Plusnet rip off cancellation fee

bert_the_fish

Hi, I don't know if this is covered elsewhere, but my Plusnet phone & broadband contract ends on the 27th November, so I decided to switch to the Post Office. The switch date is the 27th November, so I thought there would be no problems. Unfortunately Plusnet think differently. On Tuesday, they sent me an email stating that I will be liable to pay an early cancellation fee of £3.66. Is this legal? As I had no choice of the actual switch date, it was pure luck that the switch date was the same as my contract end date. When I have switched previously, no early cancellation fees were payable, for longer periods. I don't want to stay with Plusnet as I had a traumatic switch last year, when I was without phone or broadband for three weeks.

nic_c

It is the remainder of your contract. If you have agreed 12 month contract then you are liable to pay for that. You are effectively ending it one day early as you'll be paying up until 26th. If after 6 months you decided to switch would you think it unfair they charge you the remaining 6 months?

Neil_Jones

bert_the_fish wrote: »

Hi, I don't know if this is covered elsewhere, but my Plusnet phone & broadband contract ends on the 27th November, so I decided to switch to the Post Office. The switch date is the 27th November, so I thought there would be no problems. Unfortunately Plusnet think differently. On Tuesday, they sent me an email stating that I will be liable to pay an early cancellation fee of £3.66. Is this legal? As I had no choice of the actual switch date, it was pure luck that the switch date was the same as my contract end date. When I have switched previously, no early cancellation fees were payable, for longer periods. I don't want to stay with Plusnet as I had a traumatic switch last year, when I was without phone or broadband for three weeks.

Yeah it tells you this on the web site when you log in, there's a pink bar on the right hand side that tells you when your contract ends and it ends at the end of that day. Not before or not, but that's when it ends.

There is no "switching window" like you get with energy, in telecoms you are contracted until your end date and if you switch away, you will be liable.

bert_the_fish

I can understand if I switched six months early, but the actual final day of my contract? If this is an unchangeable date, then the switchover should require you to enter the date of your contract ending, and you should be able to specify the actual date you want to switch, rather than enter your details and hope that you've got the right date, and your old supplier won't charge you too much if you have the wrong day.

Neil_Jones

bert_the_fish wrote: »

I can understand if I switched six months early, but the actual final day of my contract? If this is an unchangeable date, then the switchover should require you to enter the date of your contract ending, and you should be able to specify the actual date you want to switch, rather than enter your details and hope that you've got the right date, and your old supplier won't charge you too much if you have the wrong day.

AFAIK there is nothing from any provider of any service whatsoever that allows you to specify when something just ends comes what may, the only thing that can end is a price point/agreement on price which is all a contract is and after that the assumption has to be that you want to keep using the service after the agreed date.

This is why things renew automatically unless you the customer intervenes. Some things are a legal requirement like having car insurance for example if you drive. That can be useful, not necessarily wise from a moneysaving point of view (as you should really shop around for something like that instead of just letting it renew) but it can be useful as it stops you breaking the law in that regard.

You are always free to move provider whenever you like regardless of the exit fees but if you agree to stay until November 27th and you tell Plusnet you're leaving before then, they are at rights to charge early termination fees; you have never been able to specify a specific date as such for service switchovers much like when you move gas suppliers you get a massive window of anywhere up to six weeks after filling the form out, but then that's what the 49 days are for. Start dates yes, but switching? No.

If you're not happy with the system, I suggest you take it up with Ofcom. And next time switch two days later than you did this time

[Deleted User]

bert_the_fish wrote: »

I can understand if I switched six months early, but the actual final day of my contract? If this is an unchangeable date, then the switchover should require you to enter the date of your contract ending, and you should be able to specify the actual date you want to switch, rather than enter your details and hope that you've got the right date, and your old supplier won't charge you too much if you have the wrong day.

In which case your beef is with The PO, not Plusnet.

bert_the_fish

So why should the Post Office be responsible for Plusnet charging a months fee for a couple of hours? A maximum of 24 hours, in this case.

BoGoF

bert_the_fish wrote: »

So why should the Post Office be responsible for Plusnet charging a months fee for a couple of hours? A maximum of 24 hours, in this case.

Is your BB £3.66 a month?

JJ_Egan

bert_the_fish wrote: »

So why should the Post Office be responsible for Plusnet charging a months fee for a couple of hours? A maximum of 24 hours, in this case.

Gaining provider is responsible for the switch not PN .
PO is just resold Talk Talk .

iniltous

If you absolutely didn’t want to pay a penny in ETC’s to Plusnet ( and TBH £3.66 is hardly a kings ransom) then you should have allowed you minimum term to expire and moved onto whatever the ‘out of contract price’ is, then regardless of the actual date the changeover is made, no ETC would be payable, and any days paid for after the changeover would be refunded, but obviously it’s possible a few days at whatever the out of contract price , compared to whatever price the PO are charging could be more than the £3.66.
The changeover date is agreed with the gaining provider ( as already stated ) so TBH , Plusnet are advised of that date, and if it happens to be while you are still inside their minimum term, even if it’s the last day of the minimum term, then the ETC , probably automatically generated by the billing system , is valid, and given the small amount due, it’s (IMHO) not worth worrying about