New UTV Broadband prices

Valentia · 03-03-2004 7:57pm

The only people who are complaining about having to sign up for a new 12 month contract are those who aren't planning to be a customer for the next 12 months.

Oh! for all that is good and holy! Will you give us a break?

I am staying with UTV and have said so. Are you a member of some debating society or what?

Ripwave · 03-03-2004 8:05pm

Originally posted by dahamsta
That's completely incorrect. I have every intention of staying with UTV, however I will be moving house shortly and this makes me disinclined to sign up for another 12 month contract, case-by-case or not.

What's completely incorrect? If you have every intention of staying with UTV, then under what circumstances does paying €47.50 make more sense than paying €29.99?

If you've got a logical argument to put, put it.

I pointed this out earlier in the thread. Moreover, people have every right to complain about feeling discriminated against, whether they choose to stay or not.

Sure they do, Adam. And the rest of us have every right to point out that they're just whingers, who want everyone else to subsidise them.

You're just being disruptive now Ripwave, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop.

I'd appreciate it if you'd just stop whinging about being discriminated against.

dahamsta · 03-03-2004 8:14pm

Originally posted by Scott Taunton
Adam

I am away currently but have been following with interest the debate which is taking place surrounding our new prices and the impact that these are having on existing subscribers.

[...]

Hi Scott,

I appreciate you taking the time to discuss this with us, I accept that UTV has to make a return on investment, and I accept that it makes good business sense for UTV to do things this way; but I'm afraid that it doesn't really make sense for me, and I'm still a bit nonplussed with the arrangment.

Ripwave is trying to turn this into a different issue, so I want to make my circumstances clear: I would like to migrate to one of the new plans, but as I've said I will be moving house shortly and so I would prefer to see out the existing contract and start afresh with a new one (if possible).

However if I do I'm expected to pay the existing price, even though UTV's costs have dropped. I don't need a new modem and as far as I'm aware there's no transfer cost to UTV, so ultimately the costs you've highlighted are meaningless to me: What counts is that UTV isn't passing the saving on to me.

I realise and accept that I'm in a minority, and I realise and accept that it's just a few quid, however it irks me that faithful UTV supporters would be leveraged in this way. It's a black mark against UTV, to add to the black mark that I've already given support@u.tv[1].

However it's still only two black marks, up against the extensive daubings of other ISPs. I don't have dub45's problems with lost connections and pings bother me not a jot, so I'm going nowhere. I simply want it noted for the record that this has ticked me off just a little. I'm hoping I won't be ticked off again.

Thanks,
adam

[1] I'd add that I have the email address of one of UTV's support guys, and the support I've received through him has been excellent. But I'm sure he's bored of hearing from me at this stage, and support@ should work just as well. Particularly in an ISP.

Valentia · 03-03-2004 8:15pm

Note that I was very careful to not say that the only people complaining are those who plan to leave UTV.

Well what does this mean then? Am I going mad or what?

The only people who are complaining about having to sign up for a new 12 month contract are those who aren't planning to be a customer for the next 12 months.

Ripwave · 03-03-2004 8:16pm

Originally posted by Valentia
Oh! for all that is good and holy! Will you give us a break?

I am staying with UTV and have said so. Are you a member of some debating society or what?

Are you a member of some charity or what? Would you rather UTV have set a higher price and allowed continuing contracts instead?

(Hey, it's your money. I'm not even a UTV user. But I think their aggressive pricing is exactly what the market needs, and if it squeezes a handful of waverers, I don't really see that as a problem. If eircom had put wholesale line rental up, I'm pretty damn sure that you'd all be insisting that UTV stick to their original contract).

Ripwave · 03-03-2004 8:19pm

Originally posted by Valentia
Well what does this mean then? Am I going mad or what?

Must be. Someone who can't decide whether they will be or won't be staying with UTV isn't "planning to be a customer for the next 12 months".

dahamsta · 03-03-2004 8:20pm

Originally posted by Ripwave
You said that you've got to move in the next couple of months, and that you'd like to avoid extending your contract. Sure, you'll stay with UTV, if it's available to you when you move. But you want to keep your options open (presumably in case it's not possible to get Clicksilver in your new place).

Keeping my options open in this case meaning that I may not be able to get BB in the place I move to -- it may not be available, or my landlord may just not want me to get it. In which case I would have to buy my way out of 11 months of a 12 month contract with UTV. There's only so much they can do to help me there. Taking a lower price product would be a false economy -- a particularly stupid one I'm not entirely surprised you can't see.

Now do me a favour and bug someone else Ripwave. I don't have time to explain every little detail to you.

adam

Valentia · 03-03-2004 8:24pm

Now do me a favour and bug someone else Ripwave. I don't have time to explain every little detail to you.

Same here.

daveyjoe · 03-03-2004 9:38pm

Originally posted by bk

€39.95 + €25 = €65

Yeah, but if you spend €25 a month on calls (me and most people), then it pays the first €25, so it wipes out those costs (for me anyway). What's more IOL don't insist on bundling telephony with their broadband product.

They also continue to own the modem according to their press release.

Modem supplied on IOL Broadband remains the property of Esat BT, modem supplied on IOL Broadband PLUS is owned by the customer. http://www.iol.ie/bundles/pr_bbplus.htm

If eircom had put wholesale line rental up, I'm pretty damn sure that you'd all be insisting that UTV stick to their original contract

Assuming that eircom did increase their wholesale price, which comreg wouldn't allow them to do. Then of course we would insist that UTV stick to their contract, because it is a contract (and they are legally obliged to stick to it). I have never seen such mindless and senseless posts in my life.

Finally I do appreciate that a representative from UTV has come on the boards to talk with us, but this is no way to treat your existing customers. I have already reccomended 2 customers to your service (one clicksilver and one UTVip xl), another friend asked me yesterday which ISP he should go with and I said IOL or eircom, not only because of the contracts issue but also because of the poor levels of service they are currently offering (Pings, Proxy, Downtime).

4790 people have viewed this thread as I post this, perhaps UTV should bare that in mind aswell.

Moriarty · 03-03-2004 10:05pm

Originally posted by daveyjoe
Assuming that eircom did increase their wholesale price, which comreg wouldn't allow them to do.

exiztone · 03-03-2004 10:28pm

Are there any plans to reduce the €99 installation fee?

Kramer · 04-03-2004 12:43am

UTV are using the term "migrate" alot regarding the new "packages" for existing UTV customers. The way I see it, it's clearly not migration but basically a new 12 month contract.

The only difference between a new customer & an existing customer (from UTV's perspective) is they:

1. Won't have to supply a new modem
2. Won't have to pick up new connection costs
3. Won't have any admin costs - billing/account setup etc.

So what does an existing customer gain over a new customer? Diddly squat. What do UTV save on an existing customer? Don't know but apparently well over €100 going by what was said earlier by UTV.

As an existing customer, UTV are already charging me €47.50 this month, eventhough their cost has been significantly reduced. Other providers have implemented the reductions already or will be doing so shortly - March 8th for example.

I'm not happy about recommiting for 12 months. Moving house (probably) before the end of this year. I may be able to avail of broadband after the move but can't be sure. I'm definitely not jumping ship as I want to keep dsl.However, given the frequent downtime recently, proxy issues & poor customer support I've received (again, recently), I'd like to keep my options open.

Charging me €47.50 per month for the remainded of my contract if I can't recommit is IMO very bad practise & leaves me very disappointed with UTV.

Posting yet again on dialup - another outage, albeit beyond UTV's control AFAIK. Spending the best part of 45 minutes on the phone to UTV support testing, retesting etc. & being told it is most likely a firewall issue at my end doesn't inspire confidence - something I'm losing more & more these days.

Let nobody be uncertain. UTV are in this market to make a profit. Granted being first to introduce a sub €30 p/m product is great but a little more care for existing customers wouldn't go amiss.

I cannot recommend UTV Clicksilver to friends & colleagues given the current situation.

BTW, ripwave, I've met people like you before (says Kramer in a condescending tone of voice

) & while entertaining for a while, you soon start to get on peoples nerves - me included. Given the gibberish you spout, ever think of running for the Dáil?

jonski · 04-03-2004 4:53pm

Originally posted by Ripwave
Must be. Someone who can't decide whether they will be or won't be staying with UTV isn't "planning to be a customer for the next 12 months".

I know i promised myself I wouldn't respond to this question anymore , but i have to help Ripwave to understand what is going on .

All of the ppl here that I know ( from reading their posts over the last few years ) seem , like me to actually want to stay with UTV , but for some reason be it proxy , ping , pkt loss , or service issues , would like to have these sorted before they commit to a further 12 month contract . And we feel one month is not enough time to judge these people on , as some of these issues have been ongoing for some time already .

I am not trying to be condesending , but surely you can understand that or atleast agree that we have a point .

John.

dub45 · 04-03-2004 8:24pm

I would like to back what Jonski says totally.

Just to summarise since the start of 2004 alone there have been two major faults at weekends followed by a number of other disrutpions midweek. there were two breaks of 3 hours each last weekend which UTV only started investigating on Monday morning. Combine this with the proxy issue and the pings issue and that is a lot for not much more than two months.

If issues such as these dont give you cause to wonder whether you should commit to another 12 month contract or not thats fine but there are a lot of us who are not encouraged by them. Coupled with the actual poor service is UTV often infuriating lack of response to these issues.

I would also like to point out that as far as Ripwave is concerned he does not have to put up with these issues as he is not a Clicksilver user.

Ripwave · 04-03-2004 8:29pm

Originally posted by jonski
II am not trying to be condesending , but surely you can understand that or atleast agree that we have a point .

I'm fully aware of the case you're making, Jonski. In fact, you just quoted my description of it. Whether you'd love to stay with UTV or you can't wait to get rid of them, doesn't really make any difference. The fact is that UTV has priced its new contracts on the basis of a new 12 month contract, and that they still haven't recouped the investment that they made to get you as a customer in the first place.

Sure, you'd be happy if they'd priced it at €32/month instead of €30, and allowed you to keep your existing contract end date. But why should they build their prices around people who can't or won't commit (for whatever reason, good, bad or indifferent), rather than those who will commit to a new contract?

jonski · 04-03-2004 9:26pm

Originally posted by Ripwave
Sure, you'd be happy if they'd priced it at €32/month instead of €30, and allowed you to keep your existing contract end date. But why should they build their prices around people who can't or won't commit (for whatever reason, good, bad or indifferent), rather than those who will commit to a new contract?

I kinda agree , I suppose that I would like that , but my first choice would be the ping and pkt loss situation sorted out , guarantee that everything will be done to keep it sorted or keep on top of any problems relating to it , and I'd sign up for life if they wanted . If the truth be known ( gotta whisper here so UTV don't here me ) would be willing to pay more for UTV for the past "good experiences" but thats neither here nor there .

Also gotta say that anytime I have gotten throught to the support , or anytime any of my posts has been taken up on by a member of UTV they have always done everything possible to help me out . This ping thing has been put on the back burner for awhile though ( maybe thats because UTV don't have that many gamers , I don't know ) .

John.

PiE · 05-03-2004 12:00am

Originally posted by Ripwave
But why should they build their prices around people who can't or won't commit (for whatever reason, good, bad or indifferent), rather than those who will commit to a new contract?

I dunno... maybe to boost their faltering customer service reputation? Maybe if they did this they would convince many of the disgruntled users to stay on after the original contract runs out?

dub45 · 05-03-2004 12:18am

Suppose UTV had included a warning in the initial 12 month contract that in the event of wholesale prices falling that users could not expect to get the benefit of any such development unless they commited to UTV for a further 12 month period what do people think the reaction of potential customers would have been?

dub45 · 05-03-2004 12:32am

who can't or won't commit (for whatever reason, good, bad or indifferent), rather than those who will commit to a new contract?

Surely the real question is why are people, who, are in a lot of cases the earliest customers of Clicksilver, and who therefore were very anxious to get on Clicksilver, now reluctant to further that contract given that there are considerable potential savings involved , unless they have strong reasons and can those reason be addressed by UTV?

(That's not including those who may have to move house or whatever during the next 12 months)

fiacha · 05-03-2004 11:43am

Just got this email back from UTV in response to a question about how they handle an address change.

With Broadband it isn't just as simple as moving the account to a new address. The Broadband would need to be cancelled and re-ordered. There is a minimum 12 month contract at your current address. You would need to cease the ADSL on your old line, depending on how long you have been with UTV Broadband, this will cost at least 160Euro and then getting the broadband installed at your new address would cost at least anotehr E70. You will then be in another 12 month contract.

At this stage we can only give a guideline, as it depends on what is charged at the time of the move, so the above pricing could change.

If you cannot get broadband at the new house, then you will have to pay the remainder of the contract at the old address.

looks like i'll be sticking with dialup for a few months.

_Kaiser_ · 05-03-2004 12:47pm

...and then people ask why some of us are reluctant to (re)commit to 12 month contracts?

Especially given the other factors involved (as discussed in this thread).

Da Man · 05-03-2004 2:07pm

I know this is a best-case scenario, but when you move out of somewhere, why not get the next people to take over the subscription? They will get it setup for nothing and only have to see out the remainder of the contract. I don't know if anyone bothers with a landline in rented accomodation anymore, but this was certainly the way that was handled to avoid having to pay a reconnection fee.

dub45 · 05-03-2004 2:22pm

In fairness to UTV they are stuck with charges from Eircom in relation to address changes so they may not have all that much discretion in the matter really.

Nyum Nyum · 05-03-2004 4:28pm

If the performance remains as awful as it is today (with or without proxy) then I can't see many people sticking with UTV.

The attached pic shows the progress bar when trying to connect to this site. A full minute went by with nothing happening. Eventually the page loaded after about 2 and a half minutes.

I'm not sure I can handle this lightning speed internet :rolleyes:

dahamsta · 05-03-2004 4:41pm

There's something wrong with your connection or computer if that's the kind of connectivity you're getting.

Nyum Nyum · 05-03-2004 4:46pm

The connection is erratic today. Sometimes it just locks up like the example above, sometimes it's ok (not great, but ok) but this happening too often - and on different computers too.

iano · 05-03-2004 5:10pm

Originally posted by Ripwave Hey, it's your money. I'm not even a UTV user.

Well give it a rest then and stop posting so many aggressive, ill-informed and irrelevant comments.

Balfa · 05-03-2004 10:08pm

Originally posted by dahamsta
There's something wrong with your connection or computer if that's the kind of connectivity you're getting.

Talk about stating the obvious

Although I know you're an intelligent person, so I assume when you said "connection" you somehow meant only that part of the connection for which UTV aren't responsible? Well let me tell you, UTV are well capable of providing that sort of quality of service. On many occassions in the past, I've had about 10-14kbps results from UTV's own speedtest. Pages have failed to load, etc. UTV support agreed with me that it was nothing at my end causing the problem.

dahamsta · 05-03-2004 11:56pm

Originally posted by Balfa
I assume when you said "connection" you somehow meant only that part of the connection for which UTV aren't responsible?

Indeed, I was suggesting that there may be a problem with the modem/router.

I know I'm starting to sound like a protective hen, but I'm not kidding when I say that my connection is rock solid. Ever since the original routing issue was corrected some months ago my download speed has been consistently quick, and pings to Boards and Jolt are pretty much the same every time I try them -- which is every time I see complaints about pings on here.

I'm not saying people aren't having problems, I'm just saying that I'm not seeing them. Perhaps the DSLAMS aren't as contended down here, or they're set up in a different way or summat. Or perhaps UTV's network just prefers my Smoothwall box to those mickey mouse USB yokes.

adam

dub45 · 06-03-2004 12:09am

Originally posted by dahamsta
Indeed, I was suggesting that there may be a problem with the modem/router.

I know I'm starting to sound like a protective hen, but I'm not kidding when I say that my connection is rock solid.

I'm not saying people aren't having problems, I'm just saying that I'm not seeing them.

adam

Where are you as a matter of interest? and what about the major breaks in January and February did you have those? Not to mention last weekends?

And by the way in case you haven't seen there there are reports elsewhere of dire service from UTV today.

New UTV Broadband prices

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