topic Re: Referrals Still not Correct ! in Plusnet Feedback

Referrals Still not Correct !

ITWorks — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 10:58:13 GMT

Ticket #90712640 and #93745272

I first had the problem with referrals not been credited correctly since August 2013 when i raised the first ticket ( a few have been raised since ), and my account is still not sorted!.
Since August 2013 i have had part referrals , part refunds ( as the referral amount has been to low)
For the last 6 months ( ending on my September bill) my referrals have been manually refunded back to my bank ( some of these seem to have been incorrect at times, my account is in a complete mess ) due to having free broadband

Breakdown of 7 referrals
6 referrals have phone and broadband
6 * 1.25 (0.50p for phone 0.75p for broadband) = 7.50
1 referral has broadband
1* 0.75 ( 0.75p for broadband) = 0.75
Total Amount of monthly referrals £ 8.25
So my current October bill as follows
5.99 broadband
0.99 caller id
Total = £ 6.98
The amount of referrals i was credited for this months bill 3.75 , last month was 7.00 , With a bill of £ 3.23 this month (October)
If everything is correct there should be a referral credit of £ 1.27 remaining to be carried over ( 8.25 - 6.98), with no need to take anything from my bank
Though out this period (August 13 to present) i have had an active ticket on the account , in this time it has been passed from department to department person to person, yet no progress in 14 MONTHS on my account.
After all this time its now the principle of the matter
Spoken to CS this morning same old stock response as every month will raise a ticket to the correct department, you have been doing this for 14 months , which has made no difference, with getting the correct amount of referrals credited.
I am now losing patience after 14 months
Can some one who knows what they are doing have a look please

Kind Regards
Mike

Re: Referrals Still not Correct !

LinnPlusnet — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 11:12:41 GMT

Hi Mike,
Sorry it's not been sorted!
I'll have a look into this for you and hopefully get to the bottom of what's going on. Will provide updates on your account by the end of the day today.

Re: Referrals Still not Correct !

ITWorks — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 11:18:25 GMT

Thanks Linn , Much appreciated
Kind Regards
Mike

Re: Referrals Still not Correct !

ITWorks — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 11:24:16 GMT

Well another month go's by, and for the first time since August 2013 PN has finally got my referral credit correct
BUT are still unable to produce a correct invoice
So my bill
Broadband 5.99
Caller Id 0.99
Total 6.98
Minus this amount from the referral credit 7.00 - 6.98 , leaves 0.02 pence carried over to next month, so no need to go to my bank for any payment
But no, not with PN, you only take the broadband part from, my referral (leaving £1.01 to be carried over) and bill me 0.99 for caller id
PN why are you taking money from my bank when my referrals cover the cost of my monthly payments ?
screenshot of my referral before and after my bill was produced
Its not to much to ask that after 14 months you can produce me a correct invoice
Regards
Mike

Re: Referrals Still not Correct !

Townman — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 11:34:43 GMT

Mike,
It is because referral values can only be credited against broadband services. Charges for phone services are billed as is. I have LRS and I too get billed £0.99 (plus the cost of any non-inclusive - usually zero) calls each month.
The cost of processing a 99p direct debit far exceeds the value debited. I'm grateful I have free banking, cos I would be darned muffed if I had to pay my bank for a 99p debit.
Frankly PlusNET "wiping off" such small charges would actually save them money.
Kevin

Re: Referrals Still not Correct !

ITWorks — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 11:45:24 GMT

Hi Kevin
Thanks for that , info i was not aware.
If your broadband cost is always lower than the referral amount , when is the surplus ever going to get used , the answer never, saving PN a fortune as the customer can not use it for the rest of the monthly bill . and there for has to pay for it

PN adversing of referrals : https://www.plus.net/home-broadband/referrals/

"It's simple - tell your friends and family about Plusnet.
For every one that joins us on your recommendation, we'll take money off your monthly bill.
And the best bit is…
Seems a little misleadinhg to me (my bold)
How is the statement below correct PN if referrals only come of broadband
"There’s no limit to the amount of people you refer, this means there are some customers receiving their Plusnet services completely free!"
Taken from : http://community.plus.net/blog/2014/10/30/plusnet-rewards-over-6-million-to-customers/
Regards
Mike

Re: Referrals Still not Correct !

MisterW — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 11:52:44 GMT

Quote
It is because referral values can only be credited against broadband services

That's certainly what the system seems to think, and I suspect it's because the referral scheme pre dates PlusNet suplying phone services. However from here http://www.plus.net/support/tools/referrals/referrals_help.shtml

Quote
5. How are referral discounts and earnings paid?
If you have a subscription account: Each month that a referred customer pays their subscription, the referrals value for their chosen product is discounted from your subscription. If your referrals discounts becomes larger than your subscription fee, the surplus amount is paid to you, either by cheque, or is automatically put into your account, if you pay by Direct Debit
Want to change your billing to Direct Debit? Just update Payment Details.
Note that it is not possible to pay money onto a credit or debit card.
If you have a free account: Each month that a referred customer pays their subscription, the referral value for their product is credited to your account. When this credit exceeds £5, it is paid to your account via BACS or Direct Debit.

so PN will ( or should!) pay back any extra referral credit, so why not just apply any referral credit directly to the bill, it's got to be cheaper for them!

Re: Referrals Still not Correct !

Townman — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 11:53:55 GMT

Mike,
The way it works is your month by month "surplus" gets set aside and when it exceeds £5 you get a lump payment to your billing "bank". (I need to check but I am certain I have had such payments made to my credit card.)
My gripe (amongst others ;)) it that you cannot see how much surplus you have accumulated, therefore as you have done, people start to believe they are being short changed.
This is but one of the residual issues on my now 1 year old thread on referral system issues, which various people have promised to chase and report back on but have not. Very little has happened in that area since Scott Story moved on to other things.
May be this is something Linn could run with in her new role?
Kevin

Re: Referrals Still not Correct !

ITWorks — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 12:00:48 GMT

Thanks guys :), i had forgot about when the surplus reaches £ 5.00 it get retuned , After dealing with incorrect bills/referrals every month for 14 months , you sometimes forget a bit of the small details .
I put it down to the mind numbing on hold music
Regards
Mike