[MB London]

Email address help

I have just moved house, and am starting to lose the will to live with BT and Sky. I am a big fan of Sky but their customer service has been absolutely diabolical and I have been left with no service for a couple of weeks, have lost 3 days of work due to installation men not turning up – the list goes on, and BT are just comically bad on all fronts. I am therefore considering switching to Virgin for the whole lot (Broadband Tv and phone) it wont be much cheaper but I will get fibre optic BB and have been advised that they are due to roll out sky sports HD.

My one concern is that my email address has been ………..@btinternet.com, would I still be able to keep this if I change providers? Does anyone have the full virgin package – what’s your views

Thanks MB

[AlanQS]

I have the full package and you won't be able to keep your e-mail address unless you use something like Outlook in which case you can create an extra user profile with the BT e-mail address and all the connection details you currently have. - that is assuming of course, that BT don't delete your e-mail space since you are no longer a customer.

Short answer - probably not.

[mistry]

before switching, ask some neighbour with Virgin what the service is like.

I've been with Virgin for years, and originally there broadband was second to none, really quick. but for the last 6 months or so it has been terrible, the service is over subscribed in my area, and i'm constantly being told work is underway, although it has got better it's still not perfect.

Also the TV is great for there on-demand stuff, Sky have nothing to compare. but the V+ boxes are laggy compared to the sky hd boxes.

With regards to your question about email (sorry I went off on one) I'd check with BT if your email address stays put, you should be able to use it from a web client or Outlook as Alan suggests. Alternativly get yourself a gmail account. check it from anywhere including most smartphones.

[MEGA]

Originally Posted by mistry

before switching, ask some neighbour with Virgin what the service is like.

I've been with Virgin for years, and originally there broadband was second to none, really quick. but for the last 6 months or so it has been terrible, the service is over subscribed in my area, and i'm constantly being told work is underway, although it has got better it's still not perfect.

Also the TV is great for there on-demand stuff, Sky have nothing to compare. but the V+ boxes are laggy compared to the sky hd boxes.

With regards to your question about email (sorry I went off on one) I'd check with BT if your email address stays put, you should be able to use it from a web client or Outlook as Alan suggests. Alternativly get yourself a gmail account. check it from anywhere including most smartphones.

Correct on all fronts. Although with the email - I strongly assume BT will delete your mailbox when you cancel their service I'm afraid.

The virgin TV package wins hands down over Sky especially with the on demand. And the BB SHOULD be much faster than what you have now to be fair.

[simples]

my mate had a similar experience from sky, re they kept saying they had sent updated viewing cards even though he told them that he has not received them. so it was one call after another with no progress.he got so pissed off he cancelled his service and has now gone with virgin the whole lot broadband hd, phone ( u get to keep yr bt number).
in regards to your bt email i'd double check with them first but u probably would lose it. i'd advise u setup a web a/c (hotmail/gmail) keep your bt alive for say about a month and u should be able to put in a footer to say what your new email will be. then any email u reply too will have your new info there, also send a group email to all your contacts advising them of change of email address.

[Matt2008]

I've just moved into a new place - the 1st one i've had with cable and have the XL Virgin package and an was ex-Sky HD subscriber (TV only).
I have 4 boxes with Virgin and did have 4 with Sky and heres the pros and cons of each in my opinion:

SKY
Pros

HD channels are far superior and have many more
I found the remote better although i've been used to it for years
The boxes look better
They seem to be the pioneers of new technology
Record/pause/rewind on both Sky+ and HD boxes

Cons

HD costs a tenner extra per month - per box
The boxes have to be plugged into a phone socket for multiroom
The boxes frequently went wrong and they wanted a £60 call out charge if out of warranty
Its owned by Murdoch


Virgin
Pros

On demand is in another league compared to Sky
HD is free
Boxes don't need a connection to phone line
Extra multi-rooms are half the price of Sky
50 meg fibre optic broadband
Phone line included doing away with BTs monthly line rental fee

Cons

Limited HD (IE: no Sky movies/sports)
Boxes look a bit dated
Remote not as good and main menu botton is hard to find when tired, dark, hungover and in bed
On demand service can be flakey and oversubscribed at times
No record/pause/rewind option on standard boxes (although possible with on demand content)

The bottom line for me so far is that Virgin is the better product although it works out a little more expensive.
Skys big seller is there HD content and Virgins is there 50meg broadband so consider which you would use most. As a homeworker the 50meg download speed and 1meg+ upload was the deal maker for me.

@the OP, i've heard BT will let you keep an old email account to use with a different ISP at a cost of £3 per month - but cannot confirm that...

Because my install was quite large (in there words) i had a couple of issues with Virgin and they sent an engineer round the next day after my call at no cost both times.

I asked both engineers (plus the the original installers) about whether Sky movies/sports HD would be coming to Virgin. 2 said yes but didn't know when and the other said he would be surprised if they ever did as its Skys baby.

[Matt2008]

Oh and when comparing the monthly costs for Sky and Virgin in my previous post, Virgin did come in higher but i didn't take into account the BT line rental which i no longer need so overall its about even.

[Mud]

So with Virgin you cant watch Premiership or Champs League footy? But has all the Sky channels except the Movies?

[Matt2008]

Originally Posted by Mud

So with Virgin you cant watch Premiership or Champs League footy? But has all the Sky channels except the Movies?

Yes virgin has sky sports and sky movies - just not these channels in HD

[MB London]

I am really torn between the two. I want to stay with Sky as i am big HD fan, but hate their customer service etc and woul like the virgin fibre optic BB. Question - Can I have a virgin phone line go into the sky box?