NTL Broadband without NTL TV?

Firewalkwithme

I'm an existing subscriber to NTL Broadband and digital TV (incorporating the analogue TV). What I would like to do is get rid of all of NTL's TV services but keep the broadband service. I have heard that NTL insist that you pay for the analogue TV at a minimum if you want broadband but to me that seems like a total rip off, designed only to from deter you from signing up to the superior Sky digital package (which is what I want to do). I have checked NTL's website and I could not see anywhere where it actually states that in order to have broadband you must pay for the TV too, so is this not misleading advertising? I would like to hear back from anyone who has had any experience of trying to keep NTL broadband while dropping the TV package. In the meantime, I'm going to try giving them a call....

EDIT - I just made that call and they told me that it is possible to drop the TV package! Happy days

Firewalkwithme

I know I shouldn't be surprised since this is NTL I'm trying to deal with but having just ordered Sky digital, I called NTL back to confirm the cancellation of the TV only to be told it was a mistake. If they don't do something about it I'm just going to cancel the broadband too (hasn't been great recently anyway) and I might lodge some kind of complaint about their misleading advertising too.

Firewalkwithme

After a day of trying to talk to NTL and getting nowhere I have cancelled their TV service and their broadband service. I'll be replacing them with Sky and Metro repectively. Phone is already on Blueface so that won't change.

I have sent a complaint about NTL's methods of advertising their broadband products to the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland. Whether anything will come of this only time will tell, though my hopes aren't high. No doubt the law will be on the side of the big business rather than the customer. What I don't like about their advertising is that it is simply IMPOSSIBLE to get NTL broadband for the advertised prices (€25, 30, 35 per month) since you must pay €19.50 per month for the line rental, - sorry I mean Basic TV package.

I believe that NTL should be made to advertise their products in a transparent way showing the full cost per month, or they should drop the requirement to have the TV package. It's not the customers fault that NTL cannot provide the broadband service without leaving the TV connection open after all.

bk

In fairness NTL don't have a choice in the matter really.

You see if they allowed you to cancel the TV service and continue with broadband, there would be no way for them to stop you from watching the analogue TV service. Then everyone else would do the same and end up getting free TV and NTL would lose lots of money.

NTL really don't use this as a tactic to make you stay with their TV service, if they could offer you just the broadband service they would. For instance in Chorus areas (NTL and Chorus are now the same company, owned by UPC Ireland) where the analogue TV service is encrypted (you need a crappy decoder box to watch TV) you can get broadband without taking their TV service.

The only solution for this problem for NTL is when they switch off the TV service to everyone and go all digital, however that is still many years away as the analogue is still their most popular service.

Cartoon_Head wrote:

I believe that NTL should be made to advertise their products in a transparent way showing the full cost per month, or they should drop the requirement to have the TV package. It's not the customers fault that NTL cannot provide the broadband service without leaving the TV connection open after all.

Tell me does Eircom (or almost any other DSL provider) include the price of the telephone line rental when they advertise their broadband prices? No, then why would NTL disadvantage themselves. It is not as if they don't tell you this when you call up. When you sigh up for BB, if you don't already have the TV service then they tell you. No big deal.

BTW let us know how it goes with Metro and how it compares.

thund3rbird_

Cartoon_Head wrote:

I have checked NTL's website and I could not see anywhere where it actually states that in order to have broadband you must pay for the TV too, so is this not misleading advertising?

you mustn't have read this then :rolleyes:

The tax man

thund3rbird_ wrote:

you mustn't have read this then :rolleyes:

Ta for saving 10 mins of my life looking for that.:p

Firewalkwithme

thund3rbird_ wrote:

you mustn't have read this then :rolleyes:

Sorry but I still think that is misleading and is just the kind of thing Michael Martins new consumer protection legislation is aimed at.

Besides, I don't care anymore since I called Digiweb on Wednesday to get Metro installed - they arrived and installed it this morning after just a 2 day wait.