HI

I have to say I am delighted with the customer service I have received from Madasafish, they are friendly, helpful and the most important thing to me is they follow up and take ownership- and that is the main reason I picked them, not for cost. When I was researching which provider to pick, I know that there was cheaper ones but they were let down by poor customer service, so it depends what feature is important to the customer, it is good to know there are many options out there and itn is important to decide what features matter to you.

 Stephanie.

Jason Lloyd:Hello Dai I understand from a quality perspective why you would avoid a broadband / phone bundle, but other people look at a bundle as a way of saving money. Although you're right in many cases people get lumped with a poor quality phone part of a bundle, (ie Orange's VOIP platform) there are others that do offer a fairly good bundled product such as Madasafish. Cheers Jason

But MAAF is an exception to a rule and you're hardly saving money if you're paying for a service you're not receiving are you?

There appears to be a flaw in the thinking behind advice given here and that flaw is that everyone is deemed to have cheap needs. Just throw a postcode at Sam, find the cheapest deal available and present it seems to be the "experts" methodology here. It's probably only because MAAF has representation here via Samara that they get any mention at all. None of the other "lesser" providers ever seem to get a mention and it's with these providers that many would find their home of choice if only they were directed towards them.

Hello Dai

I'm not quite sure what you meant with your initial comment but in an ideal situation we would like to display every single broadband provider in the Broadband Channel and we continue to aim to move towards this if we can.

We've asked all the "lesser" providers to come on board that you've described and got a variety of responses, some didn't want to be compared, others because they don't use affiliate sites and others didn't want to pay a commission for introducing traffic and business to them. this process is ongoing and we are in constant dialogue to get more providers on board.

I want to make this very clear, in order for us to deliver a free service to users and to pay for the ongoing development of the channel as well as the cost of acquiring traffic we pass on to providers, we have to ask that providers pay a commission for any business introduced from our site. We don't impose huge fees on providers, (plus we don't charge for traffic) if we did they wouldn't work with us. We work in partnership with providers to make sure that the commission we charge is fair and in return providers work more closely with us to deliver better services to their users.

As a result of our position in the market we are able to put pressure on providers to improve service and deliver better products with more transparent terms, we are also sometimes in a position to be able to get exclusive products or deals from providers that are market-leading which of course benefit our users.

Our thinking is determined largely by the user's needs, the majority of people who visit the site are usually people who have never had broadband before and are looking for a good value deal with good customer service. This is not a specialist site such as Thinkbroadband.com where users are much more advanced. We're not technical experts per se but we know a bit about the products on offer and try to give the users the information they need to make an informed choice.

I wouldn't call what we do flawed thinking, we offer a free and unique service that compliments others such as those on Thinkbroadband, ISP Review, Moneysavingexpert etc and that is to act as a service to enable users to be better informed about the market.

If you're not happy with the forum and the way it works then perhaps you would like to find another forum that might suit your needs better?

Kind Regards

Jason

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Jason Lloyd
moneysupermarket.com
0800 298 5770

" We're here to help you find the best deal and avoid the pitfalls through sharing knowledge and experiences."

Hi Dai

I get the impression that Lydia was starting from a completely non technical position - not knowing what a router was for instance.

In her instance cost was not the driving force behind her decision, but a compromise of lower cost and good support - she wanted to have broadband, but was concerned to have help during the transition and if needs be, afterwards.

MAAF have a good reputation for customer service and were cheaper than her current provider.

In real life I know your suggestion is a good one - but for many people what you have done is beyond their comfort zone.

Lydia has found a good solution for her needs.

This is the way my world works - I'm a mortgage adviser - there isn't one mortgage that would be good for everyone, different people will find different mortgages are more suitable. It's probably the same for most aspects of life.

In my world Lydia may prefer a 5 year fixed rate, but you may prefer an offset mortgage with separate savings accounts and no redemption penalties. It doesn't mean either of you have a bad deal, just different priorities.

In terms of Moneysupermarket focussing on cost - that this the 'raison d'etre' of Moneysupermarket. It's a price comparison site. You view it is a flaw, but it's only really a flaw if you are not looking for a price comparision site but are looking for an 'individual tailored advice and ongoing consumer help' site. As Jason says above, there are other sites that will do this, but MSM can't be all things to all men

MSM have (fairly) asked all providers to set up relationships, if some refuse, it puts the onus on MSM to be able to reliably represent them with no recompense and possibly support from the provider - this wouldn't be a recipe for the long term existance of MSM. However I think this would only be an issue if MSM decided to selectively ask providers to join in.

My feeling is that Lydia has done something right for her, but it wouldn't suit you. That doesn't mean it's wrong, bad or unsuitable.

You feel that MSM focusing on cost is a flaw, but as a company that promotes itself as 'The Price Comparison Site' it would be odd for them to do anything different. It just doesn't suit you.

I can see your point of view and in a full picture perspective I agree, but I think you asking too much of MSM, this would be the job of a specialist broadband site or magazine.

Adrian 

 

 

Hi Adrian,

 You sum up my circumstances perfectly !!, a complete novice and that is why customer service was important-  I also did'nt just use MSM for a comparsion, I  used others as well and read reviews on customer sevice for each provider on other comparsion sites.

 Dani I'm not sure if you are refering to me or not with regard to "hardly saving any money" but just to clarify my yearly bill will now be less than 1/2 of what it was with BT so I am delighted all round.

I think in a years time with more experience of Broadband I may find my criteria changes and I seek a new solution but then it does come down to what is the right soultion, for individual needs.

lydia:

You sum up my circumstances perfectly !!, a complete novice and that is why customer service was important-  I also did'nt just use MSM for a comparsion, I  used others as well and read reviews on customer sevice for each provider on other comparsion sites.

 

Hi Lydia,

I have found this a very interesting and useful thread. What other websites did you use to read reviews on customer service for each provider please ?

Thanks in advance.

Paul.

Madasfish is making me mad. I had been with globalnet for years. MAAF took over and iI have had problem with my router. Advice is very superficial over phone. It is variable (some enthusiasts ti help me; but one was unable to help and remarkably good at sharing his disinterest).

Problem with these offers is the technology moves on but the ISP only support ancient routers. When I eventually found my old one and al the software, he dsaid that the kit was so old, it was not to be trusted!!! AAAArrrgggg!!!

T