Internet/phone deals.

[cheminot]

I am approaching the end of the 12 month lock-in with France telecom. I have no complaints about the service I have had, just the price of it!

There are many internet/phone deals advertised, all seem to be around €30 a month. I would be grateful for any recommendations or otherwise on these packages.

My thanks in anticipation, cheminot

[Tim]

I am not going to advise you what service to go with - I don't like to be put in the position of blame if it all goes wrong!!

However, one thing I will say is that this forum, and others, are littered with questions asked by people who are trying to sort out a mess after they've changed ISPs - the most serious ones being when they've elected to dump the France Telecom landline completely. There are several threads around where the ADSL has had a problem and it has left the person with no telephone service at all - some of these people were running small businesses. Personally, I would not want to put myself in a position where I had no working phone at all and for this reason, at the moment anyway, I am keeping the landline - despite lots of wonderful offers being pushed at me. 

I know in an ideal world everything should work perfectly all the time - but......

Good luck, and perhaps someone else will make a more useful suggestion as to what service to go with.

Tim

[Danny]

Eh, agree with Tim. I am with Alice and very happy but have still kept the FT line. I think it is worth the 192 euros a year. You can get a cheaper deal from other providers and still keep the ft line. Read carefully though!

Danny

[Martin963]

Did you sort out your Alice upload speed problem Danny?

[Iceni]

Agree totally with Timco and Jane + Danny, we have retained our FT line though have moved to Alice for internet and phone calls. FWIW I would recommend that if you follow this route you have an old fashioned steam driven phone on the FT line so that you can still make calls when the electricity goes off.

BTW would someone pls explain, in words of 1 syllable or fewer, why I am able to answer incoming calls on the FT line using my Alice phone.

A. Technomoron

not

[Danny]

Hi Martin,
all seems pretty good now. just over 2mb down and 250k upload and fairly consistent. It started working all of a sudden the other day after Alice had BT check the line.

Makes sending emails (and posting here) a lot easier...

Danny

[Danny]

[quote user="Iceni"]

BTW would someone pls explain, in words of 1 syllable or fewer, why I am able to answer incoming calls on the FT line using my Alice phone.

A. Technomoron

not

[/quote]

Sorry John, I can't but it is handy that it works...saves me having to give the Alice number to anyone.

Danny

[Martin963]

@ danny - glad it's sorted out.   We have to stay with CI  ( who are no worse than anyone else,  apart from the licensed banditry otherwise known as their technical support line) until next April;  what I'm considering at the moment is staying with them until autumn 2008,  then cancelling when we go back to the UK for that winter,  and then choosing a new ISP for spring 2009.   That way I save six months of subs as well.

But it's a long way in the future still,  so we'll see how things change in the meantime.

You did change "part way" through your second year with CI didn't you?

[Danny]

We changed just after the first year's engagement finished, Martin

Danny

[Martin963]

So - with apologies for burrowing into so much detail - when CI asked about renewal for the second year (I believe they ask when there are two months to go on the first year's contract) did you just say you'd carry on,  or did you give them notice that you'd be leaving?

In essence,  I'm still not entirely clear whether you can quit at any time during the second year or whether it's like French insurance,  ie that a years' contract is for the full year,  and if you don't give the correct notice you are tied to paying up,  even if you don't want the insurance any more (as I know to my cost with a certain agence not that far from here,  who refused to release me from my tractor insurance contract).

Sorry to be asking such detailed questions but I shall be in the UK when the question of renewal comes up early next year.   Once bitten etc

[Danny]

No problem Martin,

They started calling me probably 8 months into the first year saying we would like to offer you this blah blah - it was exactly the same as I had. So I said no thank you, I am very happy. Their idea was to change to a very slightly different contract exactly the same price but obviously it would be for another year...They pretended not to understand why I would not want to take this but I just said No. After quite a few calls like this, I said, why don't you offer me something more attractive and they said, you could cancel the FT line and save 15 euros a month. I said No thanks, and again they suggested that I was unhinged not to be taking their generous offer. Thay were trying very hard to keep me but without offering anything. When I said that if I gave up the FT line, I would be totally dependent on modem calls and that the service had been bad recently, they said, have you called tech help (0.34 cent a min to listen to a cheesy recording play over and over) I said, tech help are welcome to answer my emails or call me. He said they were unable to call up (unlike him, of course)

Anyway, I just waited until the year was out and once the date was achevé, I sent a cancellation letter by A+R, they sent an email to say they received it and that the contract would end at x date roughly one month later. Once the year engagement is up the contract just carries on but it just means you can cancel at any time without penalty. When you get a finish date, you can organise another provider to start about the same time. Do it 1 or 2 weeks before the finish date and you won't be without for too long. You can send the box and cables back after that date - I think you have 15 days - check the contract details.

I have to say that Alice have been very good so far. Customer service is generally pretty good and the free phone calls for help have been answered - so far - within a minute. That just makes a big difference, especially when the world and its dog must call for help because it is free.

Good luck

Danny

[cheminot]

I have read enough to convince me that FT aren't so bad after all. I think I'll stay where I am for now!

cheminot

[Danny]

For Martin (and anyone else who might find it useful)

here is a site with a good cancellation letter. You can adjust it to suit your need.

Danny

[Martin963]

Thanks Danny.   You have very usefully pointed out the obvious trap,  one that I could perfectly well have missed however,  namely the dodgy offers to entice one into another full year by formal renewal.   This happened to me with Onetel in the UK with a mobile phone and left me angry - so angry that I did manage to cancel,  but only by shouting (quite literally,  when they refused to give me the name of the CEO!) and a lot of arguing.   They no longer have my business,  apart from the email address which costs me nothing.

CI may have fun and games contacting me eight months in, because I shall be in the UK and they don't know my number there!   We shall see what happens,  but again many thanks for pointing out a classic trick of the trade.

[BJSLIV]

Once the year is up you can cancel CI with a month's notice.

Bear in mind that if you transfer to Neuf, AOL, or Cegetel you are unlikely to qualify for the new client offers as they are all brands of the same company IE Neuf.

 

 

[Chancer]

[quote user="Martinwatkins"]Thanks Danny.   You have very usefully pointed out the obvious trap,  one that I could perfectly well have missed however,  namely the dodgy offers to entice one into another full year by formal renewal.   This happened to me with Onetel in the UK with a mobile phone and left me angry - so angry that I did manage to cancel,  but only by shouting (quite literally,  when they refused to give me the name of the CEO!) and a lot of arguing.   They no longer have my business,  apart from the email address which costs me nothing.

CI may have fun and games contacting me eight months in, because I shall be in the UK and they don't know my number there!   We shall see what happens,  but again many thanks for pointing out a classic trick of the trade.
[/quote]

I dont know whether it is the same scam but sometimes I cannot get connected (via wanadoo) the usual box comes up with the on off button but the lower box has changed from my ADSL modem connection to another abonnement (haut debit ADSL) I think, it wouldnt connect unless I clicked the box "souhaitez vous changer l'abonnment?", I very nearly fell into the trap but found that by scrolling I could get back my existing abonnement.

This seems to happen on a regular basis i.e. once a month. Has anyone else experienced this?

I have just sent of the resiliation letter AADR and got back the copy to say that it had been delivered but have heard nothing from Wanadoo for about 5 weeks, does it normally take that long?

[Danny]

[quote user="J.R."]

I have just sent of the resiliation letter AADR and got back the copy to say that it had been delivered but have heard nothing from Wanadoo for about 5 weeks, does it normally take that long?

[/quote] yes it can I'm afraid, and it is August and France (mostly) stops working but I am sure it will probably be dealt with eventually

Danny

[Poppy]

 J.R.  This happens at least 5 times per week with us, has done for about 4 years. We just disconnect and start again. Usually happens if the modem doesn't connect and we have to replug or something similar occurs. Don't really think it is a scam just something that happens when the wires get crossed [:D]