changing from BT. Virgin or Plusnet?

sybaris · 10 Apr 2013 at 21:40

I am changing from infinity 2 as BT keep messing up my line.

I am getting 75mb download and 17mb upload which is great when I have a line.
However if I change, I would probably go to Virgin's 100mb (soon to be 120mb).

I've also noticed that plusnet do a comparable service.

A) Do I let BT sort things out and stick with the speeds I have or after 5 faults in 10 months (that lasted longer than a week and 3 months to sort out the Infinity install, before Openreach randomly decided to terminate it) do I go elsewhere?
B) Is virgin fibre all the way or is it a hybrid of fibre and copper like BT?

Need ideas and thoughts on pros and cons.

Thanks

KIA · 11 Apr 2013 at 12:20

What faults?

Virgin isn't full fibre.

hood1971 · 11 Apr 2013 at 15:49

Virgin has traffic sharing during peak hours, which can be a pain.

sybaris · 11 Apr 2013 at 17:49

I thought virgin was full fibre. They are rolling out 120Mbps though.

Don't get me going on the faults, I have had many many service issues and they have admitted breaching their terms and not supplying me with a service. They are also willing to waiver the remaining 14 months on my contract if I decide to change.

bremen1874 · 11 Apr 2013 at 18:05

sybaris said:
I thought virgin was full fibre.

That's the impression they try to give.

sybaris said:
Don't get me going on the faults, I have had many many service issues and they have admitted breaching their terms and not supplying me with a service. They are also willing to waiver the remaining 14 months on my contract if I decide to change.

If you've been having local line issues with your Infinity connection then changing to another FTTC option such as Plusnet's probably isn't going to help. There are some decent cashback offers available on Virgin at the moment if you decide to go that way.

ChrisD. · 11 Apr 2013 at 18:48

I wouldn't change from BT to Virgin in a million years.

sybaris · 11 Apr 2013 at 23:13

Its not so much issues with the physical connection, its issues with Openreach's staff. Technical and administrative. They are on their last chance otherwise I think I will get super fast virgin

Conanius · 12 Apr 2013 at 00:06

MilanoChris said:
I wouldn't change from BT to Virgin in a million years.

And yet there are plenty of people I know in our local area who would never go from virgin to BT.

Individual experiences in the same area (unsure where in Gloucester you are exactly, but its hardly a big city ) can vary wildly. I have been happy with my Virgin service in 3 locations across the UK, and appalled at BT service in two of those same locations .... Swings and roundabouts ....

passey89 · 12 Apr 2013 at 07:08

sybaris said:
Its not so much issues with the physical connection, its issues with Openreach's staff. Technical and administrative. They are on their last chance otherwise I think I will get super fast virgin

who do you think deals with plus nets cables? will be openreach again.

All the cables are either openreaches or virgins.

BT slower dl speeds. Idiotic staff. Better upload speeds. Less traffic managed.

Virgin. Super fast Dl speeds, SLow upload speeds, Foreign call centres, traffic managed to hell and back at peak times.

harshuk · 12 Apr 2013 at 07:16

I'm with virgin and find there service fantasic.

sithlord · 12 Apr 2013 at 16:00

My Virgins services been alright as well. It can get congested on the UBR. Nearly always get the full 100Mbit when im downloading.

Also I believe when Virgin throttle the connection its only for a 5 hour period (confirmed by myself) whereas BT keep you at the lower speed for the rest of the month (can anyone on BT confirm).

FrenchTart · 12 Apr 2013 at 17:55

sithlord said:
My Virgins services been alright as well. It can get congested on the UBR. Nearly always get the full 100Mbit when im downloading.

Also I believe when Virgin throttle the connection its only for a 5 hour period (confirmed by myself) whereas BT keep you at the lower speed for the rest of the month (can anyone on BT confirm).

That may be true on the very old ADSL contracts but there are absolutely no limits on BT Infinity.

churchhawk · 12 Apr 2013 at 20:10

God don't go to virgin if you use the internet in the evening, YouTube buffers and the 100mb is more like 30mb for me.

They are the worst company ever, rude customer service and the engineers haven't got a clue.

sybaris · 13 Apr 2013 at 00:42

latest update, Infinity is now sorted but I had to go to the CEO and get really snotty

parityboy · 13 Apr 2013 at 01:26

@sybaris

Glad to hear you got it sorted. If I was in your position I'd move to PlusNet when my contract finished (if not beforehand).

bremen1874 · 13 Apr 2013 at 01:28

parityboy said:
@sybaris

Glad to hear you got it sorted. If I was in your position I'd move to PlusNet when my contract finished (if not beforehand).

BT won't care as they own PlusNet.

ChrisD. · 13 Apr 2013 at 11:52

Conanius said:
And yet there are plenty of people I know in our local area who would never go from virgin to BT.

Individual experiences in the same area (unsure where in Gloucester you are exactly, but its hardly a big city ) can vary wildly. I have been happy with my Virgin service in 3 locations across the UK, and appalled at BT service in two of those same locations .... Swings and roundabouts ....

Virgin's congestion issues are laughable and well documented across the whole of the country, more so than BT FTTC.

If you're lucky enough to live in an area supplied by Virgin without congestion then it's another story entirely however I would tread carefully when ordering.

ChrisD. · 13 Apr 2013 at 11:53

bremen1874 said:
BT won't care as they own PlusNet.

They seemed pretty desperate to keep me as a customer when I cancelled and told them I'm moving to Plusnet.