Plusnet - change in T&C after i've joined up!

PJD

I've just recieved this cheeky email from plusnet, my ISP.

Can they legally change their T&C AFTER I've signed up! I would have never have signed up knowing that i would have to pay £20 to cancel!

What can I do about this? I find this disgusting, - i'm very annoyed.



Dear "PJD"

This email is to let you know about a recent update in relation to your terms and conditions.

We currently charge £5.75 for a ‘cease’ of your broadband. From 29th October 2008 this will be increased to £20. This is because our supplier, BT Wholesale, has increased the cancellation charge which applies if you stop or ‘cease’ your broadband service.

This may mean you'd get charged if you cancelled your broadband service with us. Examples of where the charge is payable can include moving house, or changing supplier.

Please note: this fee will NOT apply if you migrate to another provider using a MAC key - only if you decide to cease your service altogether.

= Where can I find the T&C’s? =
The relevant point in your terms and conditions where you can find this described is section 13.11
http://www.plus.net/info2/legal/

This change will not affect your service from Plusnet and you do not need to do anything, we just wanted to inform you of the changes that we have to make.


Kind regards,
Carol Axe

Customer Support Director, Plusnet

Quentin

Their ts + cs allow them to make changes, as long as they give you 30 days notice (which it seems they are doing).

If the change is to your detriment then if you don't want to accept the change they allow you to leave immediately as long as you ask to do so during the 30 day period.

mrJ_5

this is for a complete cancellation, rather than later down the line you use a MAC to switch providers

ambyuk

I want to leave Plusnet because their service has been crap, from what I can gather I can legally do this now even though I'm under contract, due to the change in T&C.

Will they immediately cease my service, or will it be 30 days after I request it? Will I be able to get a mac code to go to another supplier?

Quentin

It looks from the ts + cs it's immediate, but you can only ask and see what they say.

PJD

If I can still leave for £5.75, is it worth me leaving to avoid this £20 charge, - or can i expect the same from other providers?

mrJ_5

if you want to switch ISPs use a MAC - then you don't pay a penny, as you are not ceasing the broadband connection, just switching suppliers....

espresso

Strange BT only charge £6 for this

Ending the service

1. When you end your broadband service outside your minimum period and do not request and use a migration access code to move to another service provider, you will have to pay a cease charge of £6. You will not have to pay this charge in the event you are moving home and we are unable to provide the service at the new address.

see their terms here Does any other ISP charge a £20 cease fee?

PJD

I would also like to know the answer to that. I've just spoken to plusnet, - their (expected) response was "BT probably haven't updated their website".

I asked plusnet WHY BT have raised this charge by nearly 300% - and was told, "I don't know".

espresso

Quote from: BT Wholesale
New Cease Charge
From 8th September 2008, the cease price will change from £4.90 (ex. VAT) to £15.75 (ex VAT) for Datastream, IPstream, IPstream Connect, and Wholesale Broadband Connect. This change will apply to all end user access ceases which are closed and completed (customer completion date) from that date.

However £15.75 + VAT does not equal £20, so taking the P!ssNet seems more accurate.

:eek:

Plusnet_company_representative

Hi Espresso,

We charge £40 for an activation, whereas it actually costs us £40.96, so we lose money on activations, while granted, we do make a slight profilt on cease charges.

Regarding those with questions on the cease charges, I've written an FAQ regarding these, which I hope may be of some help:

Q: What is this fee?
A: This fee only applies if we place a broadband "cease order". This would only ever happen if you completely cancel the broadband service from your telephone line.

Q: Why would you charge this fee?
A: This is because BT Wholesale are charging us for cease orders.

Q: What is a cease?
A: A cease is when Broadband is completely removed from your telephone line by BT.

Q: How much is the cease charge?
A: £20

Q: Who does this apply to?
A: This applies to all of our Broadband customers who have a cease placed on their line.

Q: Does this apply to migrations?
A: No. If you migrate to a different supplier using a MAC Code, there will be no cease charge.

Q: Are you giving all of your Broadband customers a notice of change to their terms and conditions?
A: Yes, we're giving all of our customers 30 days notice of the change in the emails that we've sent.

Q: What will happen to House Moves?
A: Currently, when a customer moves house, we offer to cover the cost of moving their broadband (£40) if they stay with us for a further 12 months. This has been increased to £60. This combined the cost of ceasing the service at your old address as well as placing the new order at your new house. The deferred contract will also now be for 18 months instead of 12.

Q: What happens to a customer if they leave us under the 30 days notice?
A: If you choose to leave us under the notice period, you would need to give us 30 days notice of cancellation and to pay off any outstanding deferred fees. You wouldn't be held to a fixed term contract (such as a 12 month contract) or the cessation charge.

Q: If Home Phone and Broadband is ceased, are there two charges?
A: No, the cease charge only applies to the Broadband service.

Q: What if a customer requests a cease on October 25th and we place it on November 1st?
A: We would not charge the cessation fee as the customer requested the cease before we started to charge for ceases.

Q: What if a PSTN (voice line) cease is placed on the customer's line by their telephone line supplier?
A: The £20 cease charge would still be owed because this causes a broadband cease to be placed.

Q: What would happen if a customer stopped paying their broadband fee?
A: We would try to get in touch with them, but if we were unable to do so after a number of attempts, we would have to ultimately cancel their broadband service, which would result in an extra £20 being added to their outstanding amount.

Feel free to shout up if you have any further queries.