The Lowdown
XLN has a clear, well laid-out website that’s fairly easy to navigate. The products being offered are very apparent from the outset so you can quickly see what you’re getting.
However, customers frequently complain about issues related to contracts and unexpected cancellations without proper notice. Many reviews also highlight dissatisfaction with the customer service experience, including unresponsiveness and poor handling of issues.
Customers also report unexpected increases in rates during the contract’s term (under the agreement they can change the charges as they want). Customers are then finding their bill has doubled after just a few months of being in contract.
Finally some customers have reported that answers to queries about their accounts can be evasive or misleading, particularly around penalties for termination. Customers are misled by contract conditions and threatened with exorbitant cancellation fees, even if they are not under contract. It’s also apparently not unusual to be bombarded with calls and text messages.
Looking at 1-star reviews on Trustpilot (which make up 13% of XLN’s total of just over 21,000 reviews), it appears there are issues related to billing and unexpected charges are common, with some customers feeling deceived by hidden fees.
When it comes to negative feedback, users don’t mince their words. Strong negative language is used by customers to describe their experiences, highlighting severe dissatisfaction. Some customers have even mentioned taking or considering legal action and seeking refunds due to their poor experiences.
According to several other of these 1-star reviews, you may find extra charges being added unexpectedly. Customers also complain of frequent price increases.
What they offer
- Unlimited broadband
- Fibre broadband and phone packages
- Cloud Voice (VoIP)
- 4G mobile broadband
- Business mobile
- Business payments
VoIP packages comparison
Standard fixed priced monthly packages from bOnline that include unlimited calling come in at £13.95 a month. This also includes a digital phone line and number, unlimited UK landline and mobile calls plus inbound calls and a desk phone. It also comes with 45 business-friendly VoIP features, including call forwarding and queuing, voicemail, hold music, access to call analytics data and more. A very similar offering is provided by XLN however it’s more pricey at £15 a month.
The big thing though is the contract length. With bOnline, contracts are only 12 months long, offering better flexibility for very small businesses. However, XLN contracts are 24 months, so tying in customers for longer.
4G mobile broadband comparison
Again bOnline comes out cheaper than XLN at £19.95 a month (plus a one-off activation fee of £49 and delivery £12) compared to £29.95 with XLN. Various broadband speeds are available with both companies – up to 300mbps with bOnline.
Business fibre comparison
XLN currently offers unlimited 80Mb business fibre broadband for £27.95. It comes with a Plug & Play Router Included (£9.99 P&P) and minimum speed guarantee.
bOnline has a range of different fibre speeds available for customers to choose from. These range from 115mbps at £29.95 / mo to a lightning-speed 1GB Unlimited fibre at £48 / mo.
All bOnline packages come with a Nextgen wireless router, fibre direct to the router, unlimited downloads and guaranteed speeds.
Again, contract length is a consideration here with bOnline contracts lasting just 12 months compared to XLN’s less flexible 24 months.
Bundles
Both bOnline and XLN offer bundles that can help customers save money. bOnline provides a very popular Super Saver Bundle consisting of 5G mobile broadband + VoIP for £19.95 / mo. There’s a fixed price guarantee plus you can either keep your number or pick a new one. The 5G business broadband comes with unlimited downloads, speeds up to 300Mbps & AVG 150Mbps, 5G business modem and unlimited calling to UK landline and mobiles. The VoIP phone system also has a free mobile & desktop app as well as all the same 45+ features as the stand-alone offering, including call divert, hold music, call analytics data and more.
Superfast Fibre Broadband & Phone bundles with XLN are more expensive at £32.95 / mo. For that you get Superfast 80Mb Fibre Broadband with a minimum speed guarantee, free plug & play router (£9.99 P&P), free mobile & desktop app and unlimited UK calls (landline & mobiles). Again, you can keep your existing number or choose a new one and an IP handset available (+£5.00 per month). Both bundle contracts are 24 months in length. Router postage and activation charges are present with both companies and should be compared too.
Summary
The key areas in which bOnline excels include the provision of shorter contracts and no in-contract price rises. Indeed, 24 months can feel like a long time to commit to a service provider especially if you make the wrong decision.
Based on our research, XLN may not be the best decision when you factor in the “stealth” charges and difficulties with customer service as described in the reviews.
If you’re considering using bOnline for your VoIP service then please contact the friendly customer service team via their contact page who will be more than happy to give you a like-for-like comparison.
