Belong Broadband, horrible, do not sign up, you'll regret it.
Unreliable connection, uncompetitive prices, no way to contact support, no way to call them at all.
I'm just going to get double charged for this month and move on, report them to the omburdsman, I think I'm going to say goodbye to $70 and good riddance.
I don't know who I'll move over to, someone with a support call service.
Ok. Thanks. Do you reckon my NBN line is faulty? I live at the coast. Old part of the small town.
Do you have twitter.?
Contact nbn co on there.
When belong couldn't get an update on the nbn fault they lodged, I went straight to the source and got it solved.
1 month waiting for belong, solved in 5mins after a tweet
When I was speaking to the belong staff, they said couldn't go past the lodging system they had. I just assumed you could cause I'd often get annoyed at telstra not getting on to faults when at tpg and would go around the system
I called NBN and when selecting residential complaint then you get a message that I need to go through my provider and then hangs up on you.
Happy with mine, but also this was 5 years ago.
Internode for support and quality of service
You've got to be kidding me.
Unreliable connection, uncompetitive prices, no way to contact support, no way to call them at all.
Surely you would have checked if their prices were competitive before signing up?
I did, then they raised them.
Had a terrible time with them several years back. Had to threaten ombudsman just to cancel the contract after they blatantly flat out lied to me on multiple occasions. Beware
We are with Superloop both at home and work - couldn't be happier. It took at most 5 minutes for the switch to happen. Signed up online.
Yeah i gotta agree superloop customer service is like top notch
don't sign up for their mobile either. Worst admin I've seen. You have no way to cancel your service and have them stop billing. They will take your payment automatically. No way to stop it and leave the service without credit. The only way to stop is to port out.
Removed - duplicate
I had just signup for belong like last month and i am very happy with them. They give me more than 30 Mb (33-40)Mb down on my nbn 30 plan and their price was cheapest honesty speaking if you factor in the $80 sim credit,free modem (on 12 month contract, no home moving fee) and plus $20 referal bonus.
You were the one who signed up to shitty $70 plan, i am happy with my $55 plan, its been very good for me
I do have to admit through that their customer service is terrible, no live chat or phone call
It's actually a NBN50 plan artificially capped at 32-35mbps down by Telstra.
30/20 plan doesn't exist and if it was a NBN25 plan you wouldn't get more than 5mbps upload.
If you do a speed test on OOKLA you'll notice it spikes up to high 40's or even 50, and then gets pulled down to ~32. :)
Ye as correct, spikes upto 40 ish down (constant around 33 ish, 17-,18 Up all time).
This is when they advertise
Starter as nbn30
The 30 is only min speed during 7pm-11pm… it should be able to sustain 50 at other times right?
Nah if you get capped you get capped 24/7. Users have reported that sometimes their cap just disappears after a few months and then either comes back or doesn't.
I think you have to go into expecting to be capped and then if you're not capped it's a bit win.
Still the best value to speed plan there is, even capped.
Can that $80 credit be applied to an existing number? Are you also able to refer to a mobile user? Free $100 would last me through the year :D
I dont think you can because only1 phone number per belong account is allowed so you kinda need to port other company(not telstra network) and bring that number back via porting it to belong.
I can give you my referal code.
If you sign up using referal code on 12 month nbn plan you actually get a really good deal
20$ of your first nbn, $20 of mobile service, $80 credit, free modem, double data for sim if you activate service on dates except some dates of a month, and free 1st month of nbn until 1st of the month after having nbn connected.
So yeah that's easily like 180 bucks value at least for FREE
Try this guy for nbn tech support
https://mobile.twitter.com/turnbullmalcolm?lang=en
I'm sure he could answer any questions and deal with any complaints
It's more his fault than it is belong
I’m with Mint Telecom and they’ve been great for the five or so years I’ve been with them. They have a phone number and I spoke with them a couple of times when the internet was being connected; one time they called me to see if I was satisfied with their service; but I haven’t needed to contact them since as I’ve never once had an issue. And they’re also owned and operated by Australians.
I've been with Belong for over 12 months now. Never had an issue. Getting 55mps on a FTTN 50/20 connection (I'm quite close to the node ). However, I have had no reason to contact them for support so can't comment on that aspect.
How is SpinTel? I am thinking of getting a NBN plan with them.
ABB are great, never had an issue after 3 years with them. Having said that I just moved to launtel but not because of support or technical reasons, launtel just had better and more flexible pricing for me, launtel after 2 months so far also seem to be great, they were proactive in ensuring I was successfully connected and provided followups to check all was good with me.
I used to be with Aussie Broadband and they were great but more on the expensive side, so then I decided to go with Belong for like $55 a month ($5 credit every month off that I don't remember what from)… for the "Unlimited nbn Starter" plan.
It's been awesome with consistent speeds and ping throughout the day with it slightly slowing down during peak hours. Right now at 10:30am it's at around 31 download and 19 upload. I notice that sometimes it gets up to 45 download.
Cheap internet = without proper support but if there is a problem you will have a big headache.
Pay a bit more with good support you know if there is a problem it will get sorted accordingly.
To be fair, when one person has a bad experience they want to tell everyone. And to be completely honest it's so easy to have a super shitty experience and get so frustrated by it.
Earlier this year I had a super shitty experience with Amazon AU, couldn't get a refund for a scam on their site. I absolutely despised Amazon for that, thought they were a super shitty service and made everything harder than it needed to be.
But now after giving them a second chance they're my favourite to shop with and I love prime benefits. Returns are the easiest for online shopping, free shipping is great, +movies..I could go on.
As for Belong Broadband, I am with them on their starter plan for $55 a month and get 55/20 speeds. I was initially on CGNAT but after a few words they upgraded me to a static IP for free. They took Hella long to connect me, customer support would be easier if you could call. But if you know what you're getting yourself into and expect to get capped at 32/20 in their lowest NBN plan (still great value for $55-60 a month) and expect slow customer support. They're actually a fantastic option for broadband if you don't have much extra $$ to dosh out on faster plans with other ISPs.
I think it's really all about your expectations. Sure it would be nice if every ISP was equal in their quality of service…but plenty of reviews and opinions online. Be okay with what you're getting yourself into and the savings will be yours.
FYI - Customer support is email based but technical support is over phone call. You have to email customer support and outline your issues to request technical support and they'll call you.
Green text story time:
It's the nbn it works fine until it doesn't. Then bam blame everyone else except the government who slashed it to bits in the first place. I'm with Mate. Very happy. Almost personal one on one service.
Can confirm the support is terrible. Applied with them to get connected. No connection for next 3 days (upto 3 business days connection time as per them). They asked me to disconnect my present service lol, which I did. Two weeks on there was still no internet.
Cancelled and connected with Superloop in an hour.
Kogan customer service is non-existing. They never responded to my enquiry I sent on mid-July. I used to have a connection with Belong for years. Their speed was as expected. Belong's support was not the best but at least they responded. I am considering moving from Kogan to another provider.
Yeah that's weird, I tested Kogan by calling them before I signed up, they answered pretty quickly too.
When I did sign up, my connection with Belong was still offline, but it took maybe a few hours and the internet 'came back'.
But it didn't come back, instead my order from Kogan had switched the service on their end and took over, I changed speed from 50 to 100 so the speed test confirmed it, was amazed!
So I can't vouch for Kogan's customer service, other than it is possibly to reach someone, Belong yes I will admit for the record, they did answer my FB message after a day or so, but by that time I was already up and running with Kogan.
Just signed up to the $65 plan with no problems, the only hard part was cancelling Telstra.
MATE is best never had problem only goes 3 time in 2 years
Thank you OP. Was thinking to switch to Belong as they are cheaper comparing to my current plan and they offer $80 credit for mobile. Too bad the $80 credit cannot be added on my existing Belong mobile prepaid.
Moved to a place when covid hit qnr had massive problems activating our belong service. Also could not get through to them via email or phone. About 2 months later i lodged a tio complaint and they called me within 2 days and was in touch via email since. Zero problems after that.
I was with belong for over 2 years at our old place. Zero problems with them.
Happy days now that im connected. Very consistent speeds throughout the day. On fttc though. I dont think your issue is belont related. Problem some thing with nbn infrastructure regardless you will need to go through belong.
Raise a tio case tomorrow and give them a chance to fix it.
are you drunk?
Yeah have been trying drain out a slight tingle in my throat LulZ
TPG is decent in my experience.
This experience is not always mirrored by others.
Can you get a roof rack to fit their broadband plan?
Belong works perfectly. Check your equipment / household / area
Sorry you've had issues with Belong. I've been with them for about six years now and had one issue in that time - called up their support line and it was fixed promptly. Very happy with their service for the price.
Yeah I have no reception where I live. and I can't even log in to the app or website to cancel my service
Recommend TPG
im with belong. they are the cheapest for economical price right? We pay aorund $55 a month at moment. THere was issues initially. But after they fixed, its been fine. I guess they are not any better or worse than anyone. However, would love to know alternatives.
I'm on Belong for 2-3 yrs now and its been fine. Call up their support as well and it was ok, not the brightest. Download is fine. Crap router.
I've been with Belong NBN since April this year. I am on FTTN NBN and never had an issue with the speed but was getting the very annoying occasional dropout so I experimented with different modems. I have been trying out other modems recommended by other people in forums and issued by 'reliable' ISPs. My current experience for the last few weeks is and hopefully it remains - no more dropouts.
Thanks for the PSA. I was considering signing up with belong…
My adsl copper connection was due for dismantling this month so I had to make the switch to NBN (HFC).
I ended up staying with my existing provider (Exetel) $69 per month for 25mbps.
Tangerine next month for me, wish me luck.
I am paying $55 per month for 50/20 (30 plan not speed limited), so wouldn't call them uncompetitive price rise.
You are lucky. Enjoyed this too for several months, but capping began early 2020. Once speed limited to 30 it's quite noticeable and was enough reason for me to change.
Just signed up for Belong $55 plan. Porting from ABB, they were good but pricey.
Question for others who ported to Belong: when will they switch you over, only after the modem is delivered or sooner?
Also: I assume I can continue to use my own modem that's been working fine so far. Anyone managed to sell the Belong modem? How much would that fetch?
Ha I just did exactly the same about half an hour ago (couldn't justify the $20 price rise for ABB). I've read that people have been churned before the modem is delivered. Apparently a few days? I was hoping it happens today like a mobile service porting. But yes you can use your own modem (settings should be the same from ABB), just need to power cycle it when your ABB loses connection.
Thanks. I'm sure you picked today to churn for the same reason: to get the rest of the month free :-)
Exactly! So I'm hoping it happens ASAP so my pro-rata'd last bill from ABB is as low as possible
@CVonC: Just an update: they switched me over this morning. Didn't even have to reboot the router, so didn't notice until I got an SMS an hour after…
Great Speedtest results: 51.5/13.1
Happy Belong customer!
@team teri: Yeah same here! I didn't reboot my router but it had only synced @ 17/6. So I powered cycled it and it synced @ 54/22, speed test @ 49/18!
Did you refer someone?
@CVonC: I've used a random referral code from ozBargain to get the $20 off and added my own code now hoping I get lucky some day.
@CVonC: Ok, had a closer look now. Sync speed of the line is 105/44. DSLAM limits it to 60/22. Speed test now in peak: 32/15. Not as good as off-peak, but still keeps the promise and that's all I need.
@team teri: 43/12 here @ almost 9pm Sydney
Do we get $20 in our account too for using a referral? If so, it hasn't appeared yet for me.
@CVonC: For me it was clear noted as soon as I applied the referral promo code. It confirmed $20 would come off the first bill and it reduced the minimum cost of the 12 month contract from $660 to $640.
Not bad actually getting almost 13 months for $640 and a free Modem (useless?) and $80 SIM.
I have never been with Belong but from what I can gather they provide a reasonable service. If the OP is having issues it might be a matter for support. Support can be problematic with a number of ISPs. If one is looking around, the market is evolving with more choice of plan type.
Personally I think Aussie would have the best support going at the moment. A really popular and very high quality ISP. Very innovative portal with lots of tools, an app and data such as CVC charts. They are sort of a Unlimited plan company though they do also have data plans.
Superloop would be similar in terms of network performance but currently better price wise then Aussie Broadband. I have been with SL in the past and could not fault their network. I regard them also an Unlimited data ISP thought they do have data plans like Aussie.
Nothing wrong with unlimited if have a big family and or use a lot of data.. Also the idea of just not having to monitor or ever worry about it. The only thing I see is, in a way low data folk are paying for the high data users. Data plan ISP are more user pays… if that makes sense ;)
Launtel, offer a different type of plan. Price per day and the ability to change plans virtually at will and for no fee. Unlimited ISP. Those willing the play the game might move up to a high speed plan for day to download the Linus ISO or latest game patch and then move down to a cheaper plan the rest of the time.
Future broadband are interesting as they have data banking… and a number of data plans.. No unlimited.. It is an interesting concept.. I use about 600 or 700 of gig a month so I'm one the 1000 plan. When I bank 5000g (the max) will will move down to a cheaper low gig plan and just burn through my data bank for a few months saving me money. They allow existing customers to pay in advance for a discounted rate. They have a voucher system which allows customers to save a few dollars as well. The negs are they do charge a sign up fee and limited support but it is Perth based.. They use a business network for all their home plans so customers all seem to report zero issues, great reliability and performance. I'm a customer and can vouch for that claim.
I also like Leaptel who have competitive pricing and a pretty solid reputation. They also seem to be a go to ISP for non NBN networks that some housing estates might have.
Mate I also keep and eye on but I think they are making some network changes and the jury is still out on how it performs… Really good prices though especially if you want a basic phone plan as well.
I'm personally not fussed by the Vocus group or the TPG group.. Telstra I think have an excellent network but expensive and problematic support. Optus, no thanks… I've heard to many tales of woe..
There literally dozens of others, even Officeworks has a ISP but they tend to be budget with hit and miss performance and support. Still worth looking at if you are on a tight budget and don't mind taking a bit of a gamble.. My advice to people. just avoid a contract. Then if it is lousy its easy just to churn to a new provider.
I've had terrible support from their mobile department too. Wish I saw this earlier, I would not have bothered wasting my time with these clown. Even other budget services like Kogan and Catch Connect have better service.
Sorry sir.
Goes and finds some bleach to drink