Looking For Opinions About Telus TV Service From Vancouver Residents

[BostonBob]

My 2-year bundle deal with SHAW ends on March 31st. Right now I've got the Total TV package, Internet 50 plus home phone and my monthly bill is just under $123 with taxes. Somebody from SHAW called me around the end of January about signing up for another 2 year deal. The best they could offer me at that time was the exact same package for $10 more a month. So my bill would now be around $133 including taxes which sounded OK but I was told that there might be a better deal available around the end of March. I said I would wait and was told that I would be called back around the 20th of March.

Then out of the blue somebody from Telus called me Thursday night ( I don't know how they got my number but they knew my deal with SHAW was ending soon ) and their offer was extremely tempting:

- Essentials TV plus 1 Premium TV service ( Crave, Netflix, etc ) and 4 theme packs
- complimentary 4K TVR )
- PureFibre Internet 1 GB
- Home Phone ( includes 1 Calling Feature )
- $450 billing credit ( so basically I'm getting almost 3 months free )
- no installation fees
- 2 year contract for $140 plus taxes a month

I told them that I wanted to look over their theme pack options before I made any decision. Then today another Telus CSR called me up to see if I had made my decision. Since I really don't need such powerful Internet I asked what the bill would be if I downgraded the Internet but upgraded the TV package. The CSR said that she would discuss this with her supervisor and send me an e-mail which I just received - the new offer looks like this:

- Essentials TV ( includes 1 Premium TV service plus 7 theme packs )
- complimentary HD PVR
- PureFibre Internet 75
- Home Phone ( includes 1 Calling Feature )
- $450 billing credit
- no installation fees
- 2 year contract for $141 plus taxes a month

I'm not going to lie - this offer is very tempting. The difference is only about $6 a month ( when you figure in the $450 credit ) and I would be getting slightly faster Internet plus adding Crave TV or Netflix to my TV package. What I need to do now is look over the Telus theme pack list and figure out which 7 theme packs I would get - then I need to make a list of what channels I would lose and what channels I would gain by switching.

In the meantime I was hoping to get some opinions on Telus from current or former customers in the Vancouver area. Any comments about service performance, billing issues, tech support, customer support, etc. will be greatly appreciated.

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[Apex Predator]

I would like to know this as well. I got a deal just like this a month ago that I’m setting up next week for installation. Mine is only 4 themes but I’m paying 148 a month. I’m also from the Vancouver area.

 

[BostonBob]

I would like to know this as well. I got a deal just like this a month ago that I’m setting up next week for installation. Mine is only 4 themes but I’m paying 148 a month. I’m also from the Vancouver area.

Were you offered everything that I was offered ???? I can PM you the e-mail address of the person that contacted me with my last offer as long as you don't tell her where you got it. There's no reason you should have to pay more than I am if we are both getting the same services. Of course it sounds like you have already either signed for the deal or at least verbally agreed to it so any changes rat this point are probably not possible. But it can't hurt to ask. Who was your last provider and why are you switching over to Telus ???? As far as their services go SHAW was very good but I just got tired about the lack of any new HD channels being added to their lineup.

 

[Apex Predator]

Were you offered everything that I was offered ???? I can PM you the e-mail address of the person that contacted me with my last offer as long as you don't tell her where you got it. There's no reason you should have to pay more than I am if we are both getting the same services. Of course it sounds like you have already either signed for the deal or at least verbally agreed to it so any changes rat this point are probably not possible. But it can't hurt to ask. Who was your last provider and why are you switching over to Telus ???? As far as their services go SHAW was very good but I just got tired about the lack of any new HD channels being added to their lineup.

I got if offered a few months ago. I’m im the middle of moving so maybe there are better offers now. I was with Shaw but they offered me this deal at the TELUS stand at a mall.
Yeah sounds like everything except for the 7 themes. I’m not 100% sure what my internet speed is. It’s some fiber optics.

can you DM their email I just messaged my context that gave me the deal to see everything included.

 

[JaegerDice]

Where in Vancouver do you live @BostonBob ?

Because before you do anything, you need to check and see if Novus services your area. Novus gives you better service, better customer service, and cheaper prices than either Telus or Shaw. If you can get Novus, then you'd be a fool not to get Novus.

With that out of the way, I use Telus as I recently moved from a condo Novus serviced to a townhouse they don't, and I'm happy with the service. I got a package with 1gig PureFibre, TV, and Security. I ended up eventually canceling the TV plan, just cause I wasn't using traditional cable enough to make it worthwhile, and when I canceled they didn't have any problem making an adjustment to the package price even though it was a promotion, which I appreciated.

The internet is better than Shaw. Period. It's a legitimate Fibre line straight to your house/unit, whereas Shaw still uses old copper lines for the 'last mile'. When you pay for 1gig up/down with Telus you're getting those speeds. Shaw can't do symmetric upload/download speeds, it's almost always 1000/100 or something down/up. If all you're doing is downloading or streaming, you're fine with Shaw. If you game, if you work from home and your business requires you to transfer large files back and forth, you will feel the difference HARD. At 75....jesus, I don't know, that's really slow, you'd probably be fine with anybody.

TV is more touch and go. Packages are subjective. The issue is that Telus TV is passed through the same fibre line as the internet. That's fine as far as speed, it won't affect your internet. But it only works with their modem/router. In my place, I needed to buy a mesh system to get full coverage, and wanted to use the ethernet lan in the walls for the mesh nodes to connect so I could get more bandwidth through the air (as opposed to the nodes both communicating and broadcasting over wifi). I couldn't do that using the Telus modem.

Customer service is Telus' biggest issue. The wait times on the phone are ridiculous. Their website, I shit you not, barely works. I had to call two separate Telus reps referred to me through friends, just to confirm I had Fibre supported in my area, cause the Purefibre website didn't recognize my address and the nearest Telus store couldn't give me an answer.... even though they're 5 blocks away and clearly fall under the same fibre grid.

Oddly, their account website, where you actually manage you billing and email address and everything always works flawlessly... so it's kind of hilarious that the site prospective customers use may has well be half-finished.

Having used Shaw, Novus and Telus (in that chronological order), I would recommend:

Novus
Telus
Shaw

In that order. But I prioritize internet over anything else.

 

[GreytWun]

Honestly if you get good enough internet just get IPTV. For 15 dollars a month you get over 2000 channels (some international are in there as well).

 

[JaegerDice]

Honestly if you get good enough internet just get IPTV. For 15 dollars a month you get over 2000 channels (some international are in there as well).

I'm intrigued. I don't know shit about how to get IPTV set up though. Got a link to a good FAQ with recommendations for the hardware.

And do you need a VPN for full content in Canada?

 

[BostonBob]

Where in Vancouver do you live @BostonBob ?

Because before you do anything, you need to check and see if Novus services your area. Novus gives you better service, better customer service, and cheaper prices than either Telus or Shaw. If you can get Novus, then you'd be a fool not to get Novus.

Hey there - I live at Oak and 14th Ave. and unfortunately Novus is not only not available in my building but according to the " availability " map on their website they are only in a few buildings on my side of the Granville Street Bridge. I've checked out their bundle packages before and I probably would go there if I could get their services in my building.

Thanks for your review on their services. I'm more of a TV guy ( I don't really download or upload anything and am not a gamer at all ) so that's my main concern. As for Customer Service - it has become a joke the last couple of years with SHAW. It takes almost an hour to get somebody and then you get somebody half way around the world who really cannot help you with anything besides billing questions or problems. SHAW doesn't even repair their cable boxes anymore - they'll just give you a refurbished replacement if there is anything wrong with your current cable box. Anyway - I'm still on the fence about making my final decision but I'm going to have to do so pretty quickly as my contract with SHAW ends on March 31st.

 

[GreytWun]

I'm intrigued. I don't know shit about how to get IPTV set up though. Got a link to a good FAQ with recommendations for the hardware.

And do you need a VPN for full content in Canada?

It’s very easy, you can either use a fire stick or an android box and just load the app directly onto it. Then you enter your username and password and that’s it.

I can send you the IPTV provider I use. You can get all the NHL, NBA, UFC, NFL, MLB sports channels. Along with all the regular channel you can get including HBO and movie network channels.

 

[JaegerDice]

It’s very easy, you can either use a fire stick or an android box and just load the app directly onto it. Then you enter your username and password and that’s it.

I can send you the IPTV provider I use. You can get all the NHL, NBA, UFC, NFL, MLB sports channels. Along with all the regular channel you can get including HBO and movie network channels.

That would be awesome.

And all these channels are at 4k?

 

[BostonBob]

Have to make my decision in about 10 days so hoping for a few more Telus reviews.....or even from Telus customers that switched over to SHAW.