I've Just Gone From Tesco BB to AOL - What do I need to do...?

danza

danza

danza

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Donkey (Me), rider (AOL, and boy i bet they do ride me), carrot (PS3).

Yes, I succumbed to their free PS3 offer, subject to successful credit check (I'll be lucky if I pass after living in rented accomodation for a stint a while back).

I went for their £22.49/month tariff which is upto an 8mb connection with 40gb d/l cap, free w/less router and free evening/weekend calls plus the deal clinching PS3.

It won't cost any more than my current arrangement with Tesco for broadband and BT for calls, and as my Tesco line is a paltry 1mb, it should be a lot faster. I hope.

I've never had to change ISP before, so I'm not really sure what to do. I've been with Tesco for yonks, and have no outstanding contract period to complete. Do I just phone them and say I've changed to AOL, thus cancelling my direct debit, or do I wait for AOL to contact me first (I guess this makes more sense as I've got to pass the credit check first)? Will the changeover be instant, or will i likely be without a connection for a few days/weeks/month/years?:confused:

Any help would be most gratefully appreciated!
 
You'll have to get a MAC from Tesco (Migration Authorisation Code), and supply it to AOL when they ask for it.

Once the line has been Migrated, Tesco should just stop billing you.

Changeover won't happen for about a week after you give AOL your MAC, but when it does it's pretty much instant. Just change the username/password (or plug in their router) when your Tesco BB stops working and you'll be switched.
 
"Out of the frying pan, into the fire" comes to mind :( Personally I'd get a decent ISP and save up for the PS3 on the money saved on the monthly subscription. For example, Be would give you (up to) 24 megs down and 1.3 megs up for £18 a month, no download limits, only a 3 month contract (v AOL's 18 months) and you'd not be throttled, shaped and bandied about as most AOL customers are :(

Word to the wise - cancel while you can. If you still want to go ahead, that's cool - but don't say I didn't warn you ;)
 
Well we shall see. My conection through Tesco has been pretty gash for me recently, so I'm hoping that AOL will be at least as good, probably better.

Besides, I can't get a faster line than 8mb where I am. I don't download much anyway, and I doubt I'll ever exceed 40gb/month!
 
danza said:
Well we shall see. My conection through Tesco has been pretty gash for me recently, so I'm hoping that AOL will be at least as good, probably better.

Besides, I can't get a faster line than 8mb where I am. I don't download much anyway, and I doubt I'll ever exceed 40gb/month!
Click to expand...

You're missing the point mate. If you can't get faster than 8 meg, all very well and good. But do you actually want to receive that 8 meg (or as fast as your line will allow)? AOL are pretty good at messing up connections and they throttle/traffic shape heavily.

As much as you could be SYNCed (connected) at 8128kbps, you could see a tiny fraction of that in throughput thanks to AOL. With a decent provider you'd actually get your 8 meg in throughput (real speeds) not just as a figure in your router on a connection that only manages 1 meg tops thanks to throttling and bad service.

"We shall see" is all well and good - until you're getting 50kbps and stuck in an 18 month contract :rolleyes: Are there no LLU providers at your exchange then? Only trying to help - just take this for what it is; advice from someone who's seen it all before.
 
Speeds on AOL are very poor at the min since CPW so i wouldnt expect great things from them.

Typical Speeds for me: Down: 453.58 Kbps Up: 341.74 Kbps day and night for the past 2 weeks.

Take a look at all the unhappy AOL customers: http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=aol

Received my MAC code from them and heading over to ADSL24, even the offer of a free PS3 didnt tempt me into staying.
 
Well I have to say that the speeds there are about double my Tesco BB 1mb line. It's been really slow for the last 3 or 4 months, with no sign of getting any better :/
 
Do NOT cancel...

As has been suggested, get a MAC code and the transfer will be seamless (and free) to whom ever you go to. If you just cancel it can take weeks to get reconnected and most ISPs will charge a connection fee
 
Oh...Rainmaker...didn't mean any offence......I just had this horrible image of the OP canceling in a fit of passion then getting caught with a connection fee. Of course a decent ISP will advise them that they will need a MAC code if they intend to get another supplier. Itdid say "a decent" supplier.....

I'm having trouble with my ISP...Toucan..don't laugh..

I'm just 3 weeks into the contract and my download speed varies from 7mbs to 100kbs. The 100-400kbs is usually after midday and lasts until midnight. I have kept records of every test and email I have been sent and I am having an adult conversation with a decent guy, Colm, at customer services who has said that if the wide variance in speed doesn't improve he will cancel without fees and has refunded my first months subscription. For the OP I would wait, again as suggested, till after the 10 days....according to BT something called RAMBO at the exchange does actually spend that time assessing best stable speed....its not an urban myth. But after that........
 
The 10 day stabilisation period only applies to new connections, and except in very rare cases doesn't apply for migrations :) Oh, and no offence taken ;)
 
topgazza said:
according to BT something called RAMBO at the exchange does actually spend that time assessing best stable speed....its not an urban myth.
Click to expand...

Your quite right its not an urban myth - RAMBO is the name given to BT's line monitoring tool which should continue to monitor your line to maintain optimum performance.

However I've heard from various sources that the RAMBO system (which would not have been cheap) is still seriously flawed :(


Perhaps BT should call in Col. Samuel Trautman :p
 
More like Colonel Saunders....

I always thought the "10 day" thing was a pile of poo....the line is already stable in a migration. Its only the ISP that changes. I was wise to get jumpy with my lousy performance during the first week...which has stayed the same ever since
 
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