topic Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive in Plusnet Feedback

October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

charlesb224 — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 16:58:39 GMT

OK, well the recent price increase has made me look again at my options, and whilst I believe that I get great service with PlusNet (I have had previous experience with both Virgin Media and TalkTalk who both have their pluses and minuses) I'm not entirely sure that I'm getting value for money anymore
My current PlusNet deal is the unlimited package = £9.99, PLUS Anytime calls £4, plus Line Rental Saver £10.49, plus Caller ID = £0.99 = Total £25.47 / month
The increase from 1st October will mean this will increase by £1.50 per month (£1 Line Rental, although for me this is deferred until April when my renewal comes up) and £0.50 for the Anytime Calls.
So, my plan will cost £25.97 from October and £26.97 from April Next year. At present I have a single referral from a friend which saves me £1 per month, so that helps, but....
TalkTalk are offering Unlimited Broadband, Anytime Calls AND their IPTV service with a free Youview box for £25 (£9.50 Line Rental Saver) and £15.50 for the broadband (after 6 months half price offer expires).
So. I'm inclined to believe that PlusNet is not valuing existing customers anymore, and I'm seriously considering moving asap to avoid this price increase AND gain an IPTV service which is looking like a real pull for me with 4 kids.
So - PlusNet - what can you do about this?

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

rongtw — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 17:15:44 GMT

Talk Talk
sorry i wouldn't go there worst ISP ever

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

charlesb224 — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 17:20:04 GMT

Well. I've experienced them before, and my Father in Law has been with them for 6 years, and he's not had any major issues with the service.
I had horrendous problems with Virgin.... and I read some people have poor experiences with PlusNet too, so I have to take individual experiences as just that, individual experiences, which does not make a complete service terrible.

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

spraxyt — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 18:14:14 GMT

The best way to find out what Plusnet can offer is to give the Customer Options Team a ring on 0800 432 0200 or 0345 140 0200 Mon-Fri 9am to 8pm, Sat 9am to 5:30pm..

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

BryanP — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 18:33:56 GMT

I'm in the same position
My phone renewal is due in Dec although I can renew it in the next 5 days as I pay annually for the phone
I am aware that you can have bad experiences with other companies but I can only go of my experiences, I have a virgin broadband as my main broadband ( plusnet is my backup service) and I have no problem with the service, when I have had anything wrong with it they have responded quickly and fixed it
My son had Talk Talk and again he had no problems
I originally had BT and only went to PlusNet because it was cheaper
I think now it is a case that you or in my case I do the sums and find the cheapest deal because every ISP provider are good or bad depending on your experiences

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

billnotben — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 20:52:22 GMT

Quote from: BryanP
I think now it is a case that you or in my case I do the sums and find the cheapest deal because every ISP provider are good or bad depending on your experiences

I think that just about sums things up.
Plusnet was good value broadband. That just isn't the case any more.
Maybe things will change in the future, who knows.

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

pint — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 22:55:47 GMT

My LRS runs out in november/December, and im considering my options, especialy as there are now LLU providers on my Market 1 exchange ( where apparently BT wholesale is the only provider)
Been with plusnet since May 2004, but the more i start looking into pricing the more tempting the likes of talk talk are, as with lower LLU prices plusnet are, for want of a better word a rip-off.

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 04:00:03 GMT

@'charlesb224' - Your figures look like they are from TalkTalk - Essentials TV
TalkTalk also revised their standard (non-IPTV) products yesterday, and are now much cheaper for just broadband and phone.
Cheap broadband from TalkTalk as they revamp product line and TalkTalk - New SimplyBroadband
£10.50 : Line rental saver
£2.50 : Unlimited broadband
£5.50 : Anytime calls
---------
£18.50 / month
Which is VERY cheap compared to the £16.99/month I currently pay Plusnet JUST for Unlimited broadband (Market 1).
Unfortunately when I tried entering my details into the TalkTalk postcode checker to get a customized package quotation,
I got the following screen -

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

Mayfly — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 06:38:53 GMT

Just checked TT for myself and it says by paying LRS up front it works out to be £9.50 per month.

I assume if everyone pays the same with TT then for the likes of us [Mkt 1] then it will be cheaper as it's a level playing field for all but phone and unlimited BB for less than PN charge for Mkt 1 unlimited BB is tempting.
My LRS is up next Feb so with the possibility of new market classifications due next March it will all be down to PN and their plans.
Edit: then I read PN have won yet more awards for their Service/BB/Home phone and I start thinking if it's worth moving!!!!!

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 07:31:20 GMT

@'Mayfly' - As I got the service unavailable message in Reply #7, I'm wondering if TalkTalk don't do Market 1 (i.e. BT ONLY) exchanges, and whether TalkTalk only offer their prices on their own LLU lines.
As you are on Market 1, what happens when you put your details in their postcode checker - TalkTalk - New SimplyBroadband <Buy Now>.

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

charlesb224 — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 09:04:25 GMT

@purleigh - thanks for the tip about the Essentials broadband - I didn't see that when I looked although I believe it's £9.50 for the line rental paid in advance, not £10.50
I wouldn't put too much faith in awards... My company has been in the 'Sunday Times Top 100 best places to work' for around 10 years now. They don't vote or ask employees, they just talk to HR, get some gumph about what the 'ethos' and rewards are like then compare to other companies who bother to apply and work out where you sit in the list... (OK, I'm a little cynical!)
So - I'm currently 6 months into my Line Rental Saver (£125.88 / 2 -= £62.83 out of pocket if I were to switch now (more like £51 by the time I sort out a switch) , as PlusNet don't refund any part of your Line Rental, so I thought I'd look into ALL their other packages:
I looked at their Fibre costs and almost fell off my chair.
Essentials Broadband , with Anytime Calls was £23.40 - with Line Rental Saver....£17.90
Plus TV, with Anytime Calls £30.90 - with Line Rental Saver £25 - Half Price package for SIX MONTHS = £7.75
Fibre, with Anytime Calls was £33.40 - with Line Rental Saver...£27.90
My Current Package - £26.97
£8.90 Saving PER Month, allowing for my loss of £51 in the first 5 months, I would be quids in by March 2014
or
£1.97 Saving Per month AND Get a free YouView Box - Plus extra £7.75 per month discount for 1st 6 Months, which also offsets the Line Rental loss.
or
For <£1 more a month I could have their Fibre broadband with free installation. Fibre with PlusNet is Astronomical in comparison
OH MY GOODNESS, choices choices choices...

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

Mayfly — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 09:57:29 GMT

@ purleigh - you could be right I can buy TT if I wanted but tho' I am Mkt 1 as far as the classification goes, TT does have a presence in the exchange.

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

gromittz — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:08:03 GMT

Choices indeed !
I'm on a Market 1 exchange and even though TT LLU is now available, it's unlikely to fall into the cheaper bracket if the proposed re-classification later next year happens.
I too could make some serious savings by consolidating phone and broadband onto LLU without even any offers or using any form of phone LRS.

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

charlesb224 — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 11:15:13 GMT

I spoke to Customer Options, who could either offer me £3 reduction and a 24 Month Contract
or
the current £2.99 deal for 9 months and then 9 months back @ £9.99. No reduction in Line Rental
The did spend a lot of time telling me how rubbish Talk Talk Customer service is. They also told me they are planning an IPTV service, but couldn't tell me when - so that's an unknown and a missed opportunity for PlusNet.
So for parity - I looked at Ofcom League tables:
Figure 5: Fixed broadband complaints per 1,000 customers/connections: Q4 2012 - Q1 2013, by quarter
Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013
BT 0.34 0.3 0.33
Sky 0.09 0.08 0.1
Orange/EE 0.5 0.7 0.57
TalkTalk Group 0.35 0.33 0.36
Virgin Media 0.12 0.1 0.08
Industry Average 0.24 0.22 0.22
Talktalk have improved since Q4/20122 from 0.8! to a consistent 0.3.. now, similar to BT
So - by all accounts I should go to Virgin Media..... unlikely! Sky is unprecendented low, and BT is up there with TalkTalk, so I don't think PlusNet can really get on their high horse about complaints
I asked for my MAC code, it doesn't have to be used, so I have 30 days in which to make a decision...

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

Chris — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 11:37:37 GMT

Quote
Sky is unprecendented low, and BT is up there with TalkTalk, so I don't think PlusNet can really get on their high horse about complaints

I'm not sure what our complaints numbers are, but I don't think they're the same as BT retail (although our figures *might* be included in theirs).

Quote
the current £2.99 deal for 9 months and then 9 months back @ £9.99. No reduction in Line Rental

Is that not the same offer that new customers get? https://www.plus.net/home-broadband/

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

gromittz — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 12:03:51 GMT

Just been running through some rough numbers of what I'm paying at the moment in a Market 1 area, with no introductory offers or deals etc..
Current cost per year for BB and Phone ( inc LRS + Eve/w-end with current provider )... £396
Jump to TT LLU for BB and Phone ( inc LRS + anytime )... £210
Saving £186 over a 12 month period.

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

Strat — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 12:07:57 GMT

I've just had a Sky rep at the door but I'm sticking with PN.

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

charlesb224 — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 12:40:16 GMT

Quote from: Chris
Quote
Sky is unprecendented low, and BT is up there with TalkTalk, so I don't think PlusNet can really get on their high horse about complaints

I'm not sure what our complaints numbers are, but I don't think they're the same as BT retail (although our figures *might* be included in theirs).
Quote
the current £2.99 deal for 9 months and then 9 months back @ £9.99. No reduction in Line Rental

Is that not the same offer that new customers get? https://www.plus.net/home-broadband/

Chris, seeing that the Options rep banged on about Customer service and quality - perhaps you can let us know what your stats are for the last 3 qtrs.
And, yes, that offer is the same as the new customer offer. which is still too expensive when you factor in the Line Rental £2/month more than TT when you use Line Rental Saver.

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

pint — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:17:18 GMT

Quote
the current £2.99 deal for 9 months and then 9 months back @ £9.99. No reduction in Line Rental
Is that not the same offer that new customers get? https://www.plus.net/home-broadband/

Is that for customers in a fabled low cost area?
a quick check of the pricing shows this

from page https://www.plus.net/home-broadband/

Quote
Plusnet Essentials
With a contract: If you live in a low cost area it costs £8.49 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £15.49 a month
With no contract: If you live in a low cost area it costs £10.99 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £17.99 a month
Plusnet Unlimited:
With a contract: If you live in a low cost area it costs £12.49 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £19.49 a month
With no contract: If you live in a low cost area it costs £14.99 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £21.99 a month
Plusnet Essentials Fibre:
If you live in a low cost area it costs £18.49 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £25.49 a month
Plusnet Unlimited Fibre:
If you live in a low cost area it costs £22.49 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £29.49 a month

And Then on here https://www.plus.net/home-broadband/faqs/general/#lowCost it states this:

Quote
What is a low cost area?
There are 3 different categories for UK telephone exchange areas - Market 1, Market 2 and Market 3.
Which one of these categories your area falls into determines the price you pay for broadband. Where there's more competition in an exchange between different providers, we can offer you better pricing. This is known as a 'low cost area'.
Find out more about the exchange areas and see which one you live in by reading our Guide to Low Cost Areas.

I have Two LLU suppliers on my Exchange (Talk Talk and Sky) , as well as BT Wholesale, so by plusnets definition I am in a low cost area and should be paying significantly less
Following the links through you come to this page, with pretty much the same definitions again..

Quote
1. What's a low cost area?
In the areas we can supply broadband, telephone exchanges are split into 3 categories - Market 1, Market 2 and Market 3.
Which of these categories your area falls into determines the price you pay for broadband.
Market 2 and Market 3 exchanges are currently classed as low cost areas. See the table below for a breakdown of how this works.
Exchange category This means
Market 1
BT Wholesale is the only provider of broadband
Market 2
There's 2 or 3 different providers of broadband (including BT)
Or there's 4 or more forecasted providers and less than 10,000 properties served
Market 3
There's 4 or more different providers of broadband (including BT)
Or there's 4 or more forecasted providers and more than 10,000 properties served
The rules used to define markets were introduced by Ofcom in 2008. You can read more about this and the deregulation of the UK broadband market in Ofcom's statement.

Offcoms statment takes you to a PDF dated May 2008 thats over FIVE years ago

Re: October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

James — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:19:39 GMT

Pit - Not sure if you're aware, but you're quoting broadband only prices.
£2.50 cheaper if you have phone with us.