Delayed order - can I cancel my contract without penalties? 13 February at 10:38AM in Broadband & internet access 2 replies 99 views

Whitefootprint

Hi All

Can anyone tell me what my rights are with regards to cancelling due to delays in setting up my broadband? I'm in an 18 month contract that ends in Dec and notified Plusnet I was moving house on 9th Jan (taking out a new contract so I didn't have to pay a moving fee) and given a live date of 4th Feb with a new line installation date of 6th Feb (which doesn't make sense anyway because they can't activate it without the new line). 10 days after telling them of my move, they notified me that the order had got "stuck" due to a problem with their supplier so they had to cancel and add it back on and they'd have a new live date soon, which I've now been chasing for 33 days. Communication has been awful, they have continually fobbed me off and I have had no internet since I moved on 4th Feb even after I raised a formal complaint and asked Plusnet to raise the same with the supplier, and now they have told me the order is stuck in the system AGAIN.

I've had enough, I want to cancel and go with another provider but I don't know if there's a minimum amount of time you have to be without service before you can end the contract without any exit fees? Plusnet have told me I can cancel if the complaint isn't resolved after 30 days, but as I raised this on 1st Feb I'll be without broadband for about 6 weeks if I wait that long and they haven't resolved it. Also, of I did cancel, would I still receive a rebate from the automatic compensation scheme for the days I've been without any service up until I notify them of my cancellation?

As a side note, I recently received a notification that my bill was going up, so if I couldn't cancel my contract without exit fees because of the above, could I do so because they're raising their costs?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the essay-like explanation!

wongataa

Whitefootprint said:

As a side note, I recently received a notification that my bill was going up, so if I couldn't cancel my contract without exit fees because of the above, could I do so because they're raising their costs?

No because in the contract it will state that in March (it is about then) the prices will rise by the CPI inflation rate plus something (3 ish % points I think).  As you signed up to that you can't leave without penalty.  If you could leave without penalty due to the price rise the notification would have stated that you could.

iniltous

If you cancel with PN at your new address, it would  be regarded as your  order  never existed, it puts you back in the position your held previously, so ‘in contract’ at your old address until December , so although you should be able to cancel , you would be liable for early termination charges….
Unless you have access to an alternative network to Openreach , then cancelling with PN and using someone else isn’t necessarily going to get your service provided any quicker , if they also will use OR,  
If if you went with someone like Virgin or an alternative network provider , your service may be provided quicker , but you would have to settle the ETC at your old address and PN couldn’t credit you with  late connection charges at the new address , as they would have done if you continued with them , once the service was eventually provided