Can Plusnet charge me for a service they haven't provided?

insearchofutopia2

Hi All,
Just over 3 weeks ago I joined plusnet in the hope of saving £4 per month off my phone and broadband bill. What a big mistake.
3 weeks in and still no proper broadband service(200kbps max). Its so bad its just like the old modem dial up days but less stable as it keeps dropping out too. I have been patient and spent about 4 1/2 hrs on the phone trying to sort this out.
As much as their technical team have been concerned about this the customer service team are from the school of "computer says...." and offering no comment about anything until the fault is fixed. So now i have to take a day off work too so their engineer can do his thing despit proving that there is nothing wrong with my house connection.
Well enough was enough and so I've signed back up to the original providers TalkTalk. Yes I know it means dealing with India again but their line worked and they seemed to care about the service I got.
Plusnets latest comment were you owe us £40 for the router(which doesn't work as well as my d-link one) unless you return it within 14 days-This got changed to 7 days when I pointed out that the replacement one could be sent back within the 14days.
Also I was responsible for the £25 connection fee despite the fact that I still haven't been properly connected.
Is there anything I can do to avoid the charges as they haven't provided the service i signed up for?



When your this side of the fence you do wonder who hands out these awards that I keep getting told Plusnet have got.

macman

What speed were you getting before Plusnet?
Post your router stats and someone can take a look:
http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.php#34

insearchofutopia2

4weeks ago I was with Talk Talk and usual speeds were 4 meg occasionally it would get up to 5 but I never saw it below 3. Apparently because the line is now Bt it now uses a different unit at the local distribution point so the previous results are useless. Whatever it is it takes 72 hrs for a repair to come into effect so it takes ages for anything to get done.

Seriously troubling. You'd think they'd just press a button on a laptop somewhere but no. Now I am really regretting trying to save money.

macman

Router stats?

Buzby

-You've actually shot yourself in the foot. You've signed up to their service, and whilst there has been teething problems, your have to manage their withdrawal - not arbitrarily declare 'That's It!' and arrange to move out. You can do it - as you have done - but you did not give them time to resolve the issue, or provide them with written notice of your dissatisfaction and give them a set date to resolve the issues.

Without this necessary step - you are simply a customer who has not kept their side of the bargain, and you will be pursued for the debt and possible reported to a DCA for non payment (depending on their own policy). With the service transferred to another carrier, even IF this provides a satisfactory connection does not assist in your complaint agaisst them, as they need to be given an opportunity to resolve it and this must be 'reasonable'. Your action will be seen as precipitous, and whilst I sympathise, you are on shaky ground, unless they agree to waive the charges.

insearchofutopia2

So just how long is considered reasonable to go without broadband after sign up then? If I hadn't arranged to go with another provider I might be without it for months it seems. Surely they should have resolved this after a couple of weeks at most. When I was with Tiscali I had a similar problem at the start of contract and they had an engineer out and the job completed by day three! I hope that the hours spent on the phone in the last couple of weeks trying to resolve the problem would make my intentions clear but enough's enough. (That and some very bad customer service persuaded me to go)
So lets see what the Award winning Plusnet will do. If they're fair I'll be let off the charges, If unfair they'll persecute me and charge as much as they legally can and if a miricle happens they'll acknowledge all the time I've spent on this and offer me some sort of apology. Yes I fear it will be the second one.