PlusNet woes

ChrisR

ChrisR

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ChrisR said:
Not directly related to email, but today Plusnet have told me I'm no longer welcome and they're shunting me off to EE!

View attachment 482237

I guess BT, who own Plusnet and recently (?) bought EE have decided to rationalise their offerings. So Plusnet will be "broadband only" while EE will be "broadband plus digital voice", while BT will simply be "expensive"?

I wouldn't mind really, except EE charged a relative for two lines after they upgraded their smart watch at an EE store, and are now refusing to give a refund. Strikes me as pretty poor customer service, so I guess I'll be looking elsewhere (even if I do decided to discontinue the home phone).

EDIT: It's ironic that detaching our Plusnet emails from Plusnet the broadband supplier will make it easier to find a competitive broadband supplier!
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Since this is no longer about email, I thought a new thread would be more appropriate. I'm just off the phone with PlusNet, and I am very unhappy. I have 8 months of an existing broadband plus home phone contract to go. The lady on the phone was adamant that my options are ONLY the two described above: (a) transfer broadband and phone to EE (stay on FTTC but a new modem), or (b) start a new contract with Plusnet (FTTP and a new hub).

In other words, explicitly, if I want to transfer to a new supplier, I have to pay out the remaining 8 months of the contract!

There are reasons why a new hub in the next few months would be massively inconvenient and expensive for me. It appears that Plusnet are refusing to continue honouring their contract, so I guess I'm going to have to accept some sort of change. But I'm unhappy about moving to EE, and I'm unhappy about a new 24 month contract with Plusnet (increasing in cost by £4 each April). Since Plusnet are (AFAICS) proposing to change the terms and conditions of their contract with me, I believe they ought to accept that this terminates the contract if I don't want to accept their terms.

I have another Plusnet contract at a different property, one where the home phone is more important. No word on what's happening there yet, or when.

Does anyone know what the law is on contract changes of this kind?
 
Phone and broadband providers can change the terms of a contract but they must give you at least one month's notice and a right to exit the contract without penalty if the change does not benefit you....
Click to expand...

Ofcom
 
I expect that their lawyers have covered this in detail.

Their T&Cs (assuming I have found the correct version) state:

19.1. Dealing with this agreement: You accept that our agreement is just between you and us, no one else can enforce it and you can transfer it only with our consent. However, we may take instructions from a person acting with your permission. We can transfer our agreement to another company provided this does not adversely affect your rights under the agreement.

Is there anything on the Ofcom website as this must be a common issue?
 
Did they say how much the remaining contract buyout was? When I left Plusnet a few years back I misjudged the end date, and they only charged something like £7.50 a month to cover their lost profit.

Appreciate it’s still some cost, but may be worthwhile investigating to be free to get your own choice of provider.
 
ChrisR said:
Since this is no longer about email, I thought a new thread would be more appropriate. I'm just off the phone with PlusNet, and I am very unhappy. I have 8 months of an existing broadband plus home phone contract to go. The lady on the phone was adamant that my options are ONLY the two described above: (a) transfer broadband and phone to EE (stay on FTTC but a new modem), or (b) start a new contract with Plusnet (FTTP and a new hub).

In other words, explicitly, if I want to transfer to a new supplier, I have to pay out the remaining 8 months of the contract!

There are reasons why a new hub in the next few months would be massively inconvenient and expensive for me. It appears that Plusnet are refusing to continue honouring their contract, so I guess I'm going to have to accept some sort of change. But I'm unhappy about moving to EE, and I'm unhappy about a new 24 month contract with Plusnet (increasing in cost by £4 each April). Since Plusnet are (AFAICS) proposing to change the terms and conditions of their contract with me, I believe they ought to accept that this terminates the contract if I don't want to accept their terms.

I have another Plusnet contract at a different property, one where the home phone is more important. No word on what's happening there yet, or when.

Does anyone know what the law is on contract changes of this kind?
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear of your woes!

Can I ask, in case I have lost the plot, why can't you just wait out the current contract?

If they are forcing you into a change i.e. they are closing the current contract earlier than agreed.......why are they deeming you are subject to the early cancellation charge if PN are the early contract party in the agreement?
 
I would recommend asking on ISPreview which is a small UK site with a lot of expertise on UK ISPs and broadband which I've found very helpful:

Broadband Fixed Line

Discuss fixed land line broadband services and tech (Cable, ADSL, Fibre Optic etc.).
www.ispreview.co.uk
 
ChrisR said:
Since this is no longer about email, I thought a new thread would be more appropriate. I'm just off the phone with PlusNet, and I am very unhappy. I have 8 months of an existing broadband plus home phone contract to go. The lady on the phone was adamant that my options are ONLY the two described above: (a) transfer broadband and phone to EE (stay on FTTC but a new modem), or (b) start a new contract with Plusnet (FTTP and a new hub).

In other words, explicitly, if I want to transfer to a new supplier, I have to pay out the remaining 8 months of the contract!

There are reasons why a new hub in the next few months would be massively inconvenient and expensive for me. It appears that Plusnet are refusing to continue honouring their contract, so I guess I'm going to have to accept some sort of change. But I'm unhappy about moving to EE, and I'm unhappy about a new 24 month contract with Plusnet (increasing in cost by £4 each April). Since Plusnet are (AFAICS) proposing to change the terms and conditions of their contract with me, I believe they ought to accept that this terminates the contract if I don't want to accept their terms.

I have another Plusnet contract at a different property, one where the home phone is more important. No word on what's happening there yet, or when.

Does anyone know what the law is on contract changes of this kind?
Click to expand...

But if you are getting exactly the same service for exactly the same price by switching to EE I don't understand what your problem is. After all EE, Plusnet and BT are all the same company, so it is in effect just a rebranding exercise. And if you do switch to EE all you have to do is plug your phone into the modem instead of the wall socket.
 
gramps said:
Ofcom
Click to expand...
Thanks! I think the relevant section is this:

"Phone and broadband providers can change the terms of a contract but they must give you at least one month's notice and a right to exit the contract without penalty if the change does not benefit you. However, you won’t have the right to exit the contract if the change being made is:
  1. exclusively to your benefit, for example a speed upgrade;
  2. purely administrative and has no negative effect on you, for example a change in the address or bank details of your provider; or
  3. directly imposed by law, for example, a change in the rate of VAT."
The only one that could apply, I think, is (b). They tried to claim on the phone that EE was "the same company", but the change requires a new hub and other details, as well as a new direct debit. So I'm working on the basis that this change is not to my benefit!

I have tried to register a complaint with Plusnet, as Ofcom says I must. I thought I had raised a ticket but I've had no confirmation, and can't find it! The only problem is that I have to give them 6 weeks to resolve the complaint, and they propose to move our connection in less than 30 days!
 
ChrisR said:
The only problem is that I have to give them 6 weeks to resolve the complaint, and they propose to move our connection in less than 30 days!
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Surely if you register a complaint (you can/should also do it in writing to their HO) they will have to delay?
 
ChrisR said:
Thanks! I think the relevant section is this:

"Phone and broadband providers can change the terms of a contract but they must give you at least one month's notice and a right to exit the contract without penalty if the change does not benefit you. However, you won’t have the right to exit the contract if the change being made is:
  1. exclusively to your benefit, for example a speed upgrade;
  2. purely administrative and has no negative effect on you, for example a change in the address or bank details of your provider; or
  3. directly imposed by law, for example, a change in the rate of VAT."
The only one that could apply, I think, is (b). They tried to claim on the phone that EE was "the same company", but the change requires a new hub and other details, as well as a new direct debit. So I'm working on the basis that this change is not to my benefit!

I have tried to register a complaint with Plusnet, as Ofcom says I must. I thought I had raised a ticket but I've had no confirmation, and can't find it! The only problem is that I have to give them 6 weeks to resolve the complaint, and they propose to move our connection in less than 30 days!
Click to expand...
Sorry to be negative, but have Plusnet actually changed the terms of their contract with you?
 
Eucris said:
@ChrisR What exactly does it say in the email that Plusnet sent you.
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Sorry, I thought it would come across in the quoted post that started this, but it didn't. Here's the message:

Plusnet service change Screenshot 2026-05-14 at 15.37.48.png
ChrisR said:
The lady on the phone was adamant that my options are ONLY the two described above: (a) transfer broadband and phone to EE (stay on FTTC but a new modem), or (b) start a new contract with Plusnet (FTTP and a new hub).

In other words, explicitly, if I want to transfer to a new supplier, I have to pay out the remaining 8 months of the contract!
Click to expand...
As I understand it, moving to EE should be the same price and length of contract. So that doesn't sound too bad financially. The box with new modem etc would presumably be delivered here, but there'll be no-one in. Then I have to make a 700 mile round trip to install the new hub when they transfer the service. So that is not a change that will benefit me, to quote the OfCom page. This of course ignores the fact that I'm not happy with EE as a company, and there are bad stories about the transfer not going well.

I just want Plusnet to honour the remaining 8 months of their contract! And if they had said upfront, here are our two options, if neither of those work for you, you can cancel for free, that would have allowed me to make the change of supplier I would like (not EE, not Plusnet, after this).
 
Brentor said:
Sorry to be negative, but have Plusnet actually changed the terms of their contract with you?
Click to expand...
They agreed to supply me with FTTC broadband and home phone for 18 months ending January 2027, so, yes they have changed the terms of the contract!
 
Box Brownie said:
Sorry to hear of your woes!

Can I ask, in case I have lost the plot, why can't you just wait out the current contract?

If they are forcing you into a change i.e. they are closing the current contract earlier than agreed.......why are they deeming you are subject to the early cancellation charge if PN are the early contract party in the agreement?
Click to expand...
I'd be happy to wait out the current contract, but they say that's not possible. So I agree, they are terminating the contract early and there shouldn't be a cancelation charge. I think their argument is that transferring to EE fulfills the contract.
 
ChrisR said:
Sorry, I thought it would come across in the quoted post that started this, but it didn't. Here's the message:

View attachment 483047

As I understand it, moving to EE should be the same price and length of contract. So that doesn't sound too bad financially. The box with new modem etc would presumably be delivered here, but there'll be no-one in. Then I have to make a 700 mile round trip to install the new hub when they transfer the service. So that is not a change that will benefit me, to quote the OfCom page. This of course ignores the fact that I'm not happy with EE as a company, and there are bad stories about the transfer not going well.

I just want Plusnet to honour the remaining 8 months of their contract! And if they had said upfront, here are our two options, if neither of those work for you, you can cancel for free, that would have allowed me to make the change of supplier I would like (not EE, not Plusnet, after this).
Click to expand...

So there were no other terms and conditions written underneath that in the email.
 
There will be a new set of terms and conditions if we move to EE. Who can tell if they're significantly different? A quick scan suggests they're pretty standard.
 
ChrisR said:
There will be a new set of terms and conditions if we move to EE. Who can tell if they're significantly different? A quick scan suggests they're pretty standard.
Click to expand...

You have misunderstood what I said. Surely there must have been more to the email that just the graphic that you have posted. Was there not any small print also included in the email.

All the emails that I received from Plusnet that contained a graphic also contained small print and or links to further information.
 
I expect that they are shutting down the copper network at that location, and as Plusnet are broadband only you are being moved to their sister company who offer a digital voice service. You will not be able to carry on with the existing contract because the infrastructure that it comes through will no longer exist.
 
I should update this. After putting in a complaint, eventually a more reasonable person contacted me. He agreed to delay the changes by a month (which, it appears, can perhaps be extended). He also said that if neither of the two options work for me and I want to leave Plusnet, he/they would waive the termination charges.

There doesn't seem to be any option that allows me to continue with the existing equipment. The Plusnet option (broadband only) requires fibre to be installed to the premises, and a new fibre modem (if that's what they're called). The EE option (broadband and phone) might be possible as FTTC for a bit, but would require a new modem anyway, and fibre would be needed for the next contract. Any 3rd party option, whether it came as broadband only or digital voice added, would also need fibre installed and a new modem.

The existing phone is very little used since WiFi Calling became available (the EE mobile service in the flat is terrible, although the maps suggest good coverage and that's true immediately outside the property!), So the simplest option is probably stick with Plusnet for the duration of the existing contract. Other options that I've found are mostly more expensive already.

So the big issue now is getting the change made. My son lives nearby and works from home; he has done things like this in the past, but needs continuous internet access (on-demand "meetings" with folks across the world!). He suggested using the hotspot on his phone during the blackout period, but he's on EE, so that would likely fail. Plus trying to negotiate with Openreach via Plusnet to find a suitable window for him is likely... not fun! We're working on it!
 
Meanwhile, We've also had notice for our other Plusnet service, at home. This will be easier as we'll mostly be around. As we do use the home phone, I'll likely take the EE option.
 
ChrisR said:
I should update this. After putting in a complaint, eventually a more reasonable person contacted me. He agreed to delay the changes by a month (which, it appears, can perhaps be extended). He also said that if neither of the two options work for me and I want to leave Plusnet, he/they would waive the termination charges.

There doesn't seem to be any option that allows me to continue with the existing equipment. The Plusnet option (broadband only) requires fibre to be installed to the premises, and a new fibre modem (if that's what they're called). The EE option (broadband and phone) might be possible as FTTC for a bit, but would require a new modem anyway, and fibre would be needed for the next contract. Any 3rd party option, whether it came as broadband only or digital voice added, would also need fibre installed and a new modem.

The existing phone is very little used since WiFi Calling became available (the EE mobile service in the flat is terrible, although the maps suggest good coverage and that's true immediately outside the property!), So the simplest option is probably stick with Plusnet for the duration of the existing contract. Other options that I've found are mostly more expensive already.

So the big issue now is getting the change made. My son lives nearby and works from home; he has done things like this in the past, but needs continuous internet access (on-demand "meetings" with folks across the world!). He suggested using the hotspot on his phone during the blackout period, but he's on EE, so that would likely fail. Plus trying to negotiate with Openreach via Plusnet to find a suitable window for him is likely... not fun! We're working on it!
Click to expand...

FWIW

I switched from Plusnet to EE.

I initially did it by contacting BT/EE because I wanted the broadband & 'home phone' service and the agent assured me it was the best price. Well, I then checked via the PN website portal and was better value by £4 per month for the same package.

I had to cancel the original order and return the already received EE router.

We have been on an FTTC connection with PN for few a few years. The changeover to EE was as straightforward forward as it could go.

On the morning of the activation my router for my PN lost its connection at it turned about 4:30am. I swapped that router out for the EE one about 8:30am.....changed the admin password and set a couple of static IP addresses (our two printers)

Next using the supplied home phone adaptors I plugged in our analogue phones........

The broadband was active immediately but the phones IIRC took a few hours to become active.

Oh, no engineer was needed at the house it was all done at the exchange.

NB setting up the home phone adaptors requires the use of the WPS function on the router. However as a word to the wise, so to speak, I advise disabling WPS in the router once you have completed the above (as needed) to avoid inadvertent (abuse of access) use by others accessing your broadband by WPS enabled devices.
 
There are other better internet providers than the BT Group & of course TalkTalk, I would not touch either with a barge pole.

I'm currently with ZEN and I don't need a landline.
 
Yeah I'm with YouFibre, they will provide a landline if you wish, and often can pay your exit fees.

I'm on 200mb full-fiber £20 a month (I think a landline is £3 a month more)
 
As mentioned I am on FTTC connection and part of the EE package is once FTTP comes to our area/estate they will upgrade me for free at the then current price.
NB according to Openreach the availability of FTTP is not scheduled but will happen within the next 12-18 months.

Now, I am on what they call Core 36 but based on the BT Wholesale checker the line is capable of download of about 56Mbps (
NB my connection speed i.e. not measured speed is little slower than my PN days @ 35Mbps (with PN I saw stable and consistent 37 to 38Mbps) and of note I have seen it as high as 40Mbps on the EE router stats........does it get throttled or is there a stability question?

In the short term I will see how stable the connection is and will ask the question......that if there is a "no charge" FTTP upgrade why are they not able to offer me a free upgrade to the Core 67 connection to wring every last bit of speed from the connection???
 
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