topic Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers in Plusnet Feedback

Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

BrightonRock — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 11:34:18 GMT

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/03/22/plusnet_slapped_with_880k_fine_for_billing_ex_customers

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

rongtw — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 12:06:15 GMT

OOOOOOps do you think they may Hasten to update their billing system now ?

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

agedgopher — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 13:03:03 GMT

This will not hit the headlines given the £20 million+ fine given to Thames Water today.

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

Mustrum — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 13:07:58 GMT

Maybe not headlines but it is being reported, here is the BBC version

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

jab1 — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 13:20:40 GMT

@Mustrum - looks like the BBC & The Register employ the same journalists, if you look at the link provided by @BrightonRock

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

Mustrum — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 13:25:33 GMT

Probably all based on a press release from Ofcom - the FT one is also not much different

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

Jonpe — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 23:36:03 GMT

There go the discounts!

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

Mars2050 — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 00:55:02 GMT

I will post what I posted in my thread, as this thread already exists.

See, you cant even trust Plusnet not to charge you, for services that you are not using. Now expect your broadband prices to rise very soon.

That dedicated network costs a lot to run BTW, so plusnet customers really will pay for it, after being fined.

PN really will do us proud.

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

Luzern — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 10:42:06 GMT

Oh, such a fuss over that fine it is! Discounts will be no more; prices rise, and so on and so on. That's how media ( incl here) see it. Now consider that the fine represents but about 2% of the 2015-16 net profit. Profits fluctuate, so I suggest that the penalty has less significance than normal fluctuations. Also if the hit is absorbed over a period, we will hardly notice that in all the other changes.

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

billnotben — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 10:57:26 GMT

All that I can say is that plusnet walked into that with their eyes wide open.

Plusnet should consider themselves lucky that the fine isn't directly related to earnings like the proposed speeding fines may be.

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

Jonpe — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 22:40:16 GMT

Judging by the posts on this forum I don't think PN will be done for speeding any time soon!

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

Townman — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 12:15:33 GMT

@billnotben wrote:

All that I can say is that plusnet walked into that with their eyes wide open.

Plusnet should consider themselves lucky that the fine isn't directly related to earnings like the proposed speeding fines may be.

If I recall correctly, PlusNET discovered this issue and reported themselves to Ofcom.

If my memory is correct, then there's a fair argument that (as ever) Ofcom has once again shown how useless they are ... They do nothing about sorting out the very visible bad practices of BTOR, yet when an organisation fesses up to having made a mistake (and rectifies it) they get clobbered with fines, it is not as though Ofcom did any great detective work here.

I fear this is nothing more than the totally useless Ofom huffing and puffing in a vain attempt to appear to be doing something useful.

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

ejs — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 13:30:23 GMT

Nothing apart from threatening to split-off Openreach until they agreed to that legal separation deal.

I think the complexity and scale of the problems are somewhat different, sorting out Openreach vs. stopping taking money from customers after they've left.

Also, Plusnet couldn't really rectify it, considering that they only managed to refund 356 out of the 1,025 affected customers.

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

Townman — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 13:41:59 GMT

@ejs,

I completely agree that the scope of rectification was limited ... I guess though that was based on still being able to contact the customers in question and they respond to communications hampered by possible banking restrictions on being able to apply refunds on bank / card accounts for which there is no residual commercial relationship.

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

billnotben — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 14:26:46 GMT

@Townman wrote:

If I recall correctly, PlusNET discovered this issue and reported themselves to Ofcom.

Yes but I don't think they had much choice in that.

There seemed to be more and more angry posts on that subject and plusnet looked totally unable to fix the problem.

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

rongtw — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 15:13:15 GMT

plusnet looked totally unable to fix the problem.

How many years now they promised a NEW billing system ?

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

7up — Sat, 25 Mar 2017 00:57:44 GMT

@Mars2050 wrote:

I will post what I posted in my thread, as this thread already exists.

See, you cant even trust Plusnet not to charge you, for services that you are not using. Now expect your broadband prices to rise very soon.

That dedicated network costs a lot to run BTW, so plusnet customers really will pay for it, after being fined.

PN really will do us proud.

Give it a rest Mars.

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

Leapy — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 07:21:45 GMT

I don't see the problem with this. PN saw the problem, owned up to it, reimbursed everyone they could the full amount PLUS 4% and updated its systems, to stop such errors in the future.

The money they could not payback, went to Charities.

OK they got an £880K fine, but lesson learnt.

I would be OK with 4% interest compensation on overpayments.

What is the fuss?

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

rongtw — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 09:58:11 GMT

@Leapy as far as i am aware , we are still waiting for a updated billing system !

Re: Plusnet fined for billing ex-customers

Leapy — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 18:36:06 GMT

OMG that isn't good as the fine would have probably paid for an upgrade and made PN pro-active.

Maybe, when my contract with PN ends I might also get some 4% interest savings?

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Full quote of preceding post removed as per Forum rules.