If I moved house as we rent, would we be charged another setup fee in a new place?
Thanks, Lisa.
07/08/2012
Hi Lisa,
What you're actually asking, though you may not realise it, is a question about contracts.
Basically, when you're making a choice between ADSL2+ providers (which I presume you are, considering that you sound as though you're worried about relocating a fixed line connection), the range of factors to take into consideration isn't the same thing as with mobile providers. When it comes to mobile, you'll want to look at how good a provider's mobile network is in your area, and therefore, how good the coverage is going to be. With ADSL2+, however, the strength, reliability, and speed of your connection mostly depends upon two big factors: your distance from the telephone exchange and the quality of your copper line.
That means that no matter who you go with when you sign up for ADSL2+, you'll generally have exactly the same sort of connection – it's a location issue. As a result, you have to choose your provider based on other things: the two big categories are customer service and price. And 'price' covers a range of sins.
Obviously you're going to want to look at your monthly price and whether that's something you can afford, but it's also important to consider the fees you're going to pay to set the connection up in the first place – both the connection fee and the cost of the modem. A standard price for both is around the $100 mark, although you'll find that providers differ based on their own monthly rates and the length of the contract you sign up for. Indeed, the contract here is the important part, both for your original question and for the set-up fee that you sign up for.
Connection fees are important, as is the cost of a modem, and it's not just a company trying to pull a fast one on you. Click here to read more about the kind of fees you can expect to pay when you sign up with a provider, and why they're important. However, just because they're important doesn't mean that they are not often incredibly annoying or hard to pay. A $50 per month for 100GB plan like the one TPG (1300 106 571) offers is great value, but TPG will also get you to pay a connection fee, the first month in advance, and the cost of your own modem, which means that you might be looking at something like $280 on a 6 month contract just to get started. It's undoubtedly fair – but it's not always affordable.
An alternative is signing up with another provider who, on a longer contract, will offer you free set-up and a free modem. Common providers who do this include Dodo (1300 136 793) and Optus (1300 137 897). This is a great way to save you the upfront costs – while by the end of the contract you'll generally find you've paid back the cost of the connection fee and the modem, if you want to avoid having to pay it in one big bill to start with, 24 month contracts are a good choice.
However, as you drew attention to in your question, relocation fees do exist.
Most if not all providers will charge you a fee to relocate your service, for the same sort of reasons they charge you a fee to connect your service in the first place. The price differs from provider to provider – let's look at a couple of common ones:
TPG: $129
Dodo: $99
Optus: $99
Telstra: $114
iiNet: $120
As you can see, they're all quite expensive – in some cases, more expensive than setting up a connection in the first place! And in addition to this, these fees are contingent on your provider being able to offer you the same plan in your new area. If the plan is not available in the place you move to, you will generally have to break your contract, and this can be very expensive.
If you are thinking about moving within the next year or so, it's a better idea to sign up for a short contract, like TPG's 6-month one or Club Telco's 0-month ones (1300 106 571). Though you may have to pay a larger amount at the beginning, you'll save yourself potentially hundreds of dollars further down the line. Don't fall back on "oh, I'm sure it will be available wherever I move to" – even in cities, there are still lots of suburbs where a provider does not or is unable to offer certain or even all of their plans.
To answer your question once more: yes, you will be charged to relocate your service – so don't pick a plan that's longer than your lease!
I hope this helps!
Mikaella.
