Contract length, how long would you commit for?
Quote from: Alex Who spends less than £20 per month on a contact phone account now
Lots of people - children, people on low wages, people who only have it as an emergency contact, pensioners etc etc
And I rarely go near than, I use my "free calls at home on landline" and I use text a lot, with a deal that is 5p per text.
Tesco do a good deal, the credit doesn't last a month, so you pay £10 and then it lasts as long as you want.
So no long contract. Maybe ISP's should have a contract based purely on amount of data transfer, with a very minimal circuit rental ?.
Quote from: Alex
Who spends less than £20 per month on a contact phone account now
I do! £12/month to be exact. 100 minutes and unlimited texts. £15/month contract with 20% "loyalty" discount + new phone. I had to sign up for another 18 months but at £12/month I was happy!
However, to get back on topic, one of my referrals has just signed up to Value for 18 months (market 3 exchange). He said that the long contract didn't bother him as he was happy with PN and had no intentions of leaving (he cited customer support as being the main reason). He also said that, as far as he was concerned, it was the "norm" to have to commit for 18 months if you wanted the best deals!!!
Quote from: Alex Who spends less than £20 per month on a contact phone account now
£4/month
No calls or texts included (though Voicemail is free) but that's actually a minimum charge.
It's an old contract that I hang on to as it's so good; call and text rates are very low and I pay for what I use.
If I use less than £4 worth in a month then the charge is rounded up to £4, if over £4 I only pay for what I've used - no overheads at all.
All done as a normal contract, international roaming at excellent rates, but no longer available to new customers.
As I don't use a mobile much to make calls it's ideal for me.
I don't have a problem with a contract term as a general principle, if there is an obvious initial cost that it's trying to recoup.
When I first joined PlusNet they had the option of the You Stay We Pay thing where the activation fee was reduced over 5 years. I didn't have a problem with that, as the terms stated I could leave if I wanted but would have to pay that initial fee. In the case of a mobile phone contract they're trying to cover the cost of the shiny new phone you've been given.
However, the way in which these new broadband packages are long-term for no apparent reason is very off-putting. An existing customer doesn't want activation, doesn't want hardware, doesn't need admin to create account names, etc, so why do they have to stay for 12 months when they're already on a 1-month term? Even new customers aren't being offered the option of paying the ~£50 activation up-front and taking no hardware in exchange for a short contract term. The whole thing stinks of foreknowledge of people wanting to leave. BT have been trying similar tricks with the "free evenings and weekends" 12-month repeating tie-in (of dubious legality). Not a chance matey!
I was about to sign up to the £3/month off for 12 months offer. I'd have had no worries as I've been a customer for years. But now, given the growing BT influence and the apparently desperate tone of the new packages, I think I'll stick with what I've got for now. I've even been looking at what other providers are offering, for the first time in years.
When I first joined PlusNet they had the option of the You Stay We Pay thing where the activation fee was reduced over 5 years. I didn't have a problem with that, as the terms stated I could leave if I wanted but would have to pay that initial fee. In the case of a mobile phone contract they're trying to cover the cost of the shiny new phone you've been given.
However, the way in which these new broadband packages are long-term for no apparent reason is very off-putting. An existing customer doesn't want activation, doesn't want hardware, doesn't need admin to create account names, etc, so why do they have to stay for 12 months when they're already on a 1-month term? Even new customers aren't being offered the option of paying the ~£50 activation up-front and taking no hardware in exchange for a short contract term. The whole thing stinks of foreknowledge of people wanting to leave. BT have been trying similar tricks with the "free evenings and weekends" 12-month repeating tie-in (of dubious legality). Not a chance matey!
I was about to sign up to the £3/month off for 12 months offer. I'd have had no worries as I've been a customer for years. But now, given the growing BT influence and the apparently desperate tone of the new packages, I think I'll stick with what I've got for now. I've even been looking at what other providers are offering, for the first time in years.
Quote from: Laser ...BT have been trying similar tricks with the "free evenings and weekends" 12-month repeating tie-in (of dubious legality). Not a chance matey!
I was about to sign up to the £3/month off for 12 months offer. I'd have had no worries as I've been a customer for years. But now, given the growing BT influence and the apparently desperate tone of the new packages, I think I'll stick with what I've got for now. I've even been looking at what other providers are offering, for the first time in years.
I agree laser. BT (who is my voice supplier), trying to tie you down to rolling contract which for a couple of pounds a month isn't something I would entertain unless desperate. Then again, the money saved could be more of a loss if you 'have' to move before the year is up!
Like you, I thought about the £3 discount for a year but cancelled after this product launch such were my suspicions and upheld I believe. Been with Plusnet since 2002 and this, for me is the darkest hour, just hope the dawn is soon
Quote from: Alex Well said Laser, ...
Sad really, because if someone asked me to recommend an ISP then I couldn't choose PlusNet anymore.
+1 - much sense to be sure and find myself not alone then.
Quote from: Wheel_nut Now, I have no idea of why PlusNet may want to pad the Balance Sheet.
It's been said before. Sale.
