Do I need to return my old router if I cancel my account?

[#1]

I have just looked through the information sent to me when I took out my current contract in January 2023. As far as i could see, at that time, the only mention of the requirement to return the router, a Hub 2, was if I cancelled with the 14 day cooling off period. If that requirement has now changed, I would expect that text in the Pre-contract Information will have been updated to reflect the new requirements and would not expect Plusnet to rely on some printed logo on the box that the router shipped in. The box that my router came in at that time has such a logo but it appears more for the purpose of asking you to keep the box should you need to return the router to Plusnet, and is probably there to demonstrate Plusnet's conformation to the WEEE Regulations.

There are probably simpler and easier methods to ensure recycling of an old router for many people, such as taking it to a nearby household waste centre or to a designated local recycling point for small electrical appliances.

[#2]

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@jgb wrote:

There are probably simpler and easier methods to ensure recycling of an old router for many people, such as taking it to a nearby household waste centre or to a designated local recycling point for small electrical appliances.

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Depends where those sites are - in my case, they are two bus rides away (as I don't drive), but my PO is five minutes walk away. Guess what my best option is?

See also point #4 here: https://www.plus.net/help/legal/terms/

(in the 'summary')

[#3]

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@jab1 wrote:

@laurent There is 'no need' to return it, but what are you going to do with it?

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Recycle it, somehow.

If I return it, I need to go to my library to print the label and usually the printer there is broken. If it's not broken then the computer is. So I'll need to go to the other library and hope it's open on that particular day at that particular time. To print I need to find a computer (and hope that it works) then tell the librarian about it who will look like I'm bothering them, who will pick up the sheet and then I'll need to pay for it (but only in cash please).

Then I need to go to Royal Mail which is open only a few hours every day (only during working hours, when I don't I have time to go), and the day I actually go there I can only hope that they are not "exceptionally" closed. Then I give them the box and all that, and usually they tell me that something is wrong and I need to come back some other day with some form or whatever or I shouldn't go to Royal Mail but to the Post Office.

Eventually that router will probably end up in a landfill somewhere in India anyway.

So to avoid this Kafkaian situation, I prefer to recycle it myself at some local collection point.

[#4]

@jab1 Yes, in your case I can see that return of the router via Royal Mail to Plusnet may be the easiest option, but I did say "for many people" - on my part, whilst the recycling centre is a short car ride away there is local facility to recycle small electrical items a short walk away without the hassle of an understaffed busy post office to negotiate. See also  Electrical recycling - Where to recycle & donate - Recycle Your Electricals.

The price guide (via the terms and conditions your post pointed to) seems to suggest that the £50 charge for failing to return a router only applies to those ordered after 1 February 2024. I could not find another reference but concede there may be one buried elsewhere in the plethora of pages. I can see no way to interrogate the full terms and conditions regarding routers older than 1 February 2024 as I could only find the current version on the website. Again I would suggest that any such requirement ought to be in the paperwork sent out after signing up - maybe the latest version does so?

Do we know what Plusnet do with used routers which may be many months / years old (not the ones returned in the cooling off period) to justify such a charge? 

[#5]

The actual wording on the box is "If you cancel or leave us, we'll ask you to return it.".

Thus that applies to cancellation AND leaving.

The 2024 changes in T&Cs formalises the not enforced previous intent, so as to reduce electronic waste and where possible recycle (refurbish) old equipment.

[#6]

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@laurent wrote:

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If I return it, I need to go to my library to print the label and usually the printer there is broken. If it's not broken then the computer is. So I'll need to go to the other library and hope it's open on that particular day at that particular time. To print I need to find a computer (and hope that it works) then tell the librarian about it who will look like I'm bothering them, who will pick up the sheet and then I'll need to pay for it (but only in cash please).

Then I need to go to Royal Mail which is open only a few hours every day (only during working hours, when I don't I have time to go), and the day I actually go there I can only hope that they are not "exceptionally" closed. Then I give them the box and all that, and usually they tell me that something is wrong and I need to come back some other day with some form or whatever or I shouldn't go to Royal Mail but to the Post Office.

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You needn't go through any of this hassle. The link to Royal Mail's Click & Collect service on the Plusnet website has options for both doorstep collection and label provision: -

[#7]

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@laurent wrote:

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Eventually that router will probably end up in a landfill somewhere in India anyway.

So to avoid this Kafkaian situation...

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No, the routers are refurbished and reused.

Oppressive or nightmarish situation?  Really?

Kalms Day (kalmsrange.com)