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Plusnet cancellation due to poor service

We are currently with Plusnet but are due to move house soon. Due to some pretty appalling customer service and poor broadband service recently I don't really want to stay with them, unfortunately we still have 18 months left on the contract.

I've been trying to find out what rights we have to cancel in contract if the service has not been satisfactory but can't find much online. Does anyone have any more info on this?

I tried arguing a free or reduced cost cancellation with them due to these issues but the only concession they'd give was to waive the £30 stop fee, leaving us nearly £180 to pay to cancel the rest of the service. They even tried to force us on to a 24 months contract on moving, despite us being told when we moved 6 months back (in to a temporary address due to a flood) that there would be nothing more to pay when we moved back.

Before that move I'd had no issues with them but had I know how bad they had got I'd have just cancelled there and then as I was out of contract and got a short-term solution at the temporary address.

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 26,612 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    You haven't given any detail of their "appalling customer service", but it would have to be pretty serious failings for Plusnet to allow you to leave without paying an Early Termination of Contract (ETC) fee for the eighteen months you are still contracted. You certainly won't be allowed to leave simply because of "poor broadband".

    What exactly have been your issues? Just the cliff notes will do, no need to quote chapter and verse.
  • bubblegun
    bubblegun Posts: 210 Forumite
    sghughes42 wrote: »
    We are currently with Plusnet but are due to move house soon. Due to some pretty appalling customer service and poor broadband service recently I don't really want to stay with them, unfortunately we still have 18 months left on the contract.

    I've been trying to find out what rights we have to cancel in contract if the service has not been satisfactory but can't find much online. Does anyone have any more info on this?

    I tried arguing a free or reduced cost cancellation with them due to these issues but the only concession they'd give was to waive the £30 stop fee, leaving us nearly £180 to pay to cancel the rest of the service. They even tried to force us on to a 24 months contract on moving, despite us being told when we moved 6 months back (in to a temporary address due to a flood) that there would be nothing more to pay when we moved back.

    Before that move I'd had no issues with them but had I know how bad they had got I'd have just cancelled there and then as I was out of contract and got a short-term solution at the temporary address.

    OFCOM has a voluntary code of practice broadband on speeds (which Plusnet are signatory's to)which you need you need to get them to adhere to for you to get out of the contract without penalty. However, this also does place certain requirements on you as the customer to adhere to as well.

    Lots of broadband problems are to do with the physical line at the property and any provider will give poor service due to this. You may move home and have a faultless service at the next address.

    Why have you got 18m left on your contract surely most contracts are 18m at most?
  • sghughes42
    sghughes42 Posts: 473 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Quick overview of the issues we had with them...

    Due to a house flood we had to move to a temporary address while restoration work was being done. Phoned Plusnet to check the options for moving, the person I spoke to was very helpful and sympathetic, arranged the move for as soon as they could (about 3 weeks time) and said they would make sure the move back was a smooth as possible, no extra charges etc. Came to move day, the install got cancelled on the day, couple of days later the phone got put in but no broadband. Got a date for broadband installation, queried via live chat if there was nothing sooner or any other way to get online, they took this as me asking to cancel the broadband order so had to start the process again. Promised compensation to cover a temporary solution then reneged on that promise, only paying us for downtime. At the same time they had cut our old broadband off the day we contacted them despite being asked to keep it live until they could move it.

    As for the broadband issues, speed is fine the problem is that the connection keeps stalling. Very intermittent but tends to stop for 5 minutes at a time then goes back to normal. Their only offer of help was to say they'd charge us for an engineer if they couldn't find a problem, which seems highly likely if it is an intermittent issue.

    As for the contract length, I agreed to 24 months in return for having the two lots of install charges waived for the move and move back. I didn't really want that but otherwise the charges would have been something liek £90 per move.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 26,612 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    sghughes42 wrote: »
    speed is fine the problem is that the connection keeps stalling. Very intermittent but tends to stop for 5 minutes at a time then goes back to normal. Their only offer of help was to say they'd charge us for an engineer if they couldn't find a problem, which seems highly likely if it is an intermittent issue.
    Nothing you've said indicates that Plusnet will allow an early cancellation without penalty. As the other poster pointed out, OFCOM has a voluntary code of practice with regard broadband speed but that doesn't apply in your case.

    Certainly, you won't get further with this by refusing to allow them to fix the "problem". Saying you suspect they won't find any fault because it is an intermittent one is a little defeatist. You'll have to risk being charged for an engineer visit. Of course, if they do charge, you won't be allowed to cancel early anyway.
    sghughes42 wrote: »
    Promised compensation to cover a temporary solution then reneged on that promise, only paying us for downtime.
    That is "compensation". No other provider would pay anything other than a refund for downtime.

    Just for information, Plusnet came top for Customer Service in this month's "Which?" survey of broadband providers.
  • sghughes42
    sghughes42 Posts: 473 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I've been with Plusnet for nearly 4 years without any issue so far and I've recommended them to others but my recent experiences with them suggest their standards have slipped massively. They seem very keen to give out promises then 'can find no record of them' as well as being very unhelpful when it comes to fixing their mistakes.

    I think my mistake was to agree to the 24 month contract when we moved to the temporary address but then I guess I wasn't to know how badly things would go pear-shaped.

    You've encapsulated the problem exactly with getting the fault fixed. It definitely isn't my equipment as I've tried different cabling, filter and router on my side. The place is rented so I have no responsibility for the wiring to the flat itself. They won't run any tests or do any monitoring on the line to see if they can spot the problem happening, the only solution offered is for an engineer to come out during the day to look in to a problem that only seems to happen in the evening and if he can't find it we have to pay.

    As for the compensation, a figure was offered verbally. What we actually got paid was less than half that offered. Whether the CS rep had the authority to offer what they did I don't know, but to me to make an offer then refuse to honour it isn't acceptable.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 26,612 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    sghughes42 wrote: »
    I think my mistake was to agree to the 24 month contract when we moved to the temporary address
    Absolutely....
  • sghughes42
    sghughes42 Posts: 473 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Hindsight is a wonderful thing though. With everything else we were dealing with at the time, from an insurance company doing their best to avoid finding us suitable alternative accommodation to an estate agent intent on putting obstacles in the way, never mind the implications of losing everything in a flood, it seemed an easy way to deal with one small problem.

    There are times when it would be nice to just be able to press a reset button and start everything again anew, not have to deal with difficult, unhelpful suppliers any more.
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