Our new Plusnet haggling guide- please share your feedback

br1anstorm

I have been a Plusnet customer for over ten years and in some ways their ideal client because I have not bothered to review or compare my arrangements. As a result I have been on their "default" open-ended (no fixed contract period) standard broadband and phone package for a very long time.

My line rental is soon due for renewal. As it happens there was also an error in the most recent monthly Direct Debit which Plusnet took, so I had to call them to get that checked. This prompted me to look closely, if belatedly, at my present deal.

My current Plusnet package consists of:

• Line rental (paid annually in advance) £197.88pa which is equivalent to £16.49 pm
• Standard broadband £10.99 pm
• Call anytime plan on home phone £7.00 pm

So total cost £34.48 pm or £413.76 pa.

I have no real need for fibre (which is available, but in our rural area isn't especially fast). So I did some comparisons of equivalent deals from other providers before contacting Plusnet. Prices differed on the various comparison sites. The most competitive rivals for 12-month contracts included Now Broadband (£14.67pm or £18pm), POP Broadband (£17.99pm) and the Post Office (£25.90pm) - all providers of which I knew little. SSE (my energy supplier) offered a £26pm deal, but on an 18-month contract

But interestingly, the best alternative deal seemed to be a 12 month contract with John Lewis - which is actually provided by Plusnet. Their offer, for the same product as I currently have with Plusnet, is £25pm (£20 line rental plus standard broadband, with £5 call-anytime phone plan). Total cost £300pa..... with a £40 'reward' JL gift card. Net cost £260pa.

Armed with these figures, I spoke to the Plusnet 'retention' team. I pointed out my long loyalty, the many years I had in fact been paying over the odds, and said - truthfully - that I was content with the Plusnet service and reluctant to move to a new provider. But I was no longer willing to pay the 'default' cost of over £400 per year and was looking for a competitive offer - ie matching the (Plusnet-provided) John Lewis deal.

The Plusnet lady was willing to review the figures. But to my surprise and disappointment, the best she could offer was a 12 month contract at £26.99pm (annual total £323.88). This was made up of line rental at £197.88pa, ie £16.49pm, standard broadband discounted frpm £10.99 to £3.50pm, and call-anytime phone plan at £7pm.

I pointed out that at £323.88 this wasn't really close to their own, virtually identical John Lewis 12 month deal at £25pm (£300 pa) which with the £40 card-reward took the cost down to £260pa.

She tried to suggest - unconvincingly - that the John Lewis deal was less attractive and "different". The only obvious differences seem to be that each element (line rental, broadband, and call plan) is slightly cheaper!

But she was adamant that she could offer no further reduction to match the John Lewis price.

So I'm left with a bit of a dilemma. Is it worth my paying more than £60 (almost 20%) 'extra' per year to stay with Plusnet, the devil I know? Or do I shift to John Lewis, which is unknown territory? I have seen some forum posts which suggest that even though this is in theory an "in-house" move, it cannot be relied on to go smoothly.

I have a week or two to decide. I'd be interested in any comments or advice.....

Mark_84

£25 is expensive for standard non fibre broadband even with anytime calls. I would look at the Now broadband deal for £18 per month which includes anytime calls and a £50 voucher.

I am surprised you are happy with the speed of standard broadband in a rural area? I assume you don’t do any video streaming or catch up tv?


Mark

br1anstorm

Thanks Mark

It's true that the Now Broadband offer comes at the top of several comparison-site best buy lists. But I know absolutely nothing about them. Are they reliable? How long have they been in business? What is their customer service like? Who owns them?

As we have seen with energy suppliers, small, new providers tend to price their product to attract lots of customers..... then find they don't have the admin capacity or infrastructure to cope, and they collapse.

Banks do the same with savings accounts: a headline deal to feature as a best buy, pull in the punters, then dump them on default rates or catch them out with the small print.

Not saying that Now is in that league, but I'd want some reassurance of their robustness and quality of service.

As for standard v fibre, the short answer is that we don't rely on our ISP for TV; and we do hardly any streaming or catch-up viewing. So the (slight) gain in speed is hardly worth the extra cost and processes of changeover to fibre.

[Deleted User]

Now TV Broadband is owned and run by Sky TV. It is used to provide a cheaper brand name for the Sky TV group who also sell broadband under the Sky brand.
A bit like BT who own Plusnet and EE but run them at different price levels to get more customers for the BT Group plc.

br1anstorm

Aha - I hadn't made the connection with NowTV (whose ads I have seen on some TV channels).

I used to be wary of Sky: the Murdoch connection puts me off. And I have no interest in a package which includes TV via internet. Our Freeview satellite service gives us enough choice.

I am not keen on ISPs which rely for payment (as I think Now does?) on Continuous Credit Authority (ie debit card) rather than Direct Debit from a bank account. But I will look again at the reviews of Now's performance as a broadband/internet provider to see whether they offer a serious and better value alternative to my current Plusnet deal.

Thanks again....

Mark_84

One of the lads at work has gone with Now broadband and had no issues. I am sure plenty of reviews will be on this forum of the company themselves.

You could also try phoning Plusnet cancellations quoting the now broadband deal and see if they can match it. Sometimes especially with BT once they you start the switch with the new provider and they become aware of it they are then able to offer better deals..

ask66

Hi br1anstorm, I just had a look at my post from last July:

ask66 wrote: »

I've just renewed with PN for another year. They wouldn't match their new customer deal - to get these you'd probably need to switch provider every year.

I was told that they won't match any competitors' offers accessed via price comparison/affiliate sites, but they may match offers available on competitors' own sites. And that they won't match TalkTalk as due to poor ratings they don't consider them a competitor.

I was advised to search the internet for offers available (other than TalkTalk!) and go back to them with the information. Apparently they have a regularly updated 'list' for staff showing who they are matching at any given time. If they offer to do a match, it's only valid for 48 hours.

After doing this, I was able to get broadband (not fibre) free for 12 months alongside Line Rental Saver (a year's phone line £198 paid in advance = £16.50 a month).

Unfortunately loyalty doesn't pay in this market - it would be great if it did - but that seems to be the way it is.

I can understand your reluctance to move away from Plusnet, but I think when you are speaking to retentions, you should say that you WILL leave if you can't get a good deal. I would call again, tell them you have heard that they are authorised to price match selected competitors' deals, and if they say no, get their name and ask to speak to a manager. If all else fails, and the best deal you can get is way more expensive the competition, then I'd probably switch as long as the competition is a big name and not Talk Talk. I wouldn't have thought there would be any problem at all switching to John Lewis - as you say it is run by Plusnet, and John Lewis seems like a company that prides itself on top customer service.

Would be good to hear how you get on!

ask66

br1anstorm

Thanks, ask66, that's really helpful.

When talking to Plusnet today I was very polite but indicated pretty clearly that if Plusnet couldn't match - or get close to - the John Lewis deal then I would definitely move.

The lady audibly wriggled and wrung her hands but was emphatic that she couldn't improve on the offer she'd made (and I've since had an email confirming the figures she quoted).

It's not as if they are unaware of the John Lewis prices, as they are the supplier of the JL service!

But if other staff - or senior managers - do have scope to be more flexible, then it is obviously worth having another go and maybe quoting the Now deal as an example of an even cheaper alternative.

Watch this space - I'll update after I've had another conversation with Plusnet.....

iansp

I contacted Plusnet via live chat and after declining their first offer and by also utilising line saver plus, I was able to get a 12 month renewal on my contract for £21 per month.

denial2010

Retentions lets me go without much of a fight. I quoted Vodafone fibre for £20/m and the lady said she simply couldn't match it and that was the end of that.