So I was looking to jump on the VDSL2 free 100GB datapack promotion, and at the checkout page I realised that the ETF is now $199 for a 1 year contract and $499 for a 2 year contract, whereas before supposedly it was pay until end of first year + $150 for the second year. As I'm not too sure about my plans right now (but I definitely will be staying put for at least 12 months), the $499 flat ETF fee sure is disappointing for people looking to take up the VDSL2 promotion!
Yes they have... I moved from Snap ADSL to VDSL at the weekend and it was pay until 1st year and 150 for second. Hope they still honour that (not that i intend to move!)
Would be great if Ralph could comment on the dramatic increase in ETF's. Was looking at signing up to UFB this week as its just become available in our street, but those fees are intimidating. Not that I had planned to jump ship, but you never know where you are going be financially in 18 months time. $499 on the 2 year contract is making it a hard choice. Might hold off until Telecom et al. launch their Chch services and compare... it is a pity as I've always been a Snap fan.
kingjj: Would be great if Ralph could comment on the dramatic increase in ETF's. Was looking at signing up to UFB this week as its just become available in our street, but those fees are intimidating. Not that I had planned to jump ship, but you never know where you are going be financially in 18 months time. $499 on the 2 year contract is making it a hard choice. Might hold off until Telecom et al. launch their Chch services and compare... it is a pity as I've always been a Snap fan.
When I signed up at the beginning of last week, the terms read to me on the phone were for the 24 month plan I was taking were that (i) if I broke in the first year then the rest of the contract period and (ii) in the second year a fee of $150.00. I looked at the $150 as effectively being a one month notice period and was happy with that. As far as I'm concerned, unless I agree to a variation of my terms those conditions/terms quoted to me apply during my contract term and they can't simply now make it $499.
I personally think this is a terrible move for Snap as the UFB contract is confined to the house it is installed in and the contract can't be moved to another house - this adds real risk for people worried about financial outlook, thinking of moving/buying a new/first home or, like Kingjj and me, those who live in a quake-prone city and who could be forced to move because of an act of nature - not sure what the force majeure provisions of the contract are.
Basically, I think its a bad look and will only slow down the adoption of UFB. It's not like Snap and the other ISP's are paying the cost of the fibre install other than through their ARPU (average sale price from the local fibre company or Chorus) so why does Snap care that much about whether someone needs to cancel out of their contract at month 13 or so - Churn is an issue but it exists already so why the change now?
Sorry for any confusion - but to be clear our stance now is the contract is tied to the person and not the property, we will make sure this is clear on the website from next week.
So what this should mean is improved UFB uptake - now the the end user can commit to a 2 year term with Snap for UFB, then say they move after 8 months, as long as they take a new Snap service at their new property (of any type, it doesn't need to be UFB), then as far as we're concerned they haven't broken their contract and no ETCs for the first site would apply. So for people who are renting, or perhaps plan on selling their house etc, they can commit to UFB with certainty now whereas in the past they would have held back. Being based in Christchurch, we totally understand the issues with needing to move around more than normal, so we think tying the contract to the person as opposed to the property is the way to go.
Its also worth noting that the vast majority of customers who take a 2 year term with us and then cancel service, do so quite early on in the contact (often within the first 6 months), thereby incurring an ETC of say 18 months x $75/m or around $1350.
Additionally, to provide further flexibility to our customers we have introduced an open term option - across all service types, including UFB. Again, we have done this to try and improve UFB uptake.
We believe on balance that these changes provide better flexibility & choices for our customers, and feedback to date from our recent sign-ups would support that.
What about those customers who signed up like me on Sat last week? I was read the original terms and conditions and verbally agreed to them, I presume they're still valid?
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