Direct Save Telecom review

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At a glance

Direct Save Telecom special offers

	Offer	Terms
Get this offer	DirectSave 35Mb Fibre Broadband for £31.95/mth for 12 months	12 month minimum term. £8.95 P&P. £36.95/mth after 12 months. Get this offer
Get this offer	DirectSave 63Mb Fibre Broadband for £34.95/mth for 12 months	12 month minimum term. £8.95 P&P. £39.95/mth after 12 months. Get this offer

What does Direct Save Telecom offer?

Direct Save broadband deals

Broadband deals

Direct Save Telecom offer broadband ranging from standard 11Mb up to ultrafast speeds of 330Mb in some areas, although these services are limited.

These are the standard broadband and fibre packages offered by Direct Save Telecom:

	Package	Broadband	Monthly price	Upfront price	Contract term
Go	Unlimited Broadband	11Mb average	£22.95	£8.95	12 months
	Offer: Loyalty Discount Club (worth £50)
Go	Superfast Fibre 35Mb	35Mb average	£31.95	£8.95	12 months
	Offer: Loyalty Discount Club (worth £50)
Go	Superfast Fibre 63Mb	63Mb average	£34.95	£8.95	12 months
	Offer: Loyalty Discount Club (worth £50)

A real bonus of Direct Save Telecom compared to some other budget providers is their contracts are only 12 months long whereas many providers are defaulting to 18-month or even 24-month minimum deals.

They also include a Loyalty Discount Club membership which we cover in more detail below.

Ultrafast broadband

Direct Save Telecom offer two ultrafast broadband packages on monthly contracts to premises where Openreach's G.fast is active (2.83 million premises at last count).

	Package	Broadband	Monthly price	Upfront price	Contract term
Go	Ultrafast Fibre 160Mb (GFast)	160Mb average	£49.95	£68.90	12 months
Go	Ultrafast Fibre 330Mb (GFast)	330Mb average	£54.95	£68.90	12 months

For the difference in price, customers are likely to opt for the faster package, but these are expensive in a market where ultrafast plans are becoming far more competitive.

Learn more about the UK's fastest broadband providers.

No contract broadband

Direct Save Telecom are one of the few broadband providers who offer no-contract fibre broadband - albeit at a premium.

These are their no-contract broadband deals:

	Package	Broadband	Monthly price	Upfront price	Contract term
Go	No Contract Broadband	11Mb average	£32.95	£33.90	1 month
	Offer: Loyalty Discount Club (worth £50)
Go	Superfast Fibre 35Mb (No contract)	35Mb average	£41.95	£33.90	1 month
	Offer: Loyalty Discount Club (worth £50)
Go	Superfast Fibre 63Mb (No contract)	63Mb average	£44.95	£33.90	1 month
	Offer: Loyalty Discount Club (worth £50)

At up to £12 extra per month, these are pricy options, especially considering the hefty upfront fees.

How does Direct Save Telecom compare?

Direct Save Telecom are a no-frills broadband provider, so let's look at how they compare to their budget rivals.

Here's how their entry-level superfast fibre broadband compares:

	Package	Broadband	Monthly price	Upfront price	Contract term
Go	Fibre 1	35Mb average	£24	Free	24 months
Go	Fab Fibre	36Mb average	£24	£10	12 months
	Offer: Now TV membership at reduced price for 12 months. Price may change again during the minimum term.
Go	Unlimited Fibre	66Mb average	£24.99	Free	24 months
	Offer: Reduced price + No setup fee + Exclusive offers and discounts for Plusnet customers
Go	Unlimited Fibre + Line Only	35Mb average	£23	Free	18 months
	Offer: £75 Bill Credit (existing SSE energy customers only) + 60-day Happiness Guarantee
Go	Fibre 35	38Mb average	£28	Free	18 months
	Offer: Free Setup (worth £15)
Go	Superfast Fibre 35Mb	35Mb average	£31.95	£8.95	12 months
	Offer: Loyalty Discount Club (worth £50)

As we can see, while Direct Save is competitive on price, they aren't the cheapest around and they don't attempt to be.

Their faster fibre deal is also cheap, but beaten by both Plusnet and TalkTalk among others:

	Package	Broadband	Monthly price	Upfront price	Contract term
Go	Fibre 2	60Mb average	£25	Free	24 months
Go	Unlimited Fibre Extra	66Mb average	£26.99	Free	24 months
	Offer: Reduced price + No setup fee + Exclusive offers and discounts for Plusnet customers
Go	Superfast Broadband	61Mb average	£26	£5	18 months
	Offer: Save £10.50/mth (was £34.50) + WiFi Max just £6.50/mth for 3 months and then just £10/mth + (£5 refundable setup fee for new customers if applicable)
Go	Fibre 65	67Mb average	£29.95	Free	18 months
	Offer: Free Setup (worth £15)
Go	Unlimited Fibre Plus + Line Only	63Mb average	£26	Free	18 months
	Offer: £75 Bill Credit (existing SSE energy customers only) + 60-day Happiness Guarantee
Go	Superfast Fibre 63Mb	63Mb average	£34.95	£8.95	12 months
	Offer: Loyalty Discount Club (worth £50)

While Direct Save's pricing is more in line with the premium broadband service offered by Sky, their shorter contracts remain an important selling point.

Finally, for standard copper broadband, they're among the cheapest and frequently battle the likes of Plusnet and Now for the title of cheapest broadband provider:

	Package	Broadband	Monthly price	Upfront price	Contract term
Go	Brilliant Broadband	11Mb average	£20	£10	12 months
	Offer: Now TV membership at reduced price for 12 months. Price may change again during the minimum term.
Go	Unlimited + Evening & Weekend calls	10Mb average	£25	Free	12 months
Go	Unlimited Broadband	11Mb average	£22.95	£8.95	12 months
	Offer: Loyalty Discount Club (worth £50)
Go	Unlimited + Line only	10Mb average	£25.99	Free	24 months
	Offer: Reduced price + No setup fee + Exclusive offers and discounts for Plusnet customers
Go	Broadband	11Mb average	£18.99	Free	12 months
Go	Simply Broadband	10Mb average	£28.99	£12.95	24 months

Direct Save enjoy their status as one of the cheapest broadband providers in the UK, even if there's often just a few pence between them and their competitors.

Routers

The router is one area where Direct Save Telecom's no-frills approach can look a little too cheap.

Customers signing up to their broadband will receive either a N300 or UK11 single-band router. These are basic hubs that can handle some household traffic, but they won't be great for bigger homes.

If customers want to pay an extra £24.95 per month, they can get an upgrade to a dual-band UK33 router. This is certainly a step-up, but it still isn't a brilliant piece of kit.

Call plans

Line rental comes included with Direct Save Telecom broadband, but customers will have to choose one of three call plan options:

These call plans have reduced in price in recent years, and Direct Save are keen to point out their paid call plans are cheaper than the BT equivalent.

Note that "Free" calls are only free up to 60 minutes. Calls longer than an hour will be charged in full. To avoid charges, hang up before the call reaches 60 minutes and call back.

Plus, there are no mobile options here, so customers looking to make calls to mobile phones will pay a connection fee of 22p and the following per minute:

• Option 1 and Option 2: 16p per minute
• Option 3: 7.95p per minute

With the exception of 080 numbers (which are free), the access charge for calls to 08, 09, and 118 numbers is 30p per minute.

For £1.50 per month, customers can add the DST International Option which allows discounted international calls.

Customers who want an inclusive international call plan are urged to contact Direct Save directly to see if they can help. There's no guidance on what they may be able to offer.

Finally, anyone wanting extra services (such as call waiting, divert, and anonymous call reject) will pay extra. Features including call waiting alerts and basic voicemail start from £3.15 a month - each.

In fact, the only call feature services Telecom Direct Save offer free are 1471 and caller display.

Broadband without a credit check

Direct Save Telecom don't carry out any kind of credit check on potential customers during sign up. This is a big point in their favour for customers who are still turning their finances around but need broadband in the meantime.

The only requirement before they'll start the phone and broadband service is for customers to pay their first invoice upfront.

Direct Save bill everyone on the 7th of each month, so the first invoice is made up of the partial line rental, broadband charges, and any setup or activation fees for the month of activation, plus the first full month's service charges.

Anyone taking this no-contract broadband should therefore factor in upfront costs (see above), as well as the first full month's service charge - a potential total of £50+ on top of the partial month's costs.

Add that to the £50 security deposit if you're having a phone line reactivated, and this could be a costly exercise.

Additionally, while the lack of credit check and a reasonable security payment might be good news for people who have poor credit records, bills can only be paid by direct debit. This stipulation is a sticking point for some customers.

Browse other broadband options which don't require a credit check.

Customer service

Unfortunately, Direct Save aren't big enough to be covered by Ofcom's quarterly complaint figures or examined in their satisfaction surveys.

Their Trustpilot feedback is mixed: at the time of writing they have a 3.9 average rating from over 1,500 reviews. 58% rated them excellent, 10% said they were great and 24% said they were a bad provider. This isn't an uncommon split on a site where reviews are either glowing or terrible.

Other than that, one of the main elements in their favour is their UK-based call centre staff - and they make a big deal of this on their website too.

Hidden costs

Where Direct Save Telecom's budget image falters a little is in terms of adding extras and exiting the contract.

While calls themselves are competitively priced, calling features costs extra. Some of these features, like 1571 voicemail, are seen as standard by many modern telecoms customers, so the extra charges could come as a surprise.

And, unlike some of the other providers who charge for such features, Direct Save Telecom don't offer discounts for bundles. Each addition is paid separately, at full price.

Anyone giving fewer than 28 days' notice of their intention to end the service must pay an administration fee of £19.50, on top of any early termination fees - £5 for their phone line, £10 for broadband, or £15 for fibre.

In short, it'll cost £22.95 a month to keep the service, or £15 a month until the supposed end of the contract to cancel it.

This keeps them in line with Ofcom recommendations that early termination charges shouldn't cost more than continuing with the service.

However, Direct Save will also ask for compensation to cover the cost of activation and the router - at £69.50 per phone line installed or activated, and £34.95 for the router.

Direct Save Telecom were investigated by Ofcom in 2018 over their debt collection policies and, although the regulator backed off after the telecom company made some changes, it's worth bearing in mind.

Discount Loyalty Club

The Direct Save Discount Loyalty Club is advertised as a perk for Direct Save Telecom customers which they say saves a typical family of four £1,512 per year.

While we can't verify those figures, there's certainly a host of big names involved in the discounts scheme including:

• Apple
• RAC
• Sainsbury's
• Marks and Spencer's
• River Island
• Topshop
• Alton Towers
• Legoland
• Disneyland
• Hilton Hotels
• TUI

There are also discounts available across sectors including car rental, airport parking, travel insurance and private medical care.

Overall, the Discount Loyalty Club sounds like a generous perk, and it's free for the first year when a customer takes home phone and broadband.

After that, it costs £9.95 to renew, a £40 saving on the usual price of £49.95. Customers can opt out from the club at any time.

Verdict: Is Direct Save Telecom any good?

Direct Save Telecom are among the cheapest around when it comes to basic broadband, though not always as cheap as rivals Plusnet or TalkTalk.

There's also a growing number of other cheap broadband providers, including SSE, Vodafone, Now, Origin Broadband, and even Sky can sometimes be cheaper than Direct Save for superfast fibre.

These are the reasons we like Direct Save Telecom:

• Cheap basic broadband
• No credit checks required
• No contract broadband option
• Brilliant discount loyalty scheme
• Short 12-month contracts
• Cheap international calls

On the other hand, there are some downsides:

• Some call features which come as standard elsewhere are chargeable
• Fibre broadband pricing isn't as competitive
• Ultrafast rollout is slow and pricing is confusing between G.fast and FTTP

Overall, Direct Save Telecom are a useful provider to have in the UK broadband market.

Their services can help people with poor credit histories get online, and their no-frills budget services will definitely appeal to some customers.

Those looking for broadband choice when they're receiving benefits should also look at BT Home Essentials as an option.

Use our free tool to compare broadband prices in your area.