Plusnet debt collection letter

Eydon

You may be right Quentin.

However, since I posted I've been doing some more digging and when I signed up to Plusnet (Feb 2013) the T&Cs were different. Migrations to LLUs (which would include Sky) were exempt from the cessation charge (I have a copy of the webpage).

The T&Cs were updated in October 2013 to now include the charge for migrations to LLUs, but in the notification that we were sent about T&C changes there was no mention of this change, only that the charge was changing from £25 to £30.

My argument to Plusnet now is that since I wasn't notified of this particular change to the T&Cs it is not relevant to the contract that exists between us.

I'm probably flogging a dead horse, and at the end of the day if it costs me £30 to be rid of Plusnet then so be it, but worth a couple of emails I think.

MataNui

The advice you are getting is slightly misleading. Plusnet have no right to simply issue you with this charge. The cessation charge is raised by openreach to the provider you are leaving for disconnections. If you use a MAC then this charge is not raised. As Eydon said, if you are migrating phone and BB from a BT based line to an LLU this charge is not raised (although i have read it is common for openreach to automatically bill in error).

Plusnet needs to prove they have been charged. If they cannot prove this then they cannot charge you. My betting is they have not been charged but routinely try it on. Contact them and dispute the charge. Tell them you want proof that they have been charged by openreach. If they have then you will probably have to pay. If they havent then you dont have to pay.

espresso

robrymond wrote: »

We left PlusNet broadband and moved to Tesco a few months ago. Recently a letter arrived asking for £30 as a transfer fee for the cost of an engineer cutting the connection and switching it to Tesco, a cessation charge.

Read this thread here which mentions this very topic from post #12 onwards.

Sneaky change to their terms or what!

Eydon

espresso wrote: »

Read this thread here which mentions this very topic from post #12 onwards.

Sneaky change to their terms or what!

Yep - it was your post on that other thread that made me dispute the charge with Plusnet. Thanks for the links to both the old and new T&Cs.

I have also found the email that Plusnet sent in August highlighting the changes to their T&Cs effective 1st October and all it says is...

"We'll also be changing the cessation fee we charge if you decide to disconnect your contracted Plusnet broadband service without moving to another provider. This charge will increase from £25 to £30 - if you leave under these circumstances, you will see this charge as a one off cost of your final Plusnet bill."

No mention of any changes as to when it applies - just that the amount of charge is changing. The cessation fee hyperlink does take you to their new T&Cs though where the phrase "(LLU migrations excluded)" has been removed. Very, very diffcult to spot when they don't tell you the old wording to compare against, so hardly a clear announcement of the change.

I have also complained that I was forced to pay the cessation fee there and then over the phone by credit card when their T&Cs clearly state that the fee will be added onto the final bill.

We'll see what comes out of it, but I'm not holding my breath.

Quentin

Eydon wrote: »

.......I'm probably flogging a dead horse, and at the end of the day if it costs me £30 to be rid of Plusnet then so be it, but worth a couple of emails I think.

Well worth pursuing. Especially in view of them threatening to prevent you from leaving unless you pay up. (In reply to the point often made that plusnet are really a bt subsidiary their response is that they are quite separate - but this looks a typical BT attitude to customers)

If they imposed this charge by simply changing the ts + cs mid contract without allowing you to leave at the time if you didn't want to accept the new condition they cannot pursue you for it now.

How did they say you would be bound by new ts + cs? Both sides should agree new ts + cs!

Eydon

Quentin wrote: »

How did they say you would be bound by new ts + cs? Both sides should agree new ts + cs!

In the small print at the bottom of the email...

"If, as a result of the changes in this email, you decide to terminate your affected service(s), you may do so without incurring the Early Termination Charge(s) that may otherwise be payable. If you wish to exercise this right you must contact us within 10 days of receiving this notification. You will still be liable for service charges up to the date of termination."

Just a thought though, they say "as a result of the changes in this email" implying that all the changes I need to agree to are detailed in the email, and yet the application of the cessation fee to LLU migrations is not mentioned in the email so I can't see how I or anyone else can have been deemed to have agreed to it.

Eydon

Still no response from Plusnet regarding my complaint (despite a promise of a reply in 24 hours), but in the meantime I have come across this gem of a post on the Plusnet forums from a member of the Plusnet team.

So as recently as last month Plusnet were acknowledging that there were issues in how customers had been notified of this change.

MataNui

So according to Plusnets T&C and what the CS reps are posting on Plusnet forums Plusnet are following (or at least should be following) the BT Openreach charging structure. This means that you are entitled to demand they prove that they have received a cessation charge from Openreach for your migration.

According to Openreach processes they shouldnt have been charged for your migration (although it is possible Tesco screwed up on their end, you will only know this once you find out if a charge was actually raised).

Eydon

RESULT (for me at least).

Email from Plusnet tonight confirming that "Whilst our terms and conditions have been updated since you signed up, I would agree that the process isn't particularly clear at present when moving to an LLU provider. For this reason, I've refunded you the £30 cancellation charge and it will be back on your card within 10 working days."

So was worth a couple of emails in the end and thank you to those on here that provided links to evidence to support my argument.