Best Phone/Broadband/power/everything deals

[Mack]

Fair enough on the mobile / broadband suppliers etc. Virgin are crap also and constantly hike the prices up so give them a swerve.

I am a Londoner who moved up here 7 years ago and wanted to say the following about areas....

Compared to a big city like London pretty much anywhere in rural Leicestershire is paradise.

Dont believe all the slagging off of places like Coalville, that is just local snobbery and myth. Facts are that the towns and villages of Leicestershire are all relatively safe, quiet, and all offer a relaxed lifestyle. If you want to live somewhere that has genuine problems and dangers try South London, we threw it in when the crack house 5 doors down was raided by plain clothed CO19 swat style officers at 4am. The buggers even used my car to hide behind!

My advice would be to live in a little village within a couple of miles of one of the market towns around NW Leics. That way you can have the English country village lifestyle while having the convenience of town amenities close by. Ashby is slightly posher than Coalville but in truth there is little difference and Coalville probably offers better shops than Ashby. Ashby looks a little more up market but the people wandering around are pretty much the same, and will all pass the time of day with you if you say hello.

I would'nt consider Swadlincote or Burton if the city of Leicester and LCFC are you focal point they are 'Derbycentric' and despite being only a few more miles further away have a different feel.

If you are stacked with dosh the I would probably go the other side of Leicester and Oadby etc, if you are just a normal bod like me then the villages around NW Leics will all make a good home.

There is nothing or nowhere 'no go' or dangerous about any of them.

[ozleicester]

Fair enough on the mobile / broadband suppliers etc. Virgin are crap also and constantly hike the prices up so give them a swerve.

I am a Londoner who moved up here 7 years ago and wanted to say the following about areas....

Compared to a big city like London pretty much anywhere in rural Leicestershire is paradise.

Dont believe all the slagging off of places like Coalville, that is just local snobbery and myth. Facts are that the towns and villages of Leicestershire are all relatively safe, quiet, and all offer a relaxed lifestyle. If you want to live somewhere that has genuine problems and dangers try South London, we threw it in when the crack house 5 doors down was raided by plain clothed CO19 swat style officers at 4am. The buggers even used my car to hide behind!

My advice would be to live in a little village within a couple of miles of one of the market towns around NW Leics. That way you can have the English country village lifestyle while having the convenience of town amenities close by. Ashby is slightly posher than Coalville but in truth there is little difference and Coalville probably offers better shops than Ashby. Ashby looks a little more up market but the people wandering around are pretty much the same, and will all pass the time of day with you if you say hello.

I would'nt consider Swadlincote or Burton if the city of Leicester and LCFC are you focal point they are 'Derbycentric' and despite being only a few more miles further away have a different feel.

If you are stacked with dosh the I would probably go the other side of Leicester and Oadby etc, if you are just a normal bod like me then the villages around NW Leics will all make a good home.

There is nothing or nowhere 'no go' or dangerous about any of them.

Awesome, thank you, makes for very interesting reading.

Im leaning toward Swadlincote more for its "centrality" as i dont have a job yet.. so i figure that Swadlincote/ashby makes it possible to commute to all of the major centres Leics/Brum/derby/cov etc... unless im wrong?

26 days till we arrive "home"

[Gaffer]

Good to see you moving across, hope you get settled in without any problems

My take:

Mobiles - O2. If you're staying in the UK (not popping aboard for holidays too often etc) then I'd recommend O2, they've got great deals for O2 to O2 customers (60-70% of everyone i know are on them, for the Pay as you go tarrifs they offer.) and i haven't had a gripe about the reception in the uk in the last 4 years at all. Like others have said if you're still figuring out where to stay and on the fence with this, get a cheap supermarket sim (tescos/ASDA) and that should keep you going cheaply for a while.

Broadband - Depends on the speed really (and what you'll be doing on it ) but Sky Broadband chucked in with their TV/Home phone is certainly something to look into.

TV - As above I'd go with Sky, Virgin do do a cable service but it all depends on area etc.

Home phone - If you don't get the package with sky/virgin, BT is a good bet.

Cars- Motors.co.uk, the local paper, Autotrader.co.uk. All good places to find something decent. Again as said before, look into getting something from a dealer, it's usually safer.

And leave the misses to go to IKEA, trust me

Sorry if this sounds patronising! thought i'd cover everything, not intended! Hope it helps

[hebangsthedrums]

Probably way too late but if you are signing up for stuff like this do it via quidco (google). Its a cashback site but has lots of companies on there which if you are signing up to anyway adds a nice chunk of money, and in some cases may make a more expensive company a cheaper option. Just bear in mind the cashback is not guaranteed.

In terms of companies I never hear anything positive about virgin - I have a mobile contract and am less than impressed, the flat I stay in for work changed to sky just after I moved in as virgin were apparently p*ss poor.

I would go all in one with sky if you want the tv, if not o2.

[Mack]

Awesome, thank you, makes for very interesting reading.

Im leaning toward Swadlincote more for its "centrality" as i dont have a job yet.. so i figure that Swadlincote/ashby makes it possible to commute to all of the major centres Leics/Brum/derby/cov etc... unless im wrong?

26 days till we arrive "home"

You can get to the A42 and M1 much quicker from somewhere between Markfield and Ashby.

If you opt for example for somewhere like Swannington or Ravenstone you can have the village and still be close to supermarkets, motorways etc.

There are also industrial areas near there with the opportunity of work.

[ozleicester]

Probably way too late but if you are signing up for stuff like this do it via quidco (google). Its a cashback site but has lots of companies on there which if you are signing up to anyway adds a nice chunk of money, and in some cases may make a more expensive company a cheaper option. Just bear in mind the cashback is not guaranteed.

In terms of companies I never hear anything positive about virgin - I have a mobile contract and am less than impressed, the flat I stay in for work changed to sky just after I moved in as virgin were apparently p*ss poor.

I would go all in one with sky if you want the tv, if not o2.

Brilliant thanks.. signing up now

You can get to the A42 and M1 much quicker from somewhere between Markfield and Ashby.

If you opt for example for somewhere like Swannington or Ravenstone you can have the village and still be close to supermarkets, motorways etc.

There are also industrial areas near there with the opportunity of work.

Cheers will look at those areas

[Turtles Head]

Thanks Again folks... as mentioned im looking at a few areas that are central, if anyone has time a little feedback on the following areas would be much appreciated.

lets say on a scale of 1 to (gazelle) 5

1 being....... " id love to live there" ... to 5 being............ "youll be mugged shot raped or killed before you step out the door"

Swadlincote

Hinckley

Burton on trent

Asby de la zouch

Coalville

Atherstone

thanks

I spent most of my 23 years in Coalville before heading to Sheffield. It's ok, but nothing happens and there is a rapidly increasing drug problem there, and in the neighbouring "hoods".

I'm heading in the opposite direction to yourself, going to Brisbane in November, travelling and working Oz for 6-12 months. After which it will be time to convince the northern mrs that Loughborough is the place to be!

[ozleicester]

Good to see you moving across, hope you get settled in without any problems

My take:

Mobiles - O2. If you're staying in the UK (not popping aboard for holidays too often etc) then I'd recommend O2, they've got great deals for O2 to O2 customers (60-70% of everyone i know are on them, for the Pay as you go tarrifs they offer.) and i haven't had a gripe about the reception in the uk in the last 4 years at all. Like others have said if you're still figuring out where to stay and on the fence with this, get a cheap supermarket sim (tescos/ASDA) and that should keep you going cheaply for a while.

Broadband - Depends on the speed really (and what you'll be doing on it ) but Sky Broadband chucked in with their TV/Home phone is certainly something to look into.

TV - As above I'd go with Sky, Virgin do do a cable service but it all depends on area etc.

Home phone - If you don't get the package with sky/virgin, BT is a good bet.

Cars- Motors.co.uk, the local paper, Autotrader.co.uk. All good places to find something decent. Again as said before, look into getting something from a dealer, it's usually safer.

And leave the misses to go to IKEA, trust me

Sorry if this sounds patronising! thought i'd cover everything, not intended! Hope it helps

Brilliant thanks... and not patronising at all.. youd be amazwed at the difference in how connections and pricing can differ between such (apparently) simialr countries... we welcome ANY thoughts/ideas

[Alexikokopops]

Good to see you moving across, hope you get settled in without any problems

My take:

Mobiles - O2. If you're staying in the UK (not popping aboard for holidays too often etc) then I'd recommend O2, they've got great deals for O2 to O2 customers (60-70% of everyone i know are on them, for the Pay as you go tarrifs they offer.) and i haven't had a gripe about the reception in the uk in the last 4 years at all. Like others have said if you're still figuring out where to stay and on the fence with this, get a cheap supermarket sim (tescos/ASDA) and that should keep you going cheaply for a while.

Broadband - Depends on the speed really (and what you'll be doing on it ) but Sky Broadband chucked in with their TV/Home phone is certainly something to look into.

TV - As above I'd go with Sky, Virgin do do a cable service but it all depends on area etc.

Home phone - If you don't get the package with sky/virgin, BT is a good bet.

Cars- Motors.co.uk, the local paper, Autotrader.co.uk. All good places to find something decent. Again as said before, look into getting something from a dealer, it's usually safer.

And leave the misses to go to IKEA, trust me

Sorry if this sounds patronising! thought i'd cover everything, not intended! Hope it helps

Everyone I know with O2 continuously complains about how crap the reception is! That could just be a London thing though, with the number of iPhone users in a concentrated area though.

The think I've found with BT is that they're obscenely expensive. Last time I had them I was paying £35 a month for Broadband and Phone and getting speeds of about 5Mbps. The equivalent with Sky is £18.50 (obviously you need to have the TV), and the equivalent with Virgin is £24.50 (for the cable service) or £22.50 for a non-cable area. That's just my experience of them though, not trying to prove you wrong or anything

My advice, if you want TV, is to just look at the equivalent Sky and Virgin packages and go for which ever is cheapest. Sky is now selling pretty much all its content to Virgin (including HD channels and the red button functionality on Sky Sports), so you can get everything in both of them really. Virgin has better On Demand content, and iPlayer/4OD/ITV Player through the TV, but Sky could charge a fair whack to Virgin for the HD channels, increasing HD prices. If you don't want the TV, then look a bit further than just BT. You'll get better customer service than with people like Talk Talk, but they charge a hell of a lot more. You can get Virgin without the TV, but not Sky.

I think I've already posted all this already in this thread. What an idiot.

[ozleicester]

thank you... hmm will have to look into the broadband/tv deals.. wasnt aware of them

Everyone I know with O2 continuously complains about how crap the reception is! That could just be a London thing though, with the number of iPhone users in a concentrated area though.

The think I've found with BT is that they're obscenely expensive. Last time I had them I was paying £35 a month for Broadband and Phone and getting speeds of about 5Mbps. The equivalent with Sky is £18.50 (obviously you need to have the TV), and the equivalent with Virgin is £24.50 (for the cable service) or £22.50 for a non-cable area. That's just my experience of them though, not trying to prove you wrong or anything

My advice, if you want TV, is to just look at the equivalent Sky and Virgin packages and go for which ever is cheapest. Sky is now selling pretty much all its content to Virgin (including HD channels and the red button functionality on Sky Sports), so you can get everything in both of them really. Virgin has better On Demand content, and iPlayer/4OD/ITV Player through the TV, but Sky could charge a fair whack to Virgin for the HD channels, increasing HD prices. If you don't want the TV, then look a bit further than just BT. You'll get better customer service than with people like Talk Talk, but they charge a hell of a lot more. You can get Virgin without the TV, but not Sky.

I think I've already posted all this already in this thread. What an idiot.

thank you... hmm will have to look into the broadband/tv deals.. wasnt aware of them

[Daggers]

Just left O2 because of the dreadful reception and woeful Internet. Orange is stomping what I had with O2.

Only the braindead would consider 3 as a mobile provider. Fvcking appalling service. Call centres in India where Gary, Colin and Katherine can barely conjugate a coherent sentence between them.

TalkTalk were meant to be doing my broadband at the new house. Here I am two months later and I still don't have it. A bigger bunch of sisterfvckng liars you could not wish to meet. Avoid them as you would an anal probe covered in Tabasco.

Virgin Broadband/TV/phone was excellent if you were in the old Telewest regions - those in the other areas tend to suffer a bit. I was in a Telewest region and miss my connectivity and TV.

I'd rather have herpes of the arsehole than have anything to do with TalkTalk or Three again.

[ozleicester]

Just left O2 because of the dreadful reception and woeful Internet. Orange is stomping what I had with O2.

Only the braindead would consider 3 as a mobile provider. Fvcking appalling service. Call centres in India where Gary, Colin and Katherine can barely conjugate a coherent sentence between them.

TalkTalk were meant to be doing my broadband at the new house. Here I am two months later and I still don't have it. A bigger bunch of sisterfvckng liars you could not wish to meet. Avoid them as you would an anal probe covered in Tabasco.

Virgin Broadband/TV/phone was excellent if you were in the old Telewest regions - those in the other areas tend to suffer a bit. I was in a Telewest region and miss my connectivity and TV.

I'd rather have herpes of the arsehole than have anything to do with TalkTalk or Three again.

... can you be a little more clear with your opinions

Thanks... decided ill have some PAYG to begin with and decide once ive been home a few months.

[ramboacdc]

basically i live in a rented house. Landlady has been paying for sky bradband/phone and TV for a year now but since her sons moved out the property shes stopped it and says i have to find some myself.

im currently browsing about but for the fooking life of me i cant seem to find a good one/cheapish one.

what im looking for is basically just a decent wireless broadband, kids channels for my daughter and sports and comedy shiz for me and thats it really. i never use the phone anyway so i couldnt give a monkeys what that does.

i cant find a good package with sky sports without it being stupid price per month.

anyone got any good deals/packages they are on or some kind of "refer a friend" thing to try it out and make everything cheaper for us all?

[Daggers]

Could you not find the identical thread on this page either?

[ramboacdc]

no. no i couldnt

[Bluefoxtim]

no. no i couldnt

Maybe look at BT Vision?

They're offering Sky Sports 1&2 for £11.99 a month I think, then you can kids packs etc on top.

[DB11]

no. no i couldnt

http://www.foxestalk.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=66228 << That may be of more help as it's already at 2 pages long

[ramboacdc]

Maybe look at BT Vision?

They're offering Sky Sports 1&2 for £11.99 a month I think, then you can kids packs etc on top.

dont seem too shabby. whats the broadband like with them?

[Alexikokopops]

dont seem too shabby. whats the broadband like with them?

Expensive from my memory

The think I've found with BT is that they're obscenely expensive. Last time I had them I was paying £35 a month for Broadband and Phone and getting speeds of about 5Mbps. The equivalent with Sky is £18.50 (obviously you need to have the TV), and the equivalent with Virgin is £24.50 (for the cable service) or £22.50 for a non-cable area. That's just my experience of them though, not trying to prove you wrong or anything

Also, they pride themselves in being reliable, but it was the worst broadband I think I've had. That might just be my unlucky experience though.

[potter3]

Expensive from my memory

Also, they pride themselves in being reliable, but it was the worst broadband I think I've had. That might just be my unlucky experience though.

yeah i like Virgin

[ts_1010]

t

he villages around NW Leics will all make a good home.

id agree with that if you're a commuter, (and you havent already chosen). However EM Airport is right at Castle Donny so that may be quite noisy...

TBH everyone on here will have different opinions of places to avoid, because each place creates different impressions on each person who goes there. However that said i would also rule out Corby. Maybe Long Eaton is a goer... good links to everywhere, including rail to Leics for the matches right between Notts/Derby. Has a good end and a bad one like everywhere (but the bad end may keep the house prices down.)

[Alexikokopops]

Virgin Media announced today that the Sky Sports and Movies HD channels will be available from Monday 2nd August for an extra £7 to those with Sky Sports and Movies, so if you want HD work out which is the cheapest and go for it.

[ramboacdc]

just purchased virgin broadband, tv and phone for £23 a month and 2 months free because my landlady was on sky. bargin and i asked about sky sports and it owuld of been £50 a month but she said "wait it out for a few weeks after and they will become cheaper so upgrade then.

[Alexikokopops]

Something worth reading about broadband.

If you're going for non-cable, always check what speed your broadband will actually be. If you're going for cable, there's a lot more chance of getting the speed advertised.

[ozleicester]

Many thanks to all who took the time to help out, have steared clear of those companies that really got some negative comments.

Settled in NW Leicestershire... very happy thus far.

Didnt kill the barclays bank people, even though they deserved it.... have now found another much more reliable and efficient bank

Bought a Rover for the time being

Have booked for orange phone/broadband and yes.. outside all of the companies super fast zones, so will settle for 5meg... (still double the best avail in OZ)...again did not kill BT people..even though i am sure any court would have seen why and let me off.

Just using the utilities supplied by the place we renting for the time being.

Got our tesco card.. just watching the pounds roll in now

No job yet...so football has t wait for the moment, though ive snuck in a couple of Friday night 6 aside games

Now finally getting head etc all together and can focus on important stuff like Football and fun.. oh and work i suppose

In all... thanks again to all that offered ideas and suggestions...hope to catch up with some of you in months to come.. maybe at the walkers or at the FT 6 aside?

Cmon Citehhhhhhhhh