Origin Broadband Reviews

Sometimes the best way to get a feel for a broadband provider is to read what those who are already customers think of the service they're receiving. Below are all the reviews we've received for Origin.

Recent Customer Ratings for Origin

  • Satisfaction
    1.8 stars
  • Customer Service
    1.8 stars
  • Speed
    2.2 stars
  • Reliability
    2.1 stars

Based on 100 customer ratings since 2022-11-08 (Show all time ratings)

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Ratings are left by users of our speed test as well as by reviewers. Recent star ratings summarise the last 12 months of ratings or the last 100 ratings placed, whichever is largest.

1,017 Customer Reviews over 26 pages

  • Reviewer
    Location
    Leyton, London
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      4 stars
    Comments
    Last summer we moved out of my parents place to our new flat and as such we had to find both a landline and broadband provider. My preferred choice from previous years was Virgin but unfortunately this was not available at our new address. Origin had a very tempting offer, £17pm for both landline and (basic) broadband, so I jumped for it.

    Unfortunately, I wish I hadn't. First month of billing, they took £27 out of my account, not £17 as advertised. Called them up, they admitted it was a billing mistake and they would rectify it, which they did after a week or so. Second month, again they billed me £27. Again on the phone to them, again they apologise and said they were working to rectify the billing problem. Again I was refunded. Third month.... yeah, you can probably guess.

    At this point I was getting a little fed up so I asked if I could pay the remainder of my 12 month contract in one lump sum and just cancel the direct debit, thereby saving me the hassle of having to jump through hoops every month. They agreed and said it was fine for me to cancel my DD.

    Perhaps not surprisingly, they started emailing me saying asking why I had cancelled my DD, even though at the time of paying the lump sum the gentlemen assured me it was ok to cancel it and that he would put a note on my account clearly stating I was paid up. I guess they don’t bother reading the notes on the account.

    Aside from that, the internet speeds are pretty awful. I mean, I went for the cheapest package, so I knew what to expect. I get 5-6MB, which is fine. But when it dropped to 3 and web pages were failing to load, I got on the blower. At that point they decided to ‘move’ my profile from the slowest to the highest, whereby I was back to normal (expected) speeds.

    There is some good to be fair. We only had one major outage where the service wasn’t available for a day or two. Also, despite the issues I’ve had, on the phone they are a pretty friendly bunch and at least try to be helpful.

    Overall though, I won’t be renewing with them. If nothing else because I have no confidence in their billing system, it just doesn’t seem to work.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Lu1 5su
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      4 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    This has happened again. I have broadband only and a direct debit each month. It is my understanding that they request the payment from my bank which have the funds in it.

    So why do they do not request it and turn my internet off and put changes on. I phoned my bank and they informed me I do have funds and it's up to them to request it. This has happened before. Can't wait for my contract to run out.

    Has anyone had the same to them?
  • Reviewer
    Location
    London
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      4 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    I have only been with Origin for 2 and half months or so. When I first spoke to a representative, he told me that the Internet would be free for a year, so all I would have to pay would be £19.99 for the line rental and that would be all, so just to be sure I said,

    "Now let me get this clear, I just pay £19.99 and the Internet is free; with no surprise extra charges like £30 for this and £40 for that?"

    He replied,

    "No, no no! Trust me! Just the £19.99 and that's it! No extra charges...honest!"

    "Ok...I hope your telling the truth cause I haven't got money to throw around!"

    Anyway, in that time, I have already had one charge of £27 then I checked how much my by next bill would be... £49!!! So I rang up to query it, as clearly, I had been deceived just as I had feared! It took over an hour to answer the phone!! My boyfriend and I had to have shifts!!
    When they finally did answer, she then explained that they took payment for March as I had started my service part way in the middle of a month and also I have to pay for June and July in advance!! So I said if I make a payment now, of £19.99 that should leave me with what? Would you beilive she STILL found a way to tell me I still owe £49 pounds!!

    So that payment was just two weeks ago date today 10/05/17 May. Would you belive they have already taken £46 for June and July!!! I wasn't expecting them to take a payment until the next month, but here they are already taking money WAY TOO EARLY!! As it stands, I have paid way more money than I have had the service for which can't be right!
    I'm begining to feel as though I'm being conned here.
    My boyfriend is going to look into it...he use to be a Barrister!

    I really do not recommend anyone joining due to the lies I was told on joining and being told to make payments WAY TOO EARLY. The payments taken has really inconvenienced me financially!!
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Stirling
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Customer Service
      2 stars
    Comments
    The worst WiFi I’ve ever used service slow and useless to anyone who’s trying to study/work, gaming, or simply steam tv (so everyone). Customer service is awful at times have tried phoning a few time and taken over 45mins at times to get a real human (expect when I was cancelling) however the staff do seem nice and friendly when you get through, they do have a message board service which is useful to help with the many problems you will face with your WiFi and router if you for do continue with origin. I would recommend to avoid this company and shop elsewhere
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Surbiton
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    • Customer Service
      3 stars
    • Speed
      2 stars
    • Reliability
      1 star
    Comments
    I've been without internet for nearly a week now. Customer services are friendly when you get through, but no-one seems to be able to provide me an answer as to why my phone line suddenly disappeared. Something about BT OpenReach? But at the end of the day I'm paying for broadband that they're not providing, and when it did work I noticed a significant drop in speed. I used to be with TalkTalk and despite their bad reviews, never really had a problem with them. I switched to Origin to save money, but I wish I'd spent a few pounds more a month for a better service with someone else. Would not recommend.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Verwood
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      4 stars
    • Reliability
      2 stars
    Comments
    I am afraid after 3 months I went back to BT , a young company trying to compete without the infrastructure to deal with the customer traffic they have generated. to be fair they are nice people who do not have the systems and structure to deliver a capable customer service . Avoid until they get it right .
  • Reviewer
    Location
    West Midlands
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    If I could give less stars I would. The customer service is horrendous.

    They have removed their live chat and ignore their emails. If you have the time to call them (as you will be on hold for well over 20 minutes) then you are met by rude staff who read off scripts and couldn't care less about helping.

    I'm furious with my service and locked into a 12 month contract. Can't wait to get away from these time wasters, roll on 12 months!
  • Reviewer
    Location
    County down
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      2 stars
    Comments
    Terrible, customer service are useless. One member of staff told me I was laying my internet was working fine when it was off for days. Internet goes off all the time- unreliable. Changing
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Mansfield
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    Terrible company. Broadband regarding speed and reliability ok, but a complete mess regarding invoicing. I can only repeat what others have already mentioned....AVOID....AVOID....AVOID...at all costs. The market will do the rest.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Shropshire
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    Comments
    Switched to Origin Broadband, huge mistake. Left waiting on the telephone for ages, before then speaking to incompetent childish operators. Then switched to a different department, and waiting for ages before the line goes dead. Tried web chat but nobody responds to your messages, also tried emailing them, but again no response. Still don't have broadband, the nightmare continues. If I could have given no stars for the above I would have done so.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    North Herts
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Customer Service
      2 stars
    Comments
    Unfortunately, I cannot find Anything good to say so I won't. All I can say is avoid like the plague if you want a peaceful life. with a broadband service which works also, at a speed which is useful.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Axminster
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    • Customer Service
      3 stars
    • Speed
      2 stars
    • Reliability
      1 star
    Comments
    My contract with Origin is for 25 megs + but i only get 10 megs and sometimes only2 megs .
    Not happy
    My previous supplyer was EE 20 megs all the time but they uped the price x2
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Sheffield
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      4 stars
    • Reliability
      2 stars
    Comments
    in every respect a cheap n' nasty broadband provider with appalling customer service / technical support. What ever you do don't be tempted to sign up with this ISP
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Hants
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    Appalling 'service'. Delivered my router with one day to spare. Would not connect, I eventually realised it was not even set up. I had to figure out how with no internet to help. Complained twice, so far no reply.
    Awful - AVOID.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Scotter common
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      3 stars
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      1 star
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    Dose Not supply promised speed
    poor customer service
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Smethwick
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    • Customer Service
      2 stars
    • Speed
      2 stars
    • Reliability
      2 stars
    Comments
    Changed over to another provider was told origin will disconnect on 17 but disconnected on 13 very bad service not happy
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Shipley
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    • Speed
      2 stars
    Comments
    The worst provider I've ever had. Less than half the BB speed of any one else and got worse over the year I've been stuck with them. Also hardly a day has gone by without losing my connection. On top of being very poor value their customer service is terrible. On joining they changed my landline number without telling me, did nothing to correct this, for months the landline didn't work anyway. Really in every way awful.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Cardiff
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Customer Service
      2 stars
    Comments
    It took 2 weeks to get a confirmation set up was complete. turns out it wasn't complete and was on hold for 49 minutes while trying to contact customer services to get it resolved. was then told the issue would take 5 to 10 days to correct. terrible, do not use
  • Reviewer
    Location
    north east Hampshire
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    • Customer Service
      2 stars
    • Speed
      2 stars
    • Reliability
      2 stars
    Comments
    The switch was a fiasco. I had my new router but the promised engineer to help set it up did not materialise. Ended up on the phone in tears, because my previous supplier (SKY the B***ARDS!) had cut me off at silly o'clock am). Finally got connected but very stressful. Mostly the connection is ok-ish, with frequent hiccups. I have problems accessing my account, due to Origin giving me a long and complicated login ID of their own which I managed to write down incorrectly when I was told it over the phone. I still, after several months, have never been able to access my bills, and they ignore my emails. Not happy.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Glasgow
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    • Customer Service
      2 stars
    Comments
    So for a whole year I haven't had a great broadband reach or speed. That I can cope with, what I can't cope with is. Taking money out of my account when I have credit. 3 times now this has happened. So if you ever expect origin to honour any credits they may give you for whatever reason you'll be very disappointed! I will be changing provider as soon as I can
  • Reviewer
    Location
    wednesbury
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    • Customer Service
      2 stars
    Comments
    Went with origin from virgin was switch on 21/10/2016 not got any broadband been in touch told by one it was active told by another it was not would go active by 6.00 pm then one said 12pm midnight still no broadband not very good my cooling off 14 days was up on the 19/10/16 but it was not suppose to come on till 21/10/16 crafty.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    London
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      3 stars
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      1 star
    Comments
    Extremely extremely extremely unsatisfied. I moved to London a month ago, got the service a week ago and since then it has been disconnecting and I spend half a day with no internet connection at all. I am extremely sorry that I took this provider. And now I can't break the contract with no fee. SO 12 more months of this torture.
    When it works it's pretty fast and the customer service is nice. But I can't live like this because I need to work from home.

    Save yourself and don't take this provider!!!!!
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Aldeburgh
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    Broadband connection and speed ok, but customer services and billing is shocking. My first bill has been a total shambles. Should have been £17.99, but came in at £35.98 (2months) it was then amaended to £8.00, allow how I have no idea. So the bill shows £8.00 and they take £63.96!! They can not explain this at customer services, and 4 days later the billing department have still not got back to me despite several phone calls. Have even emailed their CEO, Oliver Bryssau, who can't even be bothered to reply or get one of his team to call me back. I can now see why the cheaper broadband option is not always the best!! A new business shouldn't start up until they have everything in place, which clearly they haven't. I will name and shame out of frustration, so come on Tom and Ryan in customer services, where's my call back promised by the pair of you??? I'm still waiting! Stay away from this company in my opinion. I except errors, but not poor after care when the problem is on their side.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    staffs
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    Origin cancelled my broadband (6 Nov) as they said they could no longer provide a service in my area (I had just renewed this and paid GBP200 in advance for a years broadband). Origin also tried to take GBP 58 pounds at the end of the contract, which I stopped. I could not access my online account to see why.

    Origin then also requesting I return the router at my own expense (which they said I could keep) and also charged me for the last month of service (which they said would be free).

    I have only just managed to access my online account and now Origin are saying I owe them money (GBP 28) but the bill does not itemise what this is for. They are not acknowledging that they owe ME money and so far have not offered to return any of the money I paid in advance. So far numerous emails on this subject to their so called Customer services (and including the managing director) and Facebook messages have not resolved anything.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Plymouth
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    • Customer Service
      2 stars
    • Speed
      2 stars
    • Reliability
      2 stars
    Comments
    What a shambles this server is they ought to be reported to the newspaper,i cannot give all the reasons I’m having at this point,but be warned,,dont do it stick with what you’ve got or find a different server,
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Swindon
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    Comments
    Exceptionally poor service. Ineffective at dealing with slow speeds (at 6-7mbps vs. advertised 38mbps every single day). At this point I have endured a month of brick wall responses. If you are thinking of dealing with this provider, move along as they are pathetically poor.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    London
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    Had Origin for a year and generally found them to be really poor. I’ll preface by saying I’ve been with pretty much every big provider at some point – Sky, TalkTalk, Plusnet, Virgin, Vodafone, and whilst nobody is perfect, you should steer clear of origin.

    My personal experience has been unsatisfactory in a number of areas, which has been topped off by their recent awful customer service.
    Origin does usually provide a speed around what they state, but unfortunately it is fairly common to find that randomly the internet connection cuts out or drops in speed for no reason. They’re initial setup speed is also very slow – I placed an order in June and didn’t get switched over to them until November. And that’s in London, not a rural place where connection may be tricky
    The Router is pretty standard, but its wifi range is not particularly good, the signal is too weak to even constantly watch Standard Definition Netflix on another floor. You can always fix this with boosters, but when you pay £25 for the modem, you feel a bit hard done by.

    The worst thing I’ve found is recently, when I tried to call up around July to find out my end of contract date. I was told November, and then when November came around, I used a switching service to get a new provider that had a deal on [Vodafone].
    I then got a bill for 5 months internet, for leaving my contract early. Despite phoning the customer service department 4 times, the story I get is always the same. We’ll listen to the call to confirm if you were given the wrong information, and let you know. The next day they say, ‘you signed a contract’ and that I’m liable for monies owed, even though the mistake is on their behalf, and nobody has listened to the phone call to verify this. And so they promise to do the same thing, and the next day it’s the same story. All the while dragging out my potential cancellation date for my new Vodafone contract.

    For a company to be so devious in trying to extract money from you which they are not owned, should be criminal. But worst of all, is their unwillingness to even do their jobs, to review their call logs and confirm these errors. It is inherently unfair to give a customer wrong information, and then penalise them based on that information. Simple as that. Any company that carries out such a practice, should is inherently untrustworthy and should be avoided at all costs
    To put this in perspective, I’ve also had multiple issues with my new Vodafone connection. But their customer service team and sent me out a new modem ASAP, and have added data to a sim to cover me with 4G during my lost internet time, and the manager has suggested changing the billing date so we don’t end up paying for internet we’ve not been able to use. This is the sign of a conscientious company, which values customers. Problems happen all the time, I accept that. But how a company handles the solution is the real test… and unfortunately Origin Fails miserably
  • Reviewer
    Location
    SW London
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Customer Service
      2 stars
    Comments
    The service reflects in the price.
    Literally spend more than 15minutes waiitng on 3 separate occasions.
    Took less than 5 for someone to answer to take payment ... what a shame in the areas of customer satisfaction.
    They do not send any communication of order updates.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    WIGAN
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    terrible customer service and can't access account, due to faulty portal?
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Woodbridge
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    I was with Origin for just one year. The broadband service was mediocre but the real problems began after I moved my service to another provider. They continued to send bills and insisted I was still their customer. This didn't worry me too much since I had already cancelled the direct debit at my bank. But then ORIGIN illegally reinstated the direct debit and basically stole £27 from my account.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Oxford
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      5 stars
    • Reliability
      1 star
    Comments
    I joined Origin after a recommendation from a trusted friend (who, by all accounts, has had no problems like mine). For the first 6 months or so it was fine; speed was at the advertised max of 30 mbps, customer service queues were short, and representatives polite and helpful. The router I was sent failed early and I got a new one, no problems.

    The last month has completely destroyed the good will I had towards Origin.

    My internet cut off and I spent half an hour waiting to speak to tech support. A polite and friendly member of staff went through rebooting and then doing a factory reset on my router; this restored the internet connection but stopped the wifi working. I spent the rest of the weekend on hold and finally got through to someone after about 36 hours. The guy I spoke to was incredibly patronising and told me the wifi being down was "not our problem", as they can't provide support for every laptop and device - if the internet connection works, their work is done. I persuaded him to put me through to someone more senior, who fortunately took the opposite attitude and went through some steps with me. He concluded the router had failed, so I got my third router in 10 months.

    This worked tolerably for two weeks - it did keep cutting off for half an hour at a time, and then this week died entirely. I tried the steps tech support usually put me through (rebooting, etc) to no avail. I spoke to tech support, who concluded I had been cut off for non-payment (which was simply untrue). I was put through to billing, who told me I owed £20 from last September (the nature of this alleged debt was not explained to me) and they'd tried to contact me (I've had no calls, emails, or letters about this in the 10 months I allegedly owed them money). I was put on hold, then hurriedly told that as a "gesture of goodwill" they'd waive this unexplained fee I apparently owed. They then pretty much hung up on me, without really explaining what was going on. (I was obviously more polite on the phone than I am being here!)

    After being reconnected, I am now back to the same old problem - the internet works, but the wifi doesn't, and I've been on hold for half an hour. And once again I'm being told this is just fine with them - that if my devices (which have worked perfectly well for the better part of a year) aren't compatible, that's my fault.

    Suffice to say I won't be renewing my contract with Origin and will be seeking to get out of it early!
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Broadstairs
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    DON'Y JOIN ORIGIN. This company's ethos is one of lies & avoidance, evasion, Misinformation and giving out ******** - They refuse to put anything in Black & white through the post as a legal document which in my opinion should not be allowed as I am not well sighted. - Had I been told the truth & made fully aware of their policies & other matters of importance when I applied In October last year I would never have joined this bunch of Utter Crooks. -- I only transferred to Origin after being told by their "salesman"
    SPECIFICALLY WHEN QUESTIONED that I could make calls to ONE Mobile phone in Nigeria and would still get free minutes. - That was LIES as I discovered after after I got a big bill where the Calls cost 50p per minute. On inquiry after eventually getting through their crap phone systems, I was told Nigeria is NOT ON THEIR LIST of countries. I have not been told WHY & They don't all sign off the same hymn sheets & Currently I would now have to pay over £350 to escape before April 30th 2022.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Newcastle
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    I have never experienced such poor service, and am counting down the months to leaving!!
    I'm grateful I'm only on 12 month contract.
    Receive no bills, and when money taken from account discover I've been Incorrectly billed.
    No one bothers to reply to emails, that includes Oliver Bryssau, the Managing Director.
    The sad thing is that it's a very affordable service, but that comes at the expense of no customer care values.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Crawley
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Customer Service
      2 stars
    Comments
    This is my review and to be honest I don't know where to begin with this company. Unreliability has been a major problem with the internet going down without prior warning of doing so. Despite numerous times I've rang to discuss issues like most of you the people are nice to talk to but it's like with there internet they can't function and go into the classic default mode of trying to blame BT or lying repeatedly to me about this will get solved or as I had with one of the complaints team " I know about the final right to reject and I accept that and also we will pay back in full the money that you paid out for the router that I had to pay for". This of cause was another lie. The other problems I've had is the internet will go off when we need it the most as I've got a one year old son he likes watching YouTube videos of his favourite tv shows it's very difficult telling a one year old that the internet has gone off and it's not his fault. Generally the moto for origin is correct the only thing they got right. Where it begins. Yes it begins with them lying, taking money for a service that works when it wants to and not accepting blame. If any of you have an enemy and they ask for advice for there next internet company then go with origin. This company should be shut down completely and Ofcom and relevant associations should close them down before anybody else's hard earned money goes to this horrible company.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    West Sussex
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      4 stars
    • Reliability
      2 stars
    Comments
    I have been with Origin since October 2019. Overall the service has been patchy at best, with unreliable speeds and dropped connections periodically, but I can live with that.

    Two weeks ago I tried to log onto my work server and the connection was refused, after some investigation it turns out that Origin had started giving me an IP address in Moscow. My work server, online bank, Sky TV and a number of other internet uses do not like Russian IPs so I called Origin.

    2 hours on hold, to be told that they were aware of the problem, they didn't know what had caused it and there was no telling when it would be fixed. Had I tried resetting my router? I did this, no change.

    I called again 3 days later (90 minutes on hold) to explain that I still had no usable internet connection, and was told that technical support would help me, so I was transferred (45 more minutes) and was told to run a test to check my IP, I did, and it was in Russia, they noted this and explained same as above.

    I called again the following day and logged a complaint. This was after a further hour on hold. No further developments, or offers of help.

    I called again 2 days later, as I was having to take each day off work as holiday as I could not work from home. 105 minutes on hold in total to be told the same as above, and when I asked about my complaint I was told that they do not respond to complaints until 3-5 working days had passed. This was the 18th August.

    Called again on 20th August, since 5 working days had now passed, and after 45 minutes on hold I was told that I had not made a complaint, but that they would record one now and I could expect a reply after 5-7 working days. I explained the situation to date and he informed me that he had sent an email to the complaints team and they would get back to me the next day. They did not.

    2 days later (22nd August) I called again and after a considerable wait asked to be put through to the complaints team. I was told this was not possible since I had only complained 2 days previously. I still have a Russian IP and no one can tell me why, or if any of my data is safe.

    I call again on 24th August, still no word from Origin and I am still not allowed to talk to the complaints department. Another hour if my life gone.

    25th August, ask for the complaints team after a 25 minute wait (my best yet) operator says sure, no problem, and after a further hour on hold, I am though to the .... customer service department sadly. I am now told that he can transfer me to another team who will transfer me to the complaints department, but that they are busy so I might have to hold (!). I wait 96 more minutes and speak to the pre complaints team. They inform me that they can fix the problem by issuing me a static IP address, free of charge and that would fix the problem. I inform them that the problem fixed itself that morning, but that I cannot believe no-one had suggested this in all the telephone calls I had made previously.

    I now want to leave Origin, since they have breached our contract (and carried on charging me, and I have carried on paying) so I explain this, I am told that I cannot, as there would be a £140 disconnection charge. I explain that they have breached the contract already. They see it differently and I ask to speak to a complaints manager.

    A complaints manager calls me back at 1805 hours on 25th August (15 days after notifying them of the issue, and 7 hours after it fixed itself) After some discussion he informs me that they have not breached the contract as nowhere in the terms and conditions does it say that an IP address will be issued from the UK at all times (!) He is prepared to only charge me £90 to terminate my contract and go to another company.

    This is the only offer of resolution from Origin at any stage of this process. Only charging me £90!

    I would avoid this company at all costs, their patchy service is bearable, their Russian IP provision is a joke and they don't know what caused it (but assure me my data is safe somehow) and their customer serivce is at best laughable, once you get through to them.

    If you do join them, be prepared to like their hold music (which speeds up and slows down a little just to annoy you further during your long waits.)
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Morecambe
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    • Customer Service
      4 stars
    • Speed
      1 star
    • Reliability
      1 star
    Comments
    Cheap. The helpline staff are very good & helpful. I bet they get lots of practice. I was barely able to get connected or stay connected. Watch out for the Anytime Landline charges too. Calls to mobiles are expensive. I got out asap.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Stockport
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      2 stars
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      1 star
    • Reliability
      4 stars
    Comments
    After a troubled month-long switch from Plusnet to Origin (Plusnet at fault there?) it was finally connected but the speed had halved (from around 14 Mbps to 7 Mbps sync speed). Have tried their router and my own one I was using with Plusnet - no improvement.
    Origin simply ignore all forms of communication. A nightmare company all round.
  • Reviewer
    Location
    London
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Customer Service
      2 stars
    Comments
    always disconnecting
    link down
    no response from server
    56K is faster
    super slow
    not reliable
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Featherstone, Pontefract
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      5 stars
    • Reliability
      1 star
    Comments
    I had set up direct debits to pay my bill these incompetent people let my bills get into arrears I complained about them not taking my payments . l complained about the threatening messages l received through their fault not mine the so called customer service sent a reply it said look here we can cut people off when we like lve been with them 5 years on and off its disgusting behaviour to speak to customers in this way
  • Reviewer
    Location
    Chelmsford
    Reviewing
    Origin
    Date
    Ratings
    • Satisfaction
      1 star
    • Customer Service
      1 star
    • Speed
      3 stars
    • Reliability
      3 stars
    Comments
    To be honest this is the worst internet provided I have ever come across. I change my internet provider every year to ensure I am getting the cheapest deal possible. The longest it has ever take is 7 days. Origin Broadband was a completely different ball game! It took them 2 months from me placing my order for an engineer to come out and fit my line. Not only did they not communicate anything to me, on the several occasions I chased them to find out what was happening i was told, we will contact you in the next 2 days. I was told this on 3 occasions, not once did they get back to me. I understand the delay does not solely lie with them as the engineers come from Open reach. But I can say their communication is appalling and in this day and ages it takes 2 months to get internet is really unbelievable!

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