Former Shell Broadband customer, not getting speed due under contract

[ChrisinDevon]

I am a former Shell Broadband customer who was offered a new contract by TalkTalk in January, and I signed up to (and paid for) 150Mbps.  I have continued to get a maximum of 108Mbps every day since then, and there appears to be a "choke" on my speed.  Have any other former Shell customers got this problem?

[Gliwmaeden2]

Great news, @ChrisinDevon, and thanks for keeping us posted. Result!

[ferguson]

@ChrisinDevon 

Mysterious indeed, but well done for getting it sorted with what looks like a good outcome.  🙂

[ChrisinDevon]

HI,

Today I am a Happy Bunny!

I spoke with the Loyalty Team at TT 48 hours ago, and they checked out the notes on my file.

Before I could get in my request for a reduction in my monthly bill as I was unable to get more than 108Mbps out of my 150Mbps contract, they offered to replace the current contract with a new 18 month contract at 500Mbps from the next day, for £1 less than i was paying currently, and a free month in August thrown in to compensate for all the hassle.

I was staggered, having been told recently that my line was at its maximum capacity, and there was nothing that could be done about it, and I told them I just could not believe, but go ahead!

This morning I tried yet another speed test, and found that the upload had increased from 21 to 71, and two hours later I was hurtling along at 520 download.

I remain absolutely mystified as to what has been going on, but all's well that ends well.  It has taken 5 or 6 hours of my time to get here, though.....

[KeithFrench]

I don't think I can add anything to what @Gliwmaeden2 has said.

[Gliwmaeden2]

That was worth digging out, @ChrisinDevon.

Keep us posted how you get on with the negotiating. Hope they come to a sensible compromise. 

[ChrisinDevon]

Hi,

Firstly, thanks for telling me about the thread you highlighted, which I was not aware of.  It all sounds to be identical to my problem, except that I have the Eero router for them to check the speed!

Secondly, I had exactly the same idea concerning communications, documentation, etc., so I rummaged about last night. As well as my surely worthless contract dated 8th January 2025 which refers only to "Unknown Mbps" speeds as regards estimated download speed/minimum guaranteed download speed/maximum speed/upload speed, I received an email the same day, which was as per the attached screenprint.  Since this clearly mentions a Guaranteed Minimum Speed of 120Mbps, I believe I have got TT in a corner.

I am therefore intending to go to the Loyalty Team and ask for my monthly payments for the remaining 18 months to be reduced by a reasonable amount in view of their apparent inability to provide the guaranteed minimum speed; having got the thing set up and working, I cannot really cope with another change of provider at this moment.

Thanks for your contribution!

Email 8 January 2025

[ChrisinDevon]

Hi Keith,

Your question is difficult to answer, to be honest.  I felt like I was being treated as a fully fledged TT customer, but the ex-Shell history of my account inevitably came into it.  The fact that I had had a new contract from TT in January - which wasn't living up to its label - seemed to be the over-riding factor.   I hope this makes sense!

[Gliwmaeden2]

@KeithFrench and @ChrisinDevon, it sounds very similar to the problem encountered in similar cases after migrating from Shell. 

I don't think the line profile issue was resolved here:

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Full-Fibre/shell-energy-transfer/td-p/3057667

But that customer also mentioned a minimum guaranteed speed of just 75Mbps on their Fibre150.

I haven't spotted any mention of the minimum guaranteed speed in this thread - just might be relevant? It's worth checking your contract documents, @ChrisinDevon.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @ChrisinDevon 

I am on very shakey ground here as I am just a customer myself. With FF the distance from the exchange is totally irrelevant, normally you should get the full 150Mbps at the ONT. My only experience when fed from a pole is a friend nearby, he gets the full 150, but we are all CityFibre here.

One quick question - the usual one. When you called them yesterday, were they dealing with you as a fully fleged TT customer or an ex-Shell one?

[ChrisinDevon]

Hi again, Keith.  I have spent over two hours on the TT Full Fibre chatline this afternoon, and I am not happy.

They eventually got me to plug the Ethernet cable to my pc directly into the ONT box, and on the TT speedtest it showed 109Mbps.   Having told them that I was getting this under the former Shell contract (nominally 100Mbps), they told me that they do not have access to Shell's information on line capacities, (10 months after the takeover!) and then went on to tell me that my line capacity is only 109Mbps (having already eliminated and possible WiFi problems, etc.) which is limiting the speed .  

 I then told them that my neighbour opposite who gets his broadband from the same post in the street (which is about 600 yards from our exchange) and he gets 500 Mbps from BT.

So he tells me that it is my personal line that is limited to 110Mbps, and I asked why I had been sold a 150Mbps contract if the line will only take 110Mbps? 

To quote his answer:  "I completely understand your concern, and you're absolutely right to expect the service you are paying for.  Its not acceptable to consistently receive lower speedsthan what's promised in your contract.

As you know, the line provision also plays a factorin the maximum speed you can achieve on Full Fibre.  I apologise that this is the only speed you can get at the moment".

Reading between the lines, is he apologising for TT selling me a package for 150Mbps when they know the line is only set to take 110? Were they are unwilling to pay Openreach more to take the 150?

Do you have an opinion, please?    I am a 77 year old trying to make sense of all this, and while we have no problems at 108Mbps as far as using it is concerned, I do not like the principle of paying another 18 months' worth of 150 package when it doesn't do what it says on the tin!

Apologies for a rant, but that's how I feel at this moment.

Thanks for your help and advice.

[siphosethu-TT]

Hi there @ChrisinDevon, I need you to contact our full fibre team so there able to run diagnostics on your line as soon as possible. I've provided contact details including the chat link. Thanks

03451720074

Opening Hours:

VOICE - Mon-Fri: 9am-7pm; Sat: 9am-6pm; Sun: closed

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/FutureFibre/bd-p/FutureFibre

[KeithFrench]

Let me know how it goes. I know that there is work underway to bring ex-Shell customers under the TT umbrella, but I have no idea of timescales.

[ChrisinDevon]

Many thanks, Keith, for your thoughts.   I have not tried the 30 minute switch-off, but will have a go tomorrow.

If unsuccesful I wil have a go with TT themselves.   It seems that the moment I mention ex-Shell Broadband, everybody holds their nose as if I smell, so I shall be interested to see what the response is!   Regards, Chris

[KeithFrench]

The fibre is the problem, then.

Apologies if you have already tried this, but does turning the ONT off for 30 mins help? If not, I am not sure if you need to speak to the Shell migration team or if you are a fully fledged TT customer now, then call the Full Fibre Helpdesk on 0345 172 0074. Opening hours are Monday -Friday 08:00 to 19:00, Saturday 09:00 to 18:00, Sunday: Closed.

[ChrisinDevon]

Download 108, Upload 21 (both the same as day 1)

[KeithFrench]

OK, thank you. If you go into the eero app & tap on Internet from the Home tab, it will tell you the speed coming in from the fibre, what speeds is it recording?

[ChrisinDevon]

Hi Keith,

Its an Eero 6

[KeithFrench]

Hi @ChrisinDevon 

@nomfezeko-TT has asked me to help you. What make/model of router were you supplied with?

[nomfezeko-TT]

Thank you for reaching out to us regarding your internet speed concerns. We understand how important a reliable connection is, we acknowledge that you have consistently experienced speeds around 108 Mbps, which is below the 150 Mbps you signed up for. While occasional drops in service can happen, we want to ensure that you receive the speeds you are entitled to. @KeithFrench, could you please step in for support if you can?

-Fez. 

[ChrisinDevon]

Hi, yes, it is simply that we have never, ever got within 3/4 of the speed (150Mbps) we signed up to over six months ago; there seems to be an absolute ceiling of 108Mbps on our line which we reach every single day.   There have been no material problems with dropping out etc. just the odd time for a minute or so, but nothing major. Thank you.