scottabraham13

Moving into our new house this week in St. John's, NL and just wondering if anyone had an opinion on which is the better provider for cable/internet/phone.

Also, did you manage to get a good deal by calling them up or popping into one of their stores?

BristolUK

Outside of Rogers advertising I've never heard a good word for them.

I have BellAliant package taking their three year promotion price - it's not the same as being tied in for 3 years (which seems to be the Rogers complaint).

For a deal including landline (and no cell phones) I doubt it can be beaten.

But you need to examine whether you need the TV service. You do if you want to watch the footie.

Partially discharged

For many it is the difference between being executed or the end being via a firing squad.

Whatever you do don't take the first offer play one off against the other etc. Both companies are snakes as far as I'm concerned.

If it is a new house (as in new build) most builders have deals with one of the big two or three providers for pricing from the outset. Not sure if that exists in NL, but it does here in Ontario.

Atlantic Xpat

Welcome to The Rock. As others have said they is little to choose from each in terms of the dreadfulness of the customer experience. However Bell offer Fibe Fibre to the home which provides higher speed internet & uncapped bandwidth compared to Rogers. Rogers do offer a $99 all in deal which is quite attractive though. As a new customer negotiate hard with either!

WeeGem

My original 3 year deal with Rogers was up in April and had to make the same choice. In end I stayed with Rogers on another 3 year deal which was slightly better (unlimited internet usage vs capped) than the last for approximately the same price.

As already said, customer service from both is terrible. I preferred Rogers choice of channels. Although most of the extended family have went with Bell.

I would definitely phone both and play them off against each other.

WeeGem

BristolUK

Just did a quick comparison for 3 service bundles.

Bell Aliant including more TV than you want - $109.95, after 3 years $167.95
Bell Aliant with even more TV than you could possibly want - $129.95/$187.95

Rogers with more TV than you want - $109.99, after 3 years $188.28
Rogers with even more TV - $119.99/$213.28

There is some variation in internet speeds between the two - how much that's noticeable I'm not sure.

"Skinny" TV packages are generally available but don't include the ability to add channels you do want and they cheat a bit by adding in the cost of a receiver which is included in the earlier prices.

Partially discharged

FYI..nobody I know pays the after 3 year prices....after the 3 years are up threaten to switch and magically pricing plans that the customer service agent couldn't see before appear and in order to keep you as a customer often you can get a rate lower than the initial rates. Customer acquisition costs can be killers for these companies.

BristolUK

Yes, I hear that a lot. I tried it with Shaw before we switched to BellAliant. I didn't get any kind of offer from them.

I'm not assertive enough.

sharkus

When it comes to internet, check to see if it's FTTH/P (Fibre To The Home / Premises). It might be different for other provinces, but certainly in ontario, only Bell can provide FTTH at the present time. This is why I'm forced to switch from TekSavvy (A third party service provided) for my internet to Bell, as my new apartment is FTTH, which means Bell.

The CRTC has told incumbents that they should allow third parties access to FTTH, but there is still apparently some work to be done on setting up the wholesale pricing, and not too surprisingly Bell and such like are dragging their heels over things. They know people will switch to - hopefully - better priced alternatives if there are present.

MillieF

I got stuck with Rogers for my first three years here, my own fault, as I listened to what everybody told me...that it was six of one and half a dozen of the other. I closed my account and still owe them $76 which I will die before I pay! Their billing is bizzare to say the least, and their customer service got up and left.

I am now with Bell and am infinitely happier. They have been helpful and efficient and have addressed every problem that we've had, quickly and efficiently. I now have just as 'many' unwatched channels as I did with Rogers, but get Movie Channels, with some good up to date offerings for the same price as I was paying for the Rogers package.

My neighbour across the road tells the same story with the words Bell and Rogers exchanged Very best of luck!

BristolUK

Which kind of confirms the six of one idea.

I've had nothing but positive experiences with BellAliant. When we had just phone and internet they upgraded to FibreOp at no extra charge.

When we added the TV service - qualifying for the three year promotion deal (such things tend to be for new customers only rather than those just adding in) - only then did I notice they had upped the internet speed that at the time we switched to fibreop was actually a higher charge, but our bill remained as if it was the ordinary speed.

Partially discharged

FYI.

RIP Sportsnet World NOW - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

Not sure what it all means. I never had that tier but I do have Sportsnet Now on the computer.

BristolUK

I shelved SNW from the TV when I stopped with Shaw and added the TV to BellAliant. It was sacrificed for the big savings. I was okay, mostly, witn the most attractive games usually on the other TSN/Sportsnet channels.

There was a bit of a change though, more and more they'd have a game I wanted. But I survived until the last month of the season just gone when they seemed to have the bulk of the weekday games.

So I signed up for the month and cancelled after the cup final.

scrubbedexpat091

I have never had rogers home service as it's not offered here, but I had a cell with them a few years back, the contract ended and I cancelled as their rates were higher then I was willing to pay.

Took them 3 months to actually cancel and then they expected me to pay for those 3 months..I never did pay, they sent it to collections, I disputed the mark on my credit file, and the credit reporting people removed it.

I have since learned always get cancellations/changes in writing, don't believe the call center people.

Partially discharged

Totally agree. Their standard way of doing things is to get a customer to agree to changes verbally over the phone that could be $300/month for a year...(cable, internet, home phone, cell phone(s)) for a family. I refuse and demand it in an email before I commit. I asked one customer service agent if they would agree to a car lease verbally based on a phone conversation. Dead silence. I then reminded them that the costs were about the same.