Plusnet cashback £50 not £75

chrisfg12

I signed up for phone line and standard broadband with Plusnet through a deal advertised on the MSE website. This included a £75 cashback offer in the form of a prepaid Mastercard. The deal was concluded, the connection made and a week or two later my cashback card arrived. However, it was only for £50, not £75. I queried this via a chat session with the Plusnet service centre and was told it was possible my connection had been broken and I'd been diverted to the the standard Plusnet website sign up pages where the offer was £50. I was advised to check with MSE and get confirmation from them of when I accessed the deal through their website. They were unable to provide any such details, saying that once I navigated away from their site they can't help, as they have no info.
I note from other contributions to the Plusnet forum that I'm not alone in finding the amount of cashback I get is lower than that advertised. The excuse given seems to be related to cookies or pop-up blockers. At no point was I aware that any connection had been lost or that I had been diverted to an altrernative offer. I find I am unable to provide any hard evidence and am effectively being short-changed through no fault of my own.
I note that a very truncated version of this is posted as a 'closed question' in my account but with no ready means of response.
I am not impressed and am considering passing this on to Trading Standards. From posts on the Plusnet forum I am obviously not alone in finding the reality of a deal from a comparison website does not match the advertised offer. I have told Plusnet I would be grateful to receive an apology and the missing £25. Has anyone else had a similar problem when accessing a Plusnet offer via MSE?

JJ_Egan

Where is this link you saw £75 .

chrisfg12

It was on the MSE in April. The deal is no longer available.

Saeed

I've signed up yesterday and the current offer is £85, will see if they honour it.

---- Offer ----

Until Tue 24 July, new Plusnet customers, or those who've not been with it in the last month, can get a 12-month contract with BT-owned Plusnet*, which includes line rental and unlimited downloads with an average of 10Mb speed broadband. It was a strong performer in our latest customer service poll – 58% rated it 'great', only 16% 'poor'.

The deal's available to 90% of the UK based on postcode – you're told when applying if you can't get it (or use our new tool Broadband Unbundled which only shows deals available in your postcode), though you can't get it if you're already a Plusnet customer (or left in the last month). Here's how it works...

If you can afford to, choose to pay line rental for 1yr upfront. You pay £197.88 for the year (you must opt for this at sign-up), it's then £18.99/mth, the same as if you were to pay monthly. Either way, no calls are included – see Plusnet charges.
Broadband's £1/mth for 12mths. After the contract, it rises to £10.99/mth. If you don't live in a low-cost area, you'll pay more, but this won't apply to most.
Get £85 cashback but you MUST claim it. Annoyingly Plusnet makes you claim your cashback. You'll get an email within 10 days of activation explaining how, and you must do it within two months. Your cheque should then arrive within 30 days.
Nothing to pay upfront. Activation and router delivery are 'free' with this deal.
- Cost analysis: If you pay a year's line rental upfront and factor in the £85 cashback, over the 12mth contract it's £124.88 before calls or new line costs, equivalent to £10.41/mth. If you pay line rental monthly, it's equiv £12.91/mth.

Anything else?

- Could Plusnet hike prices? Sadly, telecoms firms often do, but you should be able to leave penalty-free if it happens while you're in contract.

- Need a new line? If you don't have a line (eg, you've cable only), it's £49.99 – you'll be told before you commit.

- Don't live in a low-cost area? You'll be told if you live in a low-cost area while applying; rural areas are sometimes more expensive. If you don't, broadband's £10.50/mth during the contract on top of line rental. Broadband and phone will rise to £37.48/mth after the contract ends.

[Deleted User]

Saeed wrote: »

I've signed up yesterday and the current offer is £85, will see if they honour it.

I was going to ask where you saw this offer as it wasn't showing up but it's actually postcode specific so if it it doesn't show up for anyone else then tough, it's just not available in your area.

teddysmum

Colin_Maybe wrote: »

I was going to ask where you saw this offer as it wasn't showing up but it's actually postcode specific so if it it doesn't show up for anyone else then tough, it's just not available in your area.

I can only see a £50 offer.

EssBiem

On the MSE site at this moment it is £75.


I tried going through the motions following the link, but am having issues.


I follow the MSE link for the 75 cashback, which takes you to the PN website, you then add yuor PC and phone # into the site and it informs you that you have fibre at the moment.


Which directs you to their list of fibre deals and thus the link is broken from the cheap ADSL broadband deal.



I'm quite aware I have fibre, I would like to downgrade to ADSL for the cheaper cost.


I'll have a word with them tomorrow.

rustyhead

EssBiem wrote: »

On the MSE site at this moment it is £75.


I tried going through the motions following the link, but am having issues.


I follow the MSE link for the 75 cashback, which takes you to the PN website, you then add yuor PC and phone # into the site and it informs you that you have fibre at the moment.


Which directs you to their list of fibre deals and thus the link is broken from the cheap ADSL broadband deal.



I'm quite aware I have fibre, I would like to downgrade to ADSL for the cheaper cost.


I'll have a word with them tomorrow.

I got this page also the other day, have you had any luck

chrisfg12

I had the same issue initially as the two previous respondants. I thought there was a fault but was told by Plusnet that if I had either EE or BT broadband that this would happen and the only way around was to opt for a new connection, meaning a new (landline) phone number. When I did this I was able to process the Plusnet deal all the way through. It was only later that I discovered the issue with the shortfall in the cashback.


In future, I will take screenshots when signing up for such deals, as otherwise it's virtually impossible to prove your case when it goes wrong.

malakoffee

My Plusnet phone & broadband is now up and running for a couple of days.


Please set my expectations before I contact Plusnet directly.


How & when should I be receiving the £75 cashback cheque ?

Thanks.
EDIT : Update
A reply from the Plusnet Community Forum - by a Plusnet staff member . . . . .

I've checked your account and I can confirm that it's tracked on a cashback offer.
You should receive an email to redeem it within 10 working days from when the 13th when your broadband went live.
The email will contain a short form to fill out to claim the cashback and you'll receive it within 30 days once you've completed the form.
Let us know if there are any issues. I hope this helps.

Which is reassuring! A slight pity that I had to ask for this information, rather than have it provided upfront.

cjw5

Hi, I’m a newbie to this forum and am wondering if anyone has had this problem with Plusnet.
I swapped via MSE link on 21 July. (Line and broadband) That deal was to pay £197.88 upfront and get £75 casback (to be claimed via a link they would send later) so working out to £10.24 per month.
All went well but today I received cash back cheque of £50. When I contacted them this evening I was told that was the deal at the time. They gave me another number to contact but of course they only work office hours!
I was wondering if anyone is in the same position?