just got my homechoice bill

TaG Eledhel · 24-07-2006, 23:30

well after complaining about the high price and fact that they are charging me for the tv package when i only have broadband , and homechoice telling me i can have the service fr 4 months free i just got my bill... i have 8 meg connection, telephone line rental and unlimited calls .. normally around £45 a month plus any calls to mobiles n stuff ive made.

This month £5.63 wooohooo... keep it up homechoice.. you have 3 months left before either homechoice lowers prices, or ups to adsl 2.
if after that time no joy. im off to sky

i Already have sky tv and after calling sky up my line can support the full 16 meg service.. with free unlimted calls for an extra £4 or £5 a month and the paying bt my line rental id be looking at a total of £24-£25 a month.. and i get free wireless router.

If homechoice doesnt respond to this latest challenge what with be there and ukonline offering 24 meg, bulldog now upto 16 meg i think and carphone warehouse doing free 8 meg, then i can seriously see alot of people moving over to sky.

johnnyrocker · 24-07-2006, 23:51

dont bode well, a company with financial probs cannot afford such stupid allowances which speaks volumes about the people in 'customer care'

Logan_Wolverine · 25-07-2006, 08:57

You may be wrong there, a lot of people don't want to have anything to do with Murdock & sly, whatever they offer .

M_at · 25-07-2006, 14:57

But why did you bother with HC in the first place.

First and foremost they are a TV provider with BB and calls secondary.

All the moaning farkwits who insist on beating more money out of HC because they signed up for something that wasn't suitable for their needs are just costing the rest of us service or money.

Anniel · 25-07-2006, 15:18

I am one of those who signed up with Homechoice when it began and have stayed loyal to the company just as much as those of you who use the TV service.

Just because we had Sky satellite before Homechoice began and stayed with ut, does not make us idiots.

Homechoice needed us then and still does. So if I am prepared to stay with Homechoice for the 8MB service and the phone calls, you do not lose anything.

I will agree that Homechoice accounts section is woeful. They cut off my service by mistake when I was absent in October 2005 and even now my DD is not properly sorted out, so I ring them and pay by CC....but I persevere and belive the free month service I got for their error was only just.

So quit moaning about us BBers!

From one of the old school who could go to Sky as a Sky + user, but chooses to saty out of loyalty.

M_at · 25-07-2006, 15:28

But did you demand that HC reduce their price just because you didn't use a portion of the service that you knew would provided?

Tag did - and his actions are costing the company.

Your free month appears to be because they cocked up your billing - totally fair.

My point is if you want cheaper broadband then don't try and force HC to offer it - manipulate the market the way it was meant to be manipulated - by taking your customer elsewhere.

I wouldn't demand Sky reduce their prices just because I don't watch half the channels that they supply.

masai · 25-07-2006, 18:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by M_at

But why did you bother with HC in the first place.

First and foremost they are a TV provider with BB and calls secondary.

All the moaning farkwits who insist on beating more money out of HC because they signed up for something that wasn't suitable for their needs are just costing the rest of us service or money.

Firstly from what I understand Tag was getting charged for the TV service when he should not have been and secondly HC may be viewed as TV service primarily in your eyes but certainly not in mine. I signed up purely for internet, I have stuck with them for 5 years because I like the level of service they provide and the TV service is a bonus for me. I rang them to downgrade and said I was thinking about leaving and they turned round and said we'll give you 4 months for free and at the end of the 4 months theyre' gonna make some changes that I may be interested in.

I did not go to their office and stick a gun to their head and demand I get 4 months for free

Please explain how this is causing you more money or service

aprec · 25-07-2006, 20:05

I have to concur with Masais comments. You dont need to hold a gun to HCs head to get the service for free now. I simply said i was considering other broadband suppliers and was immediately offered the max pack for 4 months free.

The fact that HC choose to do this is a reflection of the position the business is. They need to keep hold of customer numbers to maximise their selling price to companies such as Tiscali.

M at, aren't you aware of other companies offering free broadband? What with that and free view HC doesn't seem so attractive anymore even at £17 a month for the basic package.
As for Sky, they have no proper competition so you would only be recieving a reduced service if you moved.

I was very surprised they offered me a free max pack without argument and that they didn't choose to negotiate. A very strange way to run a business as johnny rocker implied earlier.
Previously i have had great difficulty in recieving minimal refunds for loss of service.

It will be interesting to see what HCs position/predicament is in 3 months time. Merger or bust is my guess

masai · 25-07-2006, 21:15

If anything they have made more money out of me even by giving me 4 months for free as I have recommended HC to a lot of people, 5 of which signed up as a direct result of my positive comments

M_at · 26-07-2006, 09:36

I wasn't aware they did bradband only - they definately don't advertise it. In fact their web site inficates the other way around, TV only without broadband.

Again why should HC have to compete on p[rice with free broadband providers? IF you want more TV than freeview and can't get cable or sky then HC are the way to go. If you want broadband then go for a broadband provider.

BBRealist · 27-07-2006, 08:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by M_at

I wasn't aware they did bradband only - they definately don't advertise it. In fact their web site inficates the other way around, TV only without broadband.

Again why should HC have to compete on p[rice with free broadband providers? IF you want more TV than freeview and can't get cable or sky then HC are the way to go. If you want broadband then go for a broadband provider.

Wow what an enormous potential market that gives them... How many people in the area HC cover can't get either cable or satellite exactly?

I actually turned down the offer of a better deal, told them I wasn't interested in getting the services 'on the cheap' just that they were the wrong services and not competitive. No problems with the pricing just with what that pricing buys.

Considering the competition if their attitude is really TV first they lose in a big way whenever anyone has Sky or cable available. They need to do something to get the punters in and if they can't offer a competitive triple play to pull people who can get the competition in to them they're out of business, simple as. Investment too large, cover area too large, should have just rolled to areas where dishes are banned.

Peter We · 27-07-2006, 09:07

>Wow what an enormous potential market that gives them... How many people in the area HC cover can't get either cable or satellite exactly?

Most of them. Half of London doesn't have cable broadband yet. Large part's can't have satellite dish. Stop spouting rubbbish.

BBRealist · 27-07-2006, 09:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter We

>Wow what an enormous potential market that gives them... How many people in the area HC cover can't get either cable or satellite exactly?

Most of them. Half of London doesn't have cable broadband yet. Large part's can't have satellite dish. Stop spouting rubbbish.

When you stop worshipping Homechoice perhaps.

Thought we were discussing TV not broadband?

So how many of their 2.4 million homes passed have Homechoice? Cable takeup is 30% or so with virtually 100% cross-availability with satellite so I presume Homechoice must have hundreds of thousands of customers... Infact as 'most' of their area covered according to you has no alternative they must be at a good half a million, right?

Or they had 15,000 in January 2005, 34,000 in November 2005 after doubling network coverage.

Which of us is talking rubbish? Haven't seen a bad word from you on Homechoice, all too quick to dive in when you feel they've been besmirched.

TaG Eledhel · 31-07-2006, 20:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by M_at

But why did you bother with HC in the first place.

First and foremost they are a TV provider with BB and calls secondary.

All the moaning farkwits who insist on beating more money out of HC because they signed up for something that wasn't suitable for their needs are just costing the rest of us service or money.

Firstly i signed up to homechoice way back when it was video networks and have seen little improvement with the service over the years.
when the 8 meg was introduced i switched to a broadband only package which homechoice at the time offered.

This package was withdrawn by homechoice when they realised they were losing out to many customers like myself who felt that the tv service was poor quailty and they couldnt justify charging £30 a month for just 8 meg broadband so repackaged the 8 meg with the tv package that consists of 99% freeview channels in the hope they could keep customers.

How the hell exactly this is costing the rest of you money i really would like to know because the only people who are overcharging are homechoice.

If they had stuck with the original plan of 8 meg broadband and lowered the price to match current isps then maybe myself and others would be more loyal.

the biggest mistake homechoice made was to not even bother informing me the 8 meg only service no longer existed instead billing me for a service i didnt require and didnt ask for. if homechoice had bothered to phone and say sorry we are no longer doing the 8 meg only and are rebundling the package then maybe some kind of agreement made but this again shows lack of understanding of there customer base.

As for holding a gun to homechoices head thats laughable to the extreme, homechoice are quite capable themselves of shooting themselves the way they are going.

All i did was point out that i never signed up for any TV channels and that paying £30 a month for internet was at least £10 above competitors prices.
Homechoice then immediatly offered me the full max pack ( which is a waste of time as i dont even have the stb hooked up to the tv anyway) for 4 months for free.

So whos costing homechoice money other than themselves?

Peter We · 01-08-2006, 09:37

Tag> tv package that consists of 99% freeview channels in the hope they could keep customers.

Thats complete bollocks. Eurosport, National Geographic , Discovery channels, Sci-Fi , CNN , ondemand and the rest are not on Freeview and the whole reason I got Homechoice.

BBR>Thought we were discussing TV not broadband?

So how many of their 2.4 million homes passed have Homechoice? Cable takeup is 30% or so with virtually 100% cross-availability with satellite so I presume Homechoice must have hundreds of thousands of customers... Infact as 'most' of their area covered according to you has no alternative they must be at a good half a million, right?
<

Will you get it out of your head at that Sky is available to 100% of the population, its not. Millions of people can't get Sky so its not relevant.
You cannot seperate Broadband service from TV service as you feel like, its the whole point of their triple play (which you don't see the point of ).

So its a choice between dedicated NTL cable TV service and another ISP broadband or if available, NTL broadband and TV. Guess what? they are more expensive than homechoice.
And NTL are commonly held to be F***ing rubbish by existing and past customers. They have very high churn, poor takeup and growth to prove it.
Why on earth are you so against HC when the choice is more expensive, un-available and from companies with dire reputations like Sky and NTL?

M_at · 01-08-2006, 11:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter We

Tag> tv package that consists of 99% freeview channels in the hope they could keep customers.

Thats complete bollocks. Eurosport, National Geographic , Discovery channels, Sci-Fi , CNN , ondemand and the rest are not on Freeview and the whole reason I got Homechoice.

Actually Peter, I just read Tag's post. He's talking about how HC re-packaged a BB only deal to include their entry level TV service which is more or less just Freeview minus some crap.

Last edited by M_at : 01-08-2006 at 11:03. Reason: had caps lock on.

Peter We · 01-08-2006, 11:52

If thats true, then I stand corrected.
Pretty much what BT Vision will be (freeview plus on-demand), except you need to be able to recieve Freeview via aerial for BT.

TaG Eledhel · 01-08-2006, 16:59

As usual Mr Know it All Peter We jumps in with both feet without actually reading the post.

If you bothered to look at what homechoice bundle for there basic 8 meg service plus TV you would see that apart from VOD channels and one or two obscurities the rest of the package is basically freeview.

As i Also pointed out i orignaly had the full triple play , in fact i was with homechoice before they had BB, and back in september 2005 when they offered a bb only package i took this becasue the quality of TV was poor and i had decided to swith to SKY.

Like many other posts you yet again stick your head so far up HC's Arse i wonder if you are on commission?

Peter We The Max clifford of HC.

Next time read whats actually beinf said before you jump out of your cot to defend your beloved

Peter We · 01-08-2006, 19:55

Ok, I withdraw my apology.

johnnyrocker · 01-08-2006, 23:37

TaG Eledhel
are you saying you have left and rejoined hc? i ask that because they had broadband long before the date shown as you joining the forum,i appreciate these dates can differ hence the question

BBRealist · 02-08-2006, 15:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter We

BBR>Thought we were discussing TV not broadband?

So how many of their 2.4 million homes passed have Homechoice? Cable takeup is 30% or so with virtually 100% cross-availability with satellite so I presume Homechoice must have hundreds of thousands of customers... Infact as 'most' of their area covered according to you has no alternative they must be at a good half a million, right?
<

Will you get it out of your head at that Sky is available to 100% of the population, its not. Millions of people can't get Sky so its not relevant.
You cannot seperate Broadband service from TV service as you feel like, its the whole point of their triple play (which you don't see the point of ).

So its a choice between dedicated NTL cable TV service and another ISP broadband or if available, NTL broadband and TV. Guess what? they are more expensive than homechoice.
And NTL are commonly held to be F***ing rubbish by existing and past customers. They have very high churn, poor takeup and growth to prove it.
Why on earth are you so against HC when the choice is more expensive, un-available and from companies with dire reputations like Sky and NTL?

*Sigh* here we go again.

Firstly I didn't say that Sky was available to 100% of the population, I said that nearly 100% of the people who can take cable can take satellite.

I would also be interested in seeing some facts regarding how many people can't get Sky...

Secondly if you want to discuss very high churn let's discuss that. Even the appauling ntl's churn is around 12%, somewhat lower than your beloved's churn of 40% or so.

Let's discuss poor takeup as well shall we? Cable has a triple play takeup of around 30%. Homechoice have a take up of around 3%. As far as growth goes, yeah sure they are growing though as you reckoned they would have 100,000 customers around Jan / Feb this year they obviously aren't growing as quickly as you think.

Cheaper? Really? Depends what you want, more below.

You are in a somewhat unique position where Homechoice is the only real option. Those are the only customers Homechoice is a clear choice for.

I have a lot more TV channels than you, PVR built in, a second box which you don't get without a second phone line, and now broadband at nearly triple the speed you do, doesn't slow down when I watch TV either.

The cost of all this? Well as I have Sky's movies and sports channels it all costs LESS than the closest thing that Homechoice offer due to the prodigious cost of Sky by Wire. The Homechoice package has many less channels.

It's not just about the money, Peter, it's about the lack of channels, the lack of broadband speeds relative to others, it's about the product overall not being up to scratch.

Which part of this don't you understand?

It's like talking to Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf aka the former Iraqi Minister of Information.

'Homechoice is the best service in the UK at the best prices' There are not hundreds more channels available for less on Sky and cable, there are no extra channels anywhere'.

'Homechoice offer the fastest broadband in the UK, there are no 16 and 24Mbit services available from other suppliers. I don't need more than Homechoice offer and neither do you.'

'Homechoice is the greatest company in the world, there is no competition. I see no competition and neither will you'.

What it all comes down to really is that Homechoice is the best thing you can get due to your very limited choice, and you appear completely unable to grasp the concept that for others of us that is NOT the case.

Last edited by BBRealist : 02-08-2006 at 15:57.

Peter We · 02-08-2006, 15:55

So tell me, why are you a Homechoice customer?

BBRealist · 02-08-2006, 15:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter We

So tell me, why are you a Homechoice customer?

I'm not, left them recently after they couldn't give me any kind of timeline for HD / ADSL2+. Even paid out the remainder of the contract to leave them.

EDIT: That backfired a bit, didn't it Peter? Yes I actually gave them money to leave them early, and will have saved that money back by the end of the contract thanks to the alternatives.

Last edited by BBRealist : 02-08-2006 at 16:03.

Peter We · 02-08-2006, 17:18

So you have no reason to come here and slag them off except some perverse obsession and your background as an NTL employee?
Who are your adsl2+ and HDTV provider that you had installed instead? - you don't list any services.

BBRealist · 02-08-2006, 18:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter We

So you have no reason to come here and slag them off except some perverse obsession and your background as an NTL employee?
Who are your adsl2+ and HDTV provider that you had installed instead? - you don't list any services.

I'm sorry I didn't realise that this was a private forum for *current* customers only. Or that telling the truth about them was slagging them off. I guess anyone who doesn't agree with you and isn't a Homechoice cheerleader is slagging them off as you can't be wrong.

I don't think I said I had HDTV did I? Fairly sure I said I had Sky+. Moving to HD shortly though

As I don't have cable doesn't take much imagination to figure out who will be supplying that.

Ah yes ADSL2+, UKOnline moving to Sky Broadband (The unlimited ADSL2+ package for £10 / month) very shortly, and once that's done that's when the savings will start to clock up. That will be happening in days.

Care to get more defensive Peter, if that's possible? I guess there's not much else you can do. You can't argue with what I'm saying, didn't even attempt to, so attacking me personally is the only front you have left. Quite pathetic really, especially over a supplier of TV and broadband.

Last edited by BBRealist : 02-08-2006 at 18:18.

24-07-2006, 23:30	#1
TaG Eledhel Forum Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: surrey Posts: 296	just got my homechoice bill well after complaining about the high price and fact that they are charging me for the tv package when i only have broadband , and homechoice telling me i can have the service fr 4 months free i just got my bill... i have 8 meg connection, telephone line rental and unlimited calls .. normally around £45 a month plus any calls to mobiles n stuff ive made. This month £5.63 wooohooo... keep it up homechoice.. you have 3 months left before either homechoice lowers prices, or ups to adsl 2. if after that time no joy. im off to sky i Already have sky tv and after calling sky up my line can support the full 16 meg service.. with free unlimted calls for an extra £4 or £5 a month and the paying bt my line rental id be looking at a total of £24-£25 a month.. and i get free wireless router. If homechoice doesnt respond to this latest challenge what with be there and ukonline offering 24 meg, bulldog now upto 16 meg i think and carphone warehouse doing free 8 meg, then i can seriously see alot of people moving over to sky.

25-07-2006, 15:18	#5
Anniel Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 151	I Disagree I am one of those who signed up with Homechoice when it began and have stayed loyal to the company just as much as those of you who use the TV service. Just because we had Sky satellite before Homechoice began and stayed with ut, does not make us idiots. Homechoice needed us then and still does. So if I am prepared to stay with Homechoice for the 8MB service and the phone calls, you do not lose anything. I will agree that Homechoice accounts section is woeful. They cut off my service by mistake when I was absent in October 2005 and even now my DD is not properly sorted out, so I ring them and pay by CC....but I persevere and belive the free month service I got for their error was only just. So quit moaning about us BBers! From one of the old school who could go to Sky as a Sky + user, but chooses to saty out of loyalty.

01-08-2006, 09:37	#15
Peter We Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Posts: 953	Tag> tv package that consists of 99% freeview channels in the hope they could keep customers. Thats complete bollocks. Eurosport, National Geographic , Discovery channels, Sci-Fi , CNN , ondemand and the rest are not on Freeview and the whole reason I got Homechoice. BBR>Thought we were discussing TV not broadband? So how many of their 2.4 million homes passed have Homechoice? Cable takeup is 30% or so with virtually 100% cross-availability with satellite so I presume Homechoice must have hundreds of thousands of customers... Infact as 'most' of their area covered according to you has no alternative they must be at a good half a million, right? < Will you get it out of your head at that Sky is available to 100% of the population, its not. Millions of people can't get Sky so its not relevant. You cannot seperate Broadband service from TV service as you feel like, its the whole point of their triple play (which you don't see the point of ). So its a choice between dedicated NTL cable TV service and another ISP broadband or if available, NTL broadband and TV. Guess what? they are more expensive than homechoice. And NTL are commonly held to be F**ing rubbish by existing and past customers. They have very high churn, poor takeup and growth to prove it. Why on earth are you so against HC when the choice is more expensive, un-available and from companies with dire reputations like Sky and NTL? Last edited by Peter We : 01-08-2006 at 09:39.*

24-07-2006, 23:51	#2
johnnyrocker Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 340	dont bode well, a company with financial probs cannot afford such stupid allowances which speaks volumes about the people in 'customer care'

25-07-2006, 08:57	#3
Logan_Wolverine Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 121	You may be wrong there, a lot of people don't want to have anything to do with Murdock & sly, whatever they offer .

25-07-2006, 14:57	#4
M_at Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 550	But why did you bother with HC in the first place. First and foremost they are a TV provider with BB and calls secondary. All the moaning farkwits who insist on beating more money out of HC because they signed up for something that wasn't suitable for their needs are just costing the rest of us service or money.

25-07-2006, 15:28	#6
M_at Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 550	But did you demand that HC reduce their price just because you didn't use a portion of the service that you knew would provided? Tag did - and his actions are costing the company. Your free month appears to be because they cocked up your billing - totally fair. My point is if you want cheaper broadband then don't try and force HC to offer it - manipulate the market the way it was meant to be manipulated - by taking your customer elsewhere. I wouldn't demand Sky reduce their prices just because I don't watch half the channels that they supply.

25-07-2006, 18:13	#7
masai Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: London Posts: 452	Quote: Originally Posted by M_at But why did you bother with HC in the first place. First and foremost they are a TV provider with BB and calls secondary. All the moaning farkwits who insist on beating more money out of HC because they signed up for something that wasn't suitable for their needs are just costing the rest of us service or money. Firstly from what I understand Tag was getting charged for the TV service when he should not have been and secondly HC may be viewed as TV service primarily in your eyes but certainly not in mine. I signed up purely for internet, I have stuck with them for 5 years because I like the level of service they provide and the TV service is a bonus for me. I rang them to downgrade and said I was thinking about leaving and they turned round and said we'll give you 4 months for free and at the end of the 4 months theyre' gonna make some changes that I may be interested in. I did not go to their office and stick a gun to their head and demand I get 4 months for free Please explain how this is causing you more money or service

25-07-2006, 20:05	#8
aprec Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 67	I have to concur with Masais comments. You dont need to hold a gun to HCs head to get the service for free now. I simply said i was considering other broadband suppliers and was immediately offered the max pack for 4 months free. The fact that HC choose to do this is a reflection of the position the business is. They need to keep hold of customer numbers to maximise their selling price to companies such as Tiscali. M at, aren't you aware of other companies offering free broadband? What with that and free view HC doesn't seem so attractive anymore even at £17 a month for the basic package. As for Sky, they have no proper competition so you would only be recieving a reduced service if you moved. I was very surprised they offered me a free max pack without argument and that they didn't choose to negotiate. A very strange way to run a business as johnny rocker implied earlier. Previously i have had great difficulty in recieving minimal refunds for loss of service. It will be interesting to see what HCs position/predicament is in 3 months time. Merger or bust is my guess

25-07-2006, 21:15	#9
masai Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: London Posts: 452	If anything they have made more money out of me even by giving me 4 months for free as I have recommended HC to a lot of people, 5 of which signed up as a direct result of my positive comments

26-07-2006, 09:36	#10
M_at Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 550	I wasn't aware they did bradband only - they definately don't advertise it. In fact their web site inficates the other way around, TV only without broadband. Again why should HC have to compete on p[rice with free broadband providers? IF you want more TV than freeview and can't get cable or sky then HC are the way to go. If you want broadband then go for a broadband provider.

27-07-2006, 08:31	#11
BBRealist Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,045	Quote: Originally Posted by M_at I wasn't aware they did bradband only - they definately don't advertise it. In fact their web site inficates the other way around, TV only without broadband. Again why should HC have to compete on p[rice with free broadband providers? IF you want more TV than freeview and can't get cable or sky then HC are the way to go. If you want broadband then go for a broadband provider. Wow what an enormous potential market that gives them... How many people in the area HC cover can't get either cable or satellite exactly? I actually turned down the offer of a better deal, told them I wasn't interested in getting the services 'on the cheap' just that they were the wrong services and not competitive. No problems with the pricing just with what that pricing buys. Considering the competition if their attitude is really TV first they lose in a big way whenever anyone has Sky or cable available. They need to do something to get the punters in and if they can't offer a competitive triple play to pull people who can get the competition in to them they're out of business, simple as. Investment too large, cover area too large, should have just rolled to areas where dishes are banned.

27-07-2006, 09:07	#12
Peter We Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Posts: 953	>Wow what an enormous potential market that gives them... How many people in the area HC cover can't get either cable or satellite exactly? Most of them. Half of London doesn't have cable broadband yet. Large part's can't have satellite dish. Stop spouting rubbbish.

27-07-2006, 09:10	#13
BBRealist Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,045	Quote: Originally Posted by Peter We >Wow what an enormous potential market that gives them... How many people in the area HC cover can't get either cable or satellite exactly? Most of them. Half of London doesn't have cable broadband yet. Large part's can't have satellite dish. Stop spouting rubbbish. When you stop worshipping Homechoice perhaps. Thought we were discussing TV not broadband? So how many of their 2.4 million homes passed have Homechoice? Cable takeup is 30% or so with virtually 100% cross-availability with satellite so I presume Homechoice must have hundreds of thousands of customers... Infact as 'most' of their area covered according to you has no alternative they must be at a good half a million, right? Or they had 15,000 in January 2005, 34,000 in November 2005 after doubling network coverage. Which of us is talking rubbish? Haven't seen a bad word from you on Homechoice, all too quick to dive in when you feel they've been besmirched.

31-07-2006, 20:37	#14
TaG Eledhel Forum Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: surrey Posts: 296	Quote: Originally Posted by M_at But why did you bother with HC in the first place. First and foremost they are a TV provider with BB and calls secondary. All the moaning farkwits who insist on beating more money out of HC because they signed up for something that wasn't suitable for their needs are just costing the rest of us service or money. Firstly i signed up to homechoice way back when it was video networks and have seen little improvement with the service over the years. when the 8 meg was introduced i switched to a broadband only package which homechoice at the time offered. This package was withdrawn by homechoice when they realised they were losing out to many customers like myself who felt that the tv service was poor quailty and they couldnt justify charging £30 a month for just 8 meg broadband so repackaged the 8 meg with the tv package that consists of 99% freeview channels in the hope they could keep customers. How the hell exactly this is costing the rest of you money i really would like to know because the only people who are overcharging are homechoice. If they had stuck with the original plan of 8 meg broadband and lowered the price to match current isps then maybe myself and others would be more loyal. the biggest mistake homechoice made was to not even bother informing me the 8 meg only service no longer existed instead billing me for a service i didnt require and didnt ask for. if homechoice had bothered to phone and say sorry we are no longer doing the 8 meg only and are rebundling the package then maybe some kind of agreement made but this again shows lack of understanding of there customer base. As for holding a gun to homechoices head thats laughable to the extreme, homechoice are quite capable themselves of shooting themselves the way they are going. All i did was point out that i never signed up for any TV channels and that paying £30 a month for internet was at least £10 above competitors prices. Homechoice then immediatly offered me the full max pack ( which is a waste of time as i dont even have the stb hooked up to the tv anyway) for 4 months for free. So whos costing homechoice money other than themselves?

01-08-2006, 11:03	#16
M_at Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 550	Quote: Originally Posted by Peter We Tag> tv package that consists of 99% freeview channels in the hope they could keep customers. Thats complete bollocks. Eurosport, National Geographic , Discovery channels, Sci-Fi , CNN , ondemand and the rest are not on Freeview and the whole reason I got Homechoice. Actually Peter, I just read Tag's post. He's talking about how HC re-packaged a BB only deal to include their entry level TV service which is more or less just Freeview minus some crap. Last edited by M_at : 01-08-2006 at 11:03. Reason: had caps lock on.

01-08-2006, 11:52	#17
Peter We Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Posts: 953	If thats true, then I stand corrected. Pretty much what BT Vision will be (freeview plus on-demand), except you need to be able to recieve Freeview via aerial for BT.

01-08-2006, 16:59	#18
TaG Eledhel Forum Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: surrey Posts: 296	As usual Mr Know it All Peter We jumps in with both feet without actually reading the post. If you bothered to look at what homechoice bundle for there basic 8 meg service plus TV you would see that apart from VOD channels and one or two obscurities the rest of the package is basically freeview. As i Also pointed out i orignaly had the full triple play , in fact i was with homechoice before they had BB, and back in september 2005 when they offered a bb only package i took this becasue the quality of TV was poor and i had decided to swith to SKY. Like many other posts you yet again stick your head so far up HC's Arse i wonder if you are on commission? Peter We The Max clifford of HC. Next time read whats actually beinf said before you jump out of your cot to defend your beloved

01-08-2006, 19:55	#19
Peter We Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Posts: 953	Ok, I withdraw my apology.

01-08-2006, 23:37	#20
johnnyrocker Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 340	TaG Eledhel are you saying you have left and rejoined hc? i ask that because they had broadband long before the date shown as you joining the forum,i appreciate these dates can differ hence the question

02-08-2006, 15:48	#21
BBRealist Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,045	Quote: Originally Posted by Peter We BBR>Thought we were discussing TV not broadband? So how many of their 2.4 million homes passed have Homechoice? Cable takeup is 30% or so with virtually 100% cross-availability with satellite so I presume Homechoice must have hundreds of thousands of customers... Infact as 'most' of their area covered according to you has no alternative they must be at a good half a million, right? < Will you get it out of your head at that Sky is available to 100% of the population, its not. Millions of people can't get Sky so its not relevant. You cannot seperate Broadband service from TV service as you feel like, its the whole point of their triple play (which you don't see the point of ). So its a choice between dedicated NTL cable TV service and another ISP broadband or if available, NTL broadband and TV. Guess what? they are more expensive than homechoice. And NTL are commonly held to be F**ing rubbish by existing and past customers. They have very high churn, poor takeup and growth to prove it. Why on earth are you so against HC when the choice is more expensive, un-available and from companies with dire reputations like Sky and NTL? Sigh* here we go again. Firstly I didn't say that Sky was available to 100% of the population, I said that nearly 100% of the people who can take cable can take satellite. I would also be interested in seeing some facts regarding how many people can't get Sky... Secondly if you want to discuss very high churn let's discuss that. Even the appauling ntl's churn is around 12%, somewhat lower than your beloved's churn of 40% or so. Let's discuss poor takeup as well shall we? Cable has a triple play takeup of around 30%. Homechoice have a take up of around 3%. As far as growth goes, yeah sure they are growing though as you reckoned they would have 100,000 customers around Jan / Feb this year they obviously aren't growing as quickly as you think. Cheaper? Really? Depends what you want, more below. You are in a somewhat unique position where Homechoice is the only real option. Those are the only customers Homechoice is a clear choice for. I have a lot more TV channels than you, PVR built in, a second box which you don't get without a second phone line, and now broadband at nearly triple the speed you do, doesn't slow down when I watch TV either. The cost of all this? Well as I have Sky's movies and sports channels it all costs LESS than the closest thing that Homechoice offer due to the prodigious cost of Sky by Wire. The Homechoice package has many less channels. It's not just about the money, Peter, it's about the lack of channels, the lack of broadband speeds relative to others, it's about the product overall not being up to scratch. Which part of this don't you understand? It's like talking to Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf aka the former Iraqi Minister of Information. 'Homechoice is the best service in the UK at the best prices' There are not hundreds more channels available for less on Sky and cable, there are no extra channels anywhere'. 'Homechoice offer the fastest broadband in the UK, there are no 16 and 24Mbit services available from other suppliers. I don't need more than Homechoice offer and neither do you.' 'Homechoice is the greatest company in the world, there is no competition. I see no competition and neither will you'. What it all comes down to really is that Homechoice is the best thing you can get due to your very limited choice, and you appear completely unable to grasp the concept that for others of us that is NOT the case. Last edited by BBRealist : 02-08-2006 at 15:57.

02-08-2006, 15:55	#22
Peter We Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Posts: 953	So tell me, why are you a Homechoice customer?

02-08-2006, 15:57	#23
BBRealist Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,045	Quote: Originally Posted by Peter We So tell me, why are you a Homechoice customer? I'm not, left them recently after they couldn't give me any kind of timeline for HD / ADSL2+. Even paid out the remainder of the contract to leave them. EDIT: That backfired a bit, didn't it Peter? Yes I actually gave them money to leave them early, and will have saved that money back by the end of the contract thanks to the alternatives. Last edited by BBRealist : 02-08-2006 at 16:03.

DS Forums

just got my homechoice bill

02-08-2006, 17:18	#24
Peter We Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Posts: 953	So you have no reason to come here and slag them off except some perverse obsession and your background as an NTL employee? Who are your adsl2+ and HDTV provider that you had installed instead? - you don't list any services.

02-08-2006, 18:16	#25
BBRealist Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,045	Quote: Originally Posted by Peter We So you have no reason to come here and slag them off except some perverse obsession and your background as an NTL employee? Who are your adsl2+ and HDTV provider that you had installed instead? - you don't list any services. I'm sorry I didn't realise that this was a private forum for current customers only. Or that telling the truth about them was slagging them off. I guess anyone who doesn't agree with you and isn't a Homechoice cheerleader is slagging them off as you can't be wrong. I don't think I said I had HDTV did I? Fairly sure I said I had Sky+. Moving to HD shortly though As I don't have cable doesn't take much imagination to figure out who will be supplying that. Ah yes ADSL2+, UKOnline moving to Sky Broadband (The unlimited ADSL2+ package for £10 / month) very shortly, and once that's done that's when the savings will start to clock up. That will be happening in days. Care to get more defensive Peter, if that's possible? I guess there's not much else you can do. You can't argue with what I'm saying, didn't even attempt to, so attacking me personally is the only front you have left. Quite pathetic really, especially over a supplier of TV and broadband. Last edited by BBRealist : 02-08-2006 at 18:18.