Free PC for new broadband customers at Redten
After Neuf Cegetel in France announced earlier this year their offer of a free computer with every new broadband connection, RedTen Internet are following foot in the UK.
But whereas the Easy Gate box from Cegetel is little more than a thin client (and has yet to materialise), RedTen are offering a full blown Intel Pentium 4 with a 3 GHz processor, complete with a 160 GB hard disk and a LCD flat-panel monitor, total value – £500.
Ok, the customers will have to sign up to a three- year contract, but still.
At the end of the three years, if the customer wishes to renew, the old PC will be replaced by a new one. If the contract is not renewed, RedTen will take it back. The OS is Windows with a free Vista update thrown in. Update: as Chris Palmer points out in his comment – ‘Actually, [having been on their site today] Redten say you can keep the computer after three years, even if you walk away, and have a new one if you stay‘.
The cost of the package is £20 per month for a 8Mps connection speed – upgradable to 24 Mps when available. There’s also an initial charge of £50 for the cost of the modem and setting up the connection.
Will this be a growing tendency for ISP’s deperate to gather in the remaining, the unconvinced and/or the out of pocket?
Is it a European trend or will it spread, as predicted here by Tom Maillioux ?
source – Webuser
Important Update: If you’re considering a sign up with RedTen I would have a read of some of the comments on this post, especially the latest one by Gary (1st Feb)
This offer has since been suspended. WebUser article 12.02.07
“Unfortunately, Redten Internet has run out of free PCs” from the Redten site
December 6th, 2006 at 9:32 pm
Actually, [having been on their site today] Redten say you can keep the computer after three years, even if you walk away, and have a new one if you stay. Not such a surprise when you consider the depreciation of a PC over the last 3 years, and think how prices are being driven down all the time.
December 7th, 2006 at 2:31 pm
Well thats true about the price dropping, Its still a pretty good way of getting your hands on one if you can’t get the initial sum together, or an extra one for the kids maybe.
Thanks Chris, for the update
[didn't see it till today, no mail was sent by WP, don't know why]
December 11th, 2006 at 1:09 am
:sign up for redten saving £5 also8 faster than my previous provider was left without internet for five days as modem did not arrive till 4days after switch over and my own network modem was differcult to set up using redten but redtens modem set up with no probelms.still waiting for pc to arrive and set up wellcome disk redten say there is a months delay due to demand just a few days to go now i hope will let you know when it arrives
December 11th, 2006 at 1:53 pm
Thanks Alex for letting me know how its going. Hope the pc gets to you soon, at least before xmas. I would imagine the demand is high. I’d be interested to know how it goes. Will RedTen be able to give to all those applying, exactly what it is they’ve advertised without too much delay?
cheers
December 21st, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Mine came yesterday as expected and worked ok out of the box. I haven’t suffered any loss in service as it is replacing my cable isp and BT/Redten had got their act together ok and so were available via the phone with the supplied adsl router – so far so good!
December 22nd, 2006 at 4:51 pm
’tis the season to be merry… good news Pat, thanks for letting me know. This post has had a fair bit of traffic from the UK. Its a blurry line really, between passing on information and punting wares ( no PayPerPost or the likes on Q9 – rule of thumb ) especially when I can’t test the wares in question. So I appreciate the feedback.
Have a good one!
January 1st, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Signed up to redten end of nov took a while to send forms back but got my line setup mer broadband on 27th dec and just waiting on the pc due to xmas unable to get through to department who deals with the delivery till 3rd jan but hoping will deliver soon dai
January 2nd, 2007 at 2:24 pm
@ Anon – hope they don’t keep you waiting too long! Happy new year
January 3rd, 2007 at 11:54 pm
Rang them today 3rd jan and they had a shipment of 700 pc’s in today and it will be sent out tomorrow and i should have it friday with any luck thanks dai
January 4th, 2007 at 4:19 am
Thanks dai. They are probably a little submerged by commands, I suppose. Happy new(PC) year!
January 5th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
A friend of mine just got his RedTen kit on my say so, so now I’m embarrassed!
First problem was a U.S. keyboard was supplied, which will need changing.
Second problem was that broadband connection can’t be made, and they supplied two conflicting sets of passwords. So which set is right – if either? What info that is provided is often contradictory. Don’t know if the BB has been set up at the exchange end yet, even though they say it has, the indications from the router are that it hasn’t, since the connection from the computer to the router is fine, but from the compter to the exchange just ain’t there.
Third, there is this horrible big red RED Ten thing on the screen permanently, which invites you to “shop” and get your email, among other things. This brings us to ..
Fourth, that email link is for webmail. Suppose I want to use Outlook Express or Outlook? There is no config info supplied to set up accounts using these newsreaders.
Fifth, the computer is generally tacky, using very cheap components, and has come badly set up – the screen was supplied set to a very low resolution, and when I set it to its’ native resolution it looked better, but not much.
Newbies are supposed to be able to set this up “out of the box”. They won’t get it running properly if they do manage it at all, and experienced users will hate it.
Sixth, there will be a free upgrade to Vista, just like MS are offering to everyone. This computer will never run Vista.
Overall I get the impression that this was a large amount of computers that were lying in a storehouse somewhere for a long time, and someone thought of a jolly wheeze to shift them.
Red Ten is based in Liverpool, so why would they ever supply computers that had U.S. keyboards? And horrible keyboards at that.
Oh, and the disk for the router (which has no drivers on it that I can find) uses Acrobat 4 (yes, 4). So just how old is the router then?!
UPDATE: Just heard from my friend. He spoke to Red Ten this am. Turns out that NEITHER of the two sets of logon info was correct (!) and that they would supply new info on that, and also talk to BT to see if they have actually connected up at the exchange end yet.
They are also going to replace the U.S. keyboard (but didn’t want to at first), and replace the disk for the router, which had arrived with a huge crack in it.
They are also going to supply mail server info for people who don’t want to read their mail from the web. But they should, of course, supply that anyway. Wonder why they don’t.
So now we wait and see what happens next.
January 5th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
@Staggers47
I thought it had a 3 giga processor ?
That will run vista wont it?
What amount of RAM comes with it ?
What version of XP does it come with and has it been tampered with ?
Cant use a normal mail service ?
Big red ten signs ?
Oh no…
Up until now I’ve been surprised by the fair to average to good comeback from this service, see Pat Bell (comment above) for example. I just hope it doesn’t go pear shaped.
That said, mistakes are made – the password & the 3 for a quid keyboard. The plastic never was going to be the best on the market was it ? But it has got a Pentium 4 3Giga processor hasn’t it ? Whatever Motherboard it has it must be compatible – so that cant be too cheap and nasty, can it? A new graphics card might be in order. Wonder what the actual bandwidth will turn out to be ? ISP reliable ?
Hope it works out for your friend Staggers and thanks for taking the trouble, very informative comments, helpful to those wondering about this service. Let me know how it goes…
Cheers
ps:I was going to turn the comments off on this article, fed up cleaning the spam off it, but I’ll keep it open a while longer see what comes of it…
Alex…?
Dai…?
January 8th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Nobody seems to have pointed out that you will actually be taking out a three year contract with a credit company. Unless you pay in advance they will check your credit history and you will effectively be in debt to another company until your three years are complete.
Just thought i would point this out.
“PCPro includes an article about this offer, warning that it isn’t as straightforward as it first appears and that customers choosing to pay in monthly instalments are required to sign a three-year agreement with a finance company. ” as posted on another anon intranet.
January 8th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Signed up 5th December with PAC and was switched over before Christmas. Very positive experience, ADSL connection speeds same as before on existing modem, still undergoing tests as is normal for the 1st month. Have new modem but am not using it. Am awaiting just the PC now. Needed some setup information (e.g. POP3 settings) from other sources. 10 MB web space is unusable because there’s also a 100 file limit! RedTen is investigating doing something about this for me, though. You do seem to get 10 MB per e-mail, though the HTTP is a twiddle (~) one which is not very attractive. In the mean-time I’ve found oodles of free web space with a good address elsewhere and will probably stick with that. The 3-year financing is a little convoluted, but it’s really no problem at all. My 1st payment will be on 3rd February so I rather suspect I’ve had 6 weeks free internet already! Recommended.
January 8th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
“Nobody seems to have pointed out that you will actually be taking out a three year contract with a credit company”.
@ another anon – I did try to make that clear in my post –
‘Ok, the customers will have to sign up to a three- year contract, but still’.
More credit companies – roping in more clients – adding up more debts…I hear that. Its the 3 year commitment that would bother me if I was thinking about signing up at RedTen. But the bottom line is – if you’re dishing out hardware to the tune of £500 a shot you’ve got to have some kind of policy against the ‘thank ye kindly’ team.
Let me make it clear, I’m not for or against. The jury is still out as far as I’m concerned but Steve just notched up another point for the ‘feet first, know a good deal when I see it’ team.
@Steve, thanks for showing up in the witness box.
January 9th, 2007 at 1:35 am
Apologies, didnt mean to sound as if was for/against the argument just adding something in particular that startled me about the whole setup.
To add a little more spice to the value of this claim, as Local loop unbundling takes place as the new networks come in, ADSL prices will drop dramatically. Inside knowledge from a major provider will see consumer adsl for less than £10 (for 12mth term) in the 2nd quarter. For someone tied into a three-year contract to be paying double the current marketed price will be interesting to say the least.
Also further invesitgation leads me to believe that advertising will be fed to these customers as default, with space on the “redten homepage” being sold to advertising companies? Has anyone heard about this?
and to those already on the service i truely wish you all the best , if you manage to get a bargain from them i admire your guts, guess im too dependant on my overpriced package to give it up.
January 9th, 2007 at 2:47 am
@another anon
Absolutely no need to apologize. I think you had a good point.
The price of broadband being likely to drop in the near future is another good point. As for the advertising Staggers47 mentions n the comments above …’there is this horrible big red RED Ten thing on the screen permanently, which invites you to “shop 
January 16th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Ordered 10th Dec 06. Paid upfront. Asked for broadband not to be activated before delivery of PC. They totally ignored this and put me on contract from 21 Dec 06. I can’t use broadband, I haven’t got a modem. Rang them, they have no idea when my pc will be delivered and said they thought they were doing me a favour in switching my line! What a cheek! Unhappy bunny so far …
January 16th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Sorry to here that Suzanne, who needs enemies when RedTen can do you a favor.
Wait till the PC comes and refuse to pay the difference?
Hope the PC gets there soon.
Cheer up….
The scales are being tipped yet again, in the pros & cons saga of RedTen’s deal of the
century…year…month.January 18th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Hi, I ordered at the beginning of December and still no PC, the modem they’ve sent me connects to a LAN port (I think?). It’s a big lead anyway, and I have nowhere to stick it
(don’t even go there!) Is there anyone out there who can tell me how to get connection to Redten with my existing modem? I’ve looked at setting up a new connection but you need to put a phone number in, I think? Sorry, I’m one stage above computer illiterate 
Grateful for help if possible. Thanks
January 18th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Ordered: 2nd week in Dec 06
I didn’t want broadband until the PC was shipped – ignored and connected 10 days after order
PC: Yet to make an apearance!
Phone Calls made to Redten: Too Many!
Replies: It’s being shipped tomorrow – that was 3 weeks ago
It’s being configured and will be with you at the end of the week or early next week – That was 2 weeks ago
It’s still being configured and we have no idea when it will be with you – yesterday!
Wish I hadn’t paid in advance? You bet!
January 19th, 2007 at 12:27 am
@ ‘Trying to be positive’
You need the ISP number that RedTen should have given you, no?
@Miffed or what
seems you’re not the first to start paying before the possibility of connection
February 3rd, 2007 at 11:30 pm
It looks like the Watford Electronics group has hit the financial skids. According to contacts at various suppliers, the company – the driving force behind the Redten internet service provider and owner of the savastore web site and various well-known PC brands (Aries, Carrera, Demonite, Time, Tiny) – is undergoing a monetary crisis.
We’ve been unable to get Watford to confirm or deny these rumours – but were told at around 3:40pm today (Feb 1) that the Financial Director Ricky Raqeeb would call us back. As yet, though, we’ve heard nothing.
If the company does end up going to the wall, it will be Рin the erudite words of one HEXUS.community pundit Рd̩ja vu all over again.
This is a reference to the fact that Watford owns a number of PC brands that were acquired as the result of financial disasters.
Watford eventually picked up the Time and Tiny brands from the ashes of the Granville Technology Group’s crash in mid-2005 and did much the same with another couple of multi-owned UK PC brands, Carrera and Demonite, after Digital Networks PLC went down the tubes.
And, as the companies that were involved with those brands did while the storm clouds gathered overhead, Watford looks still to be trading normally.
We’ve just visited (Feb 1, 5:15pm) the Redten site where we saw no indication that anything is wrong. We were able to sign up for a new broadband account – but stopped at the stage where we had to input out credit-card details.
Similarly, 15 minutes later, there was nothing on the savastore site to warn of any difficulties. We were able to customise a PC system for purchasing – only pulling out when it came to the plastic-money stage.
Clearly, until we know exactly what’s going on, the only advice we can give HEXUS vistors is not to buy any products or services from any company known to be owned or partly owned by Watford Electronics.
When we get any news, we’ll update this article and the associated HEXUS.community forum thread and put up front-pagers. Until then – take care.
Thoughts? Share them with us in the HEXUS.community, not forgetting to tell us what you know about the situation at Watford, savastore and Redten – and your experiences with companies that went to the wall in the past.
February 4th, 2007 at 1:23 am
…blimey.
Well I cant pretend I know whats going on, I had a look at the forum thread at forums.hexus.net… and I’m still not sure. Thanks for posting that Gary.
I
shouldshall put an update on the article. My advise to anyone thinking about this RedTen Service would be to take a look at the conversation over at Hexus and make your own mind up, maybe wait a while and see if they post an update, would probably be the best bet. If anyone is taking bets. Is anyone taking bets?Thanks again Gary, you seem very well informed…hope you think on and pop back to give this post – that seems to get quite a few visitors (prospective RedTen clients?) – the advantage of your knowledge on the subject. Cheers
March 12th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Well I signed up it cost me £60 to leave plusnet then another £50 connection fee off redten now they have no pc’s left and have suspended the free offer of a pc it is now going to cost me £30 to leave them for the mac code or £14.99 just for broadband
Can anyone help
March 12th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
I’m afraid I wouldn’t know what to advise Andy, sorry. Has anyone a suggestion as to possible choices/recourse under these circumstances?
It did seam like a good opportunity to get togged up with a new PC for anyone moving onto broadband, but it’s sadly all gone pear shaped, and as usual some poor sods end up paying for it.
I shall be avoiding any articles about likewise propositions in the future.
If anyone is in a similar situation as Andy and has an opinion or better still a suggestion, then please leave a comment.
March 14th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
hey robson its me again i had my PC finally 23rd of jan (so much for the 1st week huh? First being configured then they haven’t recieved the monitors be another week!!!) set everything up ok got rid of that redten screen to shop etc broadband is good i got 4meg broadband in rural s. wales i have already upgraded my graphiocs card to play my Tomb Raider: Legend and have bought another gig of ram cause the computer is VERY slow to Load up i believed that the Hard drive was SATA but on closer inspection it was IDE my general oppinion good computer good broadband (no lost connections loads 1st time) comes with F-Secure internet Security and XP Media Centre 2005 and the “FREE” Vista upgrade has a “£24″ Admin & Delivery charge!! “”Free My A**e”"
Well Thought i would get u updated
Dai H
March 14th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
Here is the full spec of the REDTEN PC (as by LAVALYS Everest Home Edition:
Computer
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name REDTEN-X (“)
Motherboard
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4, 3066 MHz (23 x 133)
Motherboard Name Foxconn 945GZ7MC
Motherboard Chipset Intel Lakeport-G i945G
System Memory 512 MB (DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (08/11/06)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)
Display Added my self (intel graphics family onboard originally)
Video Adapter Tul Corporation, RADEON X300SE Secondary (128 MB)
Video Adapter Tul Corporation, RADEON X300SE (128 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Radeon X300 (RV370)
Monitor LG Flatron L1919S 19″ TFT
Multimedia
Audio Adapter Intel 82801GB ICH7 – High Definition Audio Controller [A-1]
Storage
IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) Ultra ATA Storage Controllers – 27DF
IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801GB/GR/GH (ICH7 Family) Serial ATA Storage Controller – 27C0
Disk Drive SAMSUNG SP1644N (149 GB, IDE)
Optical Drive HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H12N
SMART Hard Disks Status OK
Partitions
C: (NTFS) 147738 MB
Input
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse PS/2 Compatible Mouse
Game Controller Microsoft PC-joystick driver
Network
Network Adapter Realtek RTL8169/8110 Family Gigabit Ethernet NIC (192.168.1.3)
Modem Standard Modem
Peripherals
Printer Lexmark 2400 Series
Printer LexmarkFax
USB1 Controller Intel 82801GB ICH7 – USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801GB ICH7 – USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801GB ICH7 – USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801GB ICH7 – USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB2 Controller Intel 82801GB ICH7 – Enhanced USB2 Controller [A-1]
USB Device Lexmark 2400 Series
March 15th, 2007 at 12:51 am
Bloody hell Dai, I’d given you up for lost. Have you read the comments on this? I’m surprised you got anything from them the way it’s been going, and you say you’ve got a good broadband speed? You sure you haven’t got a job with them? Sounds like you were one of the last in through the door.
Thanks for the details, sorry if it rubs it in a bit for the likes of Andy, still no post about what those – who were half way through the door when it closed – could do about it, I’m afraid.
Anyway, thanks for going to the trouble Dai, 24 quid for vista can’t be bad, pretty good PC as well by the looks of it.
cheers Dai
April 3rd, 2007 at 8:54 pm
http://www.itweek.co.uk/crn/news/2183652/redten-web-service-cut-watford
have a look at this site then Watford Electronics Debt also redten news
April 4th, 2007 at 3:42 am
Just keep them crossed that redten don’t follow suite, Dai
August 25th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Redten Finally Got their pc’s back by the look at the website note has gone
August 26th, 2007 at 12:02 am
Hey-up Dai,
well the note might have gone from the site but none of the SIGN UP links work for me…
October 12th, 2007 at 12:23 am
hey robson,
just moved 14th September 2007 told redten in plenty of time and guess what cut me off a day after i emailed them at old house (week before move) and took 2 weeks to reconnect at new house because BT had not connected the broadband in the exchange but all up and running but while in that time a hacker took over my account and sent out 1000’s of emails about the lottery spam so new email with new address so i was sorted with that but all emails have been deleted.over 600 mails from the 3 weeks with out internet down the drain mind you they were most prob spam lol
October 12th, 2007 at 12:26 am
seen the new offers that redten are offering under their new owners http://www.redteninternet.com shocked when i looked that i emailed them emails to follow
October 12th, 2007 at 12:30 am
Ok thanks for the reply but what about the free upgrade to Vista that was with the deal when i signed up, there is no sign of that in my paperwork i had with the pc.
and what i can see the new pc is the same spec as the pc i have now
ie 3ghz processor, 160gb hdd, dvdrw, 512Mb ddr, keyboard, optical mouse, speakers, 19″ lcd monitor and Windows MCE 2002
thanks
Dai.
—– Original Message —–
From: care redteninternet
To: (My Mail)@redten.net
Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2007 6:44 PM
Subject: RE: http://www.redteninternet.com
IMPORTANT: This message is private and confidential. If you have received this message in error, please notify us and remove it from your system.
Dai,
The deals are completely different to the 19.99 package that you are receiving.
The 12.99 deal is a cheap deal but a different spec PC is provided.
If you visit our portal website http://www.redten.net you will be able to claim for the free software titles available each month.
I shall get disk 1 in the post for you today and should arrive in the coming days
——————————————————————————–
Redten Internet Care
e. care@redteninternet.com
23 Castalia Square, Docklands, London, , E14 3NG, UK
http://www.redteninternet.com Redten Internet is part of Redten Communications Ltd
——————————————————————————–
Redten Communications Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales.
Registered number: 05530583. Registered office: 23 Castalia Square, Docklands, London, , E14 3NG, UK
Please note that Redten Ltd may monitor email traffic data and also the content of email for the purposes of security and staff training.
This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of (MY EMAIL)@redten.net and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not (MY EMAIL)@redten.net you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited.
——————————————————————————–
——————————————————————————–
Sent: 11 October 2007 02:19
To: care redteninternet
Subject: http://www.redteninternet.com
Redten
just looking at the website in the subject and i notice that the line rental has dropped to 12.99pm so why aren’t existing customers getting the same deal also what is the free software every month and where is the free upgrade to Vista voucher i never recieved
also i just noticed that i only have the program disk 2 and not 1 please can you contact me as soon as possible thanks
October 12th, 2007 at 2:49 am
Hey up Dai again, good to hear from you.
3 weeks to get reconnected after moving house, not too bad going there, I’ve heard worse, much worse.
The new RedTen offer is a limited one, I notice…
Dug in counter-measure to ward off frustrated clients ? – like some of those who’d signed up for the offer your on now dai (no limited offer sign on that one, at the time) and found themselves going wanting.
Good offer though, 13 quid, not seen that anywhere.
Hope they cough up for the vista upgrade …
October 22nd, 2007 at 12:09 pm
just had a reply
David,
The Vista upgrade was only available till April 07; the deadline has now been reached.
With the rules and regulations set by Microsoft and Buhl you will not be able to claim for the upgrade any longer. I apologise for the inconvenience caused.
The spec of the PC is the same but branded and supplied by another company.
As you have a fixed agreement with the finance company you will be unable to change to a different package
October 22nd, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Seems a bit rough, thought you ordered yours back in January…
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Thinking of going for their ‘free’ laptop deal. What do you guys think? I ‘m on orange at present which is 17.99 per month..redtens is the sams but a free laptop. It sounds good but what does any1 here think?
Cheers
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:33 pm
hi Pat,
well, as you can see, this post has become a (very occasional) witness/thread about the birth pains of the initial Redten offer. As to how solid that offer now is I wouldn’t like to say, all I would say is, as long as you are not signing for life…the laptop/PC offer still ’sounds’ to me like a good deal…as long as what is promised sees the light of day! Not always the case as you can see in some of the comments on this page…
good luck Pat, sorry I can’t help more