topic Re: activation fees in Plusnet Feedback

activation fees

chenks76 — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 21:37:55 GMT

why do Plusnet want to charge me a £25 "activation" free for changing from DSL to FTTC?
what does this £25 actually pay for?
and, of course, if line rental is with Plusnet then it is graciously waived.

Re: activation fees

Oldjim — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 23:03:09 GMT

it pays for BT Openreach to go to the cab and switch you over - But of course you knew that didn't you

Re: activation fees

billnotben — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 23:05:09 GMT

The "upfront" fees for broadband only range from £31.99 DSL - £56.99 FTTC. I see your fee is the difference between the two. "Activation" is a bit vague. What if you are on moving from another company but on the same service. What exactly would need to be "activated".

As they now have to show clear monthly charges with no hidden line rental small print etc why aren't these small print "fees" also included clearly in the monthly charges?

Re: activation fees

chenks76 — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 08:34:16 GMT

@Oldjim wrote:

it pays for BT Openreach to go to the cab and switch you over - But of course you knew that didn't you

no i didn't already know that.
I'm skeptical to be honest that the fee is for this. they might say it's for this, but i'm skeptical that it is actually for this.
you would already be paying more per month anyway due to no line rental, so it seems like just another cash grab as punishment for not taking line rental.

Re: activation fees

Chris — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 09:06:29 GMT

It's to cover the one-off costs we're charged as part of the order. FYI this is waived if phone and broadband are taken together.

Re: activation fees

chenks76 — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 09:23:01 GMT

what are the one-off costs?
and why does the cost vary depending on the product?
and why would you waive it for some and not others?

Re: activation fees

Chris — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 10:09:57 GMT

what are the one-off costs?

I'm not sure of the amount these are, they are in the Openreach pricing information available publicly though I believe.

and why does the cost vary depending on the product?

Different work required at exchange/cab, different technologies if you're asking why Openreach charge different amounts.

and why would you waive it for some and not others?

If a customer has broadband and phone, we're more likely to be able to recover the costs over the course of a contract.

Re: activation fees

chenks76 — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 10:15:03 GMT

how would you be more likely to recover the costs over the course of the contract if they also had phone?
the length of the contract is the same, and you are charging more per month for broadband for someone who doesn't have phone.

are you implying that you would be recovering the costs from the charges for telephone calls made by the customer?
in my situation i can guarantee that no telephone calls would ever be made.

Re: activation fees

billnotben — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 10:32:04 GMT

Why £25 though? If something has to be "switched over" then why is the fee the difference between the two? It suggests that something is already half "switched over" which makes no sense.

What makes more sense is that there is just a piece of paper with an arbitrary scale of surcharges for broadband only customers.

Re: activation fees

HarryB — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 11:24:04 GMT

@billnotben wrote:

Why £25 though? If something has to be "switched over" then why is the fee the difference between the two? It suggests that something is already half "switched over" which makes no sense.

That's like asking why we only charge £65 for chargeable engineer visits, despite being charged more for them by our suppliers. Or why we charge £49.99 for a new line install despite being charged more for this by our suppliers.

Re: activation fees

billnotben — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 13:25:29 GMT

OK that's clear enough. It's a business secret which will not ever be divulged even under pain of death.

The audacity of a customer actually daring to question charges.

Re: activation fees

Chris — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 14:11:27 GMT

We charge *less* than we're charged for these things, I'm not sure how this is being taken as a negative.

Re: activation fees

billnotben — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 14:49:46 GMT

Well most honest businesses, Yorkshire or otherwise, are quite happy and upfront when asked to explain charges.

Those that don't or prevaricate do so because their figures are illusory, plucked out of thin air.

Re: activation fees

Oldjim — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 14:53:51 GMT

why don't you actually check the actual Openreach charges which is where it starts https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/pricing/loadProductPrices.do?data=63iUyYbpRV%2Fdw36mtxo4r1nqs1m6OcKz301sgolk8P2FdiaKKPEfrCsJCb3sZkzJ

Re: activation fees

billnotben — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 15:00:26 GMT

My contract is with plusnet not openreach.

When I get someone to do a job they don't hand me a list of part manufacturers and tell me to look up their prices.

They hand me a quote with their costs and part prices on it.

Re: activation fees

Chris — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 15:06:22 GMT

We've advised of the costs we charge above?

Re: activation fees

chenks76 — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 15:15:18 GMT

@Oldjim wrote:

why don't you actually check the actual Openreach charges which is where it starts https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/pricing/loadProductPrices.do?data=63iUyYbpRV%2Fdw36mtxo4r1nqs1m6OcKz301sgolk8P2FdiaKKPEfrCsJCb3sZkzJ

as the previous said, it's plusnet that is deciding what to charge the end-user, not openreach.
openreach are charging plusnet.

so i ask plusnet how they come up with the charge to apply to their customer. and why it varies depending on who the customer is.

Re: activation fees

chenks76 — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 15:16:53 GMT

@Chris wrote:

We've advised of the costs we charge above?

i think the question is WHY you charge a particular customer one price and another customer a different price.
and what deems it likely that you can recoup such a cost from the customer should you decide to waive it.

Re: activation fees

Oldjim — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 15:19:19 GMT

Because they can and the fact that they absorb some costs instead of passing them on in full is called Customer Relations

If you had checked the base charge for Line Rental from Openreach and the costs per call that is where Plusnet make their money as, effectively, the broadband is subsidised which is why, if you take broadband only they charge for some things

Re: activation fees

chenks76 — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 15:33:22 GMT

that doesn't explain why, when i checked, the "activation" fee was £25. how did they get to the £25 figure?
that appears to be a part subsidised charge.