Plusnet wants £83.75 to leave...HELP

cmc_entertainment · 5 July 2006 at 8:52PM

I submitted a request for cancelling my account with them because i moving to NTL 4mb+phone and they say that i have to give them 30 days notice to do so.

Got a reply this morning and they state:

So we can arrange the cancellation you have requested your deferred fees which are currently £83.75 will need to be paid, these are for your activation and hardware originally received from us.

and then they go on to ask if its ok to take payment then:

This payment will be made from the credit card listed on your account, so please make sure its still valid.

If you confirm this payment can be taken then we will take it straight away and then schedule the cancellation.

Your 30 day cancellation period will then run from your next invoice date.

I replied saying that they cannot take payment either from any CC or DD on file - even old details - and thatt they have 29 days left of the notice.

I have been a customer since last july; so this month would be my 13th billing month, therefore i dont feel that the charges are fair and since they have changed there T&Cs and product details since joining - where do I satnd; the T&Cs i joined up to or the new T&Cs?

Its a hell of a lot of money that i simple cannot afford on my budget in the first place!

mtia for any advice/comments

mrJ_5 · 5 July 2006 at 9:26PM

looks like you signed up to their free activation and modem package, and also looks like another person who does not read the offer carefully enough.....

free setup reads as follows (as of today) on tehir site...

Want the detail? 'You stay we pay' explained.

For every year you stay with PlusNet we'll guarantee that the cancellation cost decreases. What does this mean? If you cancel within the first year, then you will pay £47 for the activation. For every year you stay we'll reduce this by £9.40. If you also choose to take a modem as part of the offer there will be an additional cancellation fee of £25 in the first year and this will reduce by £5 for each year that you stay.

A year ago BT wholesale charge £58.75 inc VAT for broadband activation, add this to the £25 for the modem, and the figures add up to £83.75

I guess if you wait until the 14th, this will decrease by £16.75 to £67.... but I am afraid to say that you effectively signed up to a 5 year contract to get free activation, without paying for it if you stay with them for 5 years, but your free to leave after 12 months - but your bounded by the quoted text (if slightly different in your case)

There is nothing you can do, as this is what you signed up for - naturally, if you paid for activation, and hardware - then there is a mistake on plusnet's behalf.... just goes to show, you always need to read everything carefully

GerardL · 6 July 2006 at 11:51AM

Yup, 5 year deal on the activation.

All that glitters is not gold!

Wally_2 · 6 July 2006 at 11:58AM

I've just signed with Ezeedsl and now I want to cancel, it will cost me £240.

JohalaReewi · 6 July 2006 at 12:48PM

cmc: Wait until the anniversary of joining Plusnet then request a MAC code to transfer out. Your exit fee will reduce by 20% as MrJ suggested. If you want some more information about the cheapest way to leave, post on the Plusnet forum over at ADSLguide...

http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=plusnet

You could look at the Plusnet deal as a 5 year contract. Or you could look at it as a deferred payment. As a first time broadband account, you would have to pay the BT setup fee. Plusnet have paid this for you and don't want you to pay it back until you leave (they have basically lent you the money). Additionally, they will discount the amount you owe for each year you stay with them until after 5 years, they will write the loan off. The same goes for the hardware although £25 for a ADSL modem is a bit steep. You would have been better off not taking the modem and buying one off ebay.

I agree that Plusnet do miss-sell this offer as being FREE, and they play hard with customers who want to leave, but if you read the T&Cs and work out what is going on, it is not a bad offer (apart from the modem!).

Rex_Mundi · 6 July 2006 at 1:08PM

Wally wrote:

I've just signed with Ezeedsl and now I want to cancel, it will cost me £240.

It won't cost you anything. Read my post (number 655) on THIS THREAD. You can cancel your new contract with Ezee using the Distance Selling Regulations cooling off period. If Ezee give you trouble over this, contact trading standards and they will back you up.

Wally_2 · 6 July 2006 at 3:18PM

Rex_Mundi wrote:

It won't cost you anything. Read my post (number 655) on THIS THREAD. You can cancel your new contract with Ezee using the Distance Selling Regulations cooling off period. If Ezee give you trouble over this, contact trading standards and they will back you up.

I've just read somewhere that you cannot cancel a service under the cooling off period rules if the service has already started. Boohoo, back to tears.

PS. I shall still enquire if it is possible, never say die.

Rex_Mundi · 6 July 2006 at 3:23PM

Wally wrote:

I've just read somewhere that you cannot cancel a service under the cooling off period rules if the service has already started. Boohoo, back to tears.

PS. I shall still enquire if it is possible, never say die.

It's one thing picking up info from Google, but the information I was given came straight from a senior trading standards officer. They phoned me back with the information. The first man I spoke to wasn't sure, so he checked with his superiors, and they called me back.

Wally_2 · 6 July 2006 at 3:52PM

Rex_Mundi wrote:

It's one thing picking up info from Google, but the information I was given came straight from a senior trading standards officer. They phoned me back with the information. The first man I spoke to wasn't sure, so he checked with his superiors, and they called me back.

I said I was no good at technical jargon but read this.

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20050689.htm

Rex_Mundi · 6 July 2006 at 4:04PM

These are only ammendments to the act. To read these in the full context they are meant, you have to insert these paragraphs in the full act where the ammendment tells you.

I did see something very interesting though. This paragraph.............

Regulation 8 of the principal Regulations is amended so that the supplier is no longer required to inform the consumer, prior to the conclusion of a contract for services, that he will not be able to cancel once performance of the services has begun with his agreement. Instead, the supplier must, in such cases, provide the consumer with information as to how the right to cancel may be affected if the consumer agrees to performance beginning less than seven working days after the contract was concluded. This information must be provided prior to or in good time during the performance of the contract.

The thing is.........I've read right through the Ezee terms very carefully (including the latest update). There is nowhere in there that mentions that once the service has started, the cooling off period is void. From what the trading standards officer said. If there is no word about cooling off periods in the terms, this period is extended to 3 months and 7 days, or 7 days after they ammend the terms. It looks like Ezee have mucked up in the wording of their terms, and should give you a get out.

Wally_2 · 6 July 2006 at 5:36PM

Rex - it was Regulation 8 that caught my eye too but I didn't want to copy and paste it because it may have given the impression I had taken it out of context - I also think that on the basis of what is says I should be allowed the cooling off period and able to leave Ezee without forfieting a years subscription. Thanks for your help.

Plusnet wants £83.75 to leave...HELP

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Plusnet wants £83.75 to leave...HELP