bundles.

I don't think money is a particular issue. He & his wife are in their late 80s so like to keep it simple. I've suggested in the past that keeping the telephone line with BT does help to keep it simple and, generally, hassle free.

Thanks for all the replies, I'll get back to him with the various thoughts and links.