[ase001]

Currently I a BT line but it is not initiated/connected as I have Virgin Media. Now I rang up a very helpful Tiscali girl who gave me the load down on there packages. But there is a problem?

1. Until the Line is activated they can't tell me if I can get Tiscali TV as it depends on the available bandwidth.

The problem, I don't want to be committed to Tiscali for 12 months if I can't get the TV and at least 1Mb broadband. I know in my area Tiscali TV is available but talking to people the available bandwidth various from 1/2 to 3.5Mb. I think I need a minimum of 2Mb to get TV and reasonable internet speeds.

[stevelup]

I wouldn't do it personally... Cable broadband is almost always better than DSL and I'd always recommend to those people who are lucky enough to live in a cabled area that they take advantage of it.

Have you got specific reasons for wanting to move?

Steve

[LV426]

I'm not a TV user, but I do use Tiscali for phone and internet. In my experience, their customer service level is nothing short of dismal. Well, more like non-existent. For what it's worth....................

[MK_Brett]

If you're on speaking terms with your next door neighbour, and they're on a BT line?? use their number for a speed check. It's not an exact way of doing it but you should an idea.

[ase001]

Customer Service is crap with Virgin too. Sky's not any better if you read the threads. My b-inlaw has Tiscali and he's very happy with it. Anyway if they don't provide the service that you subcribe to then you have your rights to terminate the contract early.

[Darko]

mate dont leave virgin tiscali are totally useless it took them 4 months in all to transfer my line and hook up my tv 3 months of that i had no broadband at all and the customer service did not give a damn they just kept fobbing me off, When I first decided to make the switch I was told it would be seamless and i would not even know it had happened 4 months later I now have the service and its not bad but its not a touch on virgin, plus if you ever need to deal with the customer service at tiscali you will end up like me ...sitting in a room with no tv and no broadband

Please think carefully before you decide to make the switch.

I used to be with homechoice and they were great its a shame tiscali are let down by the customer service as the on demand tv and the pvr are really good and truly give you the option to watch what you want when you want.

Cheers Darko

[stevelup]

Originally Posted by ase001

Customer Service is crap with Virgin too.

Customer service is rubbish with most ISP's these days with one or two notable exceptions.

My comments were relating to the service rather than the call centres!

If you want a reliable low latency high speed connection, you simply won't do better than cable at the present time.

If you move from Virgin to Tiscali, you are not going to gain anything at all. Certainly from a CS point of view, you will be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Once you have made the move, you will also probably be lumbered with a substandard DSL service and a substandard TV service to boot.

You never did explain why you were wanting to move?

Steve

[ase001]

The problem I have is that we ring France quite often and frequently. Tiscali offer free calls to France with one of the packages. Current I pay £43 for TV XL, BB M and Phone M, as my deal ended (3 for £30 + free upgrade to TV XL). My phone bill is typically £15 a month excluding mobile numbers. So it's costing me around £58. I've tried to get VIP package but they will not budge on price (£85). I need it to be about £65 and even on the VIP package you still pay 3p minute to France.

So my current thinking is

Tiscali Option 2 @ £24.99 TV + BB + Free Call (incl International)
Sky 6mix @£21

That means I can effectively get mutli-room TV (all be it not as comprehensive), 2Mb BB and Free Phone for £46.99.

I must admit I will miss Virgin On demand.

[Pontiac]

Originally Posted by ase001

I've tried to get VIP package but they will not budge on price (£85). I need it to be about £65 and even on the VIP package you still pay 3p minute to France.

There's a little-known virgin bundle called "XL Plus" which is £65. It is EXACTLY the same as the VIP package, minus Sky Sports and Sky Movie channels.

[ase001]

Originally Posted by Pontyac

There's a little-known virgin bundle called "XL Plus" which is £65. It is EXACTLY the same as the VIP package, minus Sky Sports and Sky Movie channels.

Thanks for that, I didn't know that existed. But it's still £20 more than Tiscali + Sky option, although I get HD and 20Mb BB with the XL Plus.

Both options are temping, ho what do. I need to work through the pluses and minuses for both I suppose. Everyone seems to be saying stay away from Tiscali, is there any one with any positive comments for Tiscali +Sky option?

[Pontiac]

Btw, forgot to mention, I've heard of a bundle called the "Ultimate Triple" which is same as XL Plus minus the extra standard v box (so you only get a V+box) for £55.

[alxrox]

If you are serious about broadband speeds and bandwidth... ADSL/DSL (BT/Tiscalli etc) cannot really compare with Cable (Virgin) at the moment.
Everyone seeems to be doing bundles etc, but uless you can't live without sky+, or live next door to a BT exchange, especially if you want to stream video over your broadband, sticking with Virgin is the best option IMHO.
You would need to bargain to get the best deal - some useful tips on how to do that on various threads in this forum.

[ase001]

I've tried to workout the cost of making a call to a mobile from a Tiscali line. But the pricing information is frankly too complicated all I need is the connection charge and rate per min for the various bands of the day.

Also I've been told that I have to have a Tiscali line/ broadband for aleast 28days before I can get Tiscali TV, do you know if there is an additional charge for TV installation on top of the £30 for the TV/Broadband setup?


Cheers

[MAV13]

Hi Ase101.

You may want to read my thread 3 Tiscali problems - MTU, Pixelation, Blacklisted e-mails... Help Please...

Tiscali is a bargain in terms of price. Basic TV and E-mail functions are working fine for me but as you can see there are some things that don't work and Tiscali customer services are rubbish. You have to pay a higher rate to phone the Technical Help line and if you go with the cheaper e-mail-only help route you get a sub-contracted response from an operator who is not based in the UK. They are worse than useless - they don't even read your query and just respond with an FAQ style 'solution' which has no relevance whatsoever.

You may fair better than I have. I just hope you don't need any help because it is not there when you ask for it.

Regards, MAV13

[ase001]

Still here, still thinking of moving to Tiscali. Still researching the small print and stuff not covered in the small print. Can anyone tell me the following?

1. Music on demand is this free or are any of the on Demand stuff free
apart from BBC/C4 which I can get via the internet etc?
2. If I want Tiscali TV I have to wait 1 month after broadband is
installed, does that mean I have to pay two lots of installation fees?
3. Do the freeview channels come via the TV aerial or via the wire or
do you have the option to choose? Does this affect the PVR
functions?


Cheers
Ase001

[Darko]

Hey bud I hope this answers a few of your questions

1. Music on demand is this free or are any of the on Demand stuff free
apart from BBC/C4 which I can get via the internet etc?

A . The music channels are a extra fiver a month but you do get a my music page where you can make a playlist of your favorite music vids (great for Parties, The C1 channel (all your favs on demand) is part of the big pack.

2. If I want Tiscali TV I have to wait 1 month after broadband is
installed, does that mean I have to pay two lots of installation fees?

A . No

3. Do the freeview channels come via the TV aerial or via the wire or
do you have the option to choose? Does this affect the PVR
functions?

A . The freeview channels come through the roof ariel and you can record 2 of these at once but the sky channels are different as you can only watch the channel you are recording (if you are recording sky 1 you cannot watch a second sky channel at the same time but you can watch the free view channels)

Hope this helps bud

If you live near feel free to pop over and have a look at it bud you are more than welcome.

Cheers Darko

[ase001]

Just rang Tiscali, they say I have to wait one month for the TV package after line activation and pay two lots of £30. One the line and one to upgrade to TV.

They also said Music and C1 on demand is free


Looks like I'm going for Sky for the TV bit, would have had the TV if it was included in the one setup fee.

So BB and phone Tiscali and Sky for TV.

P.S They said that calls to mobiles in the evening is 4p a minute is this correct?

[Darko]

not too sure bud

but you def pay for the music and ci is only free with the big pack, it states it on the tiscali website but hey I spose that takes us back to the customer service at tiscali.....as tony the tiger says thhhhherrreee great.

no offense MK

Cheers Darko

[MK_Chris]

Hi,

1. Music on demand is this free or are any of the on Demand stuff free apart from BBC/C4 which I can get via the internet etc?

Answer: all on the website, yes there are a number of channels including music which come free

2. If I want Tiscali TV I have to wait 1 month after broadband is
installed, does that mean I have to pay two lots of installation fees?

Answer: If you sign up for TV and Broadband you will just have one installation, hence one installation charge, not sure who advised you it would take a month after the broadband had been installed?

3. Do the freeview channels come via the TV aerial or via the wire or
do you have the option to choose? Does this affect the PVR functions?

Answer:
Freeview channels do come via the TV aerial, when you put the aerial in (subject to coverage) you may be able to access more digital terrestrial channels, but we are able to provide some regardless, you will need to have the aerial in to record those channels,


Regards,

Chris

[ase001]

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread, but all is on hold now until next year. When I went to cancel VM package they came back with very attractive offer I couldn’t refuse. So when my discount finishes next year I suppose it will all start again, looking for a competitive package to replace them.

[ali8171]

Hi

I'm in the exact same position as ase001...I was a virgin customer but had an unconnected BT line. I wanted to have the triple bundle (£20 option) but was told I need to have the broadband first for a month in order to get the tv. I took to plunge anyway and in the process of getting everything sorted (just been allocated a number).

Right now, they put me on a £9.99 broadband and talk package for a month which then I get the option to select the tv. I am waiting for the broadband to be provisioned as we speak.

Was it not meant to be done in this way? Should i have the tv as soon as i receive my broadband? Does that also mean I lose the three month promotion and/or on a 13th contract?

Thanks

[ase001]

That's what I was told too, but they also said if I didn't get a 2Mb or better connection then they couldn't offer me TV. I beleive when they install a new connection the modem constantly checks the quality of the line and uses the approporiate line speed. It can take a couple of weeks for this to happen and settle down. That's why they wait a few weeks before offering to install the TV option and or NOT.

It's the risk of going with Tiscali and should have been made clear when you ordered it, thats how it was explaned to me anyway. Perhaps I may have been miss informed, I'm sure I will be correct if I'm wrong.

If you go to the BT web site they can estimate you max speed based on Post Code I think?

Thats why I also looked at having Sky along side Tiscali in my costs.

[SET]

Would advise not too it. Been waiting 3 months for a TV pic, and reliable i net. Technical and Customer services sound efficient, but haven't yet delivered, even after 7 engineer visits!

[hellzbellz666]

stick with Virgin

tiscali promise a lot and never deliver, except the wrong bill