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Usage is off the Chart!!!

jahmoo
Newbie
Posts: 4
Registered: ‎01-12-2012

Usage is off the Chart!!!

Hi All,
New PlusNet customer, joined on 12th November, so not done a month yet.
My usage is about to go to 15GB, which means another £5 charge on top of the first fiver, and the normal costs. We utilise the free use over night, when downloading movies, TV programs, but I never had one extra charge with my previous supplier, which is the reason why I am surprised I am using 5GB in less that a week.
Any comments or help would be useful Thank You!
17 REPLIES 17
jahmoo
Newbie
Posts: 4
Registered: ‎01-12-2012

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Quick Up Date!
Just had the email that I have just been charged another Fiver as hit 15GB Angry
Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,922
Thanks: 9,538
Fixes: 158
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Jahmoo,
You can examine the profile of your usage here: https://portal.plus.net/view_my_broadband_usage/index.php - this will show you the type of usage (email, web, streaming etc) split between charged for an free.  It might help you work out what is consuming your bandwidth.  Consider P2P and filesharing services, which can burn more bandwidth than you might realise.
Have you got smart phones / ipads (etc) permantly logged into applications such as Facebook?  These can consume masses of data, even though you are not 'apparently' using them.
HTH.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Change the maximum extra spend to £10 so you don't get charged any more - then you will be limited to 256kbps after you have used up the 5GB until the end of the billing month
https://portal.plus.net/data_transfer_watch/
Then, if you only use computers install Networx to monitor your usage http://www.softperfect.com/products/networx/ and find out where it is going.
I assume that you have had a look here https://portal.plus.net/view_my_broadband_usage/index.php
mushy
Grafter
Posts: 182
Registered: ‎16-10-2012

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Assuming your on the Value package it might be worth upgrading to the Extra package rather than paying for the extra usage each month
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Don't forget Plusnet count upload and download, some other ISPs count download only.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
Superted
Dabbler
Posts: 22
Registered: ‎23-11-2012

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

My post here might help you, the 10gb limit is a joke unless your at home one day a week. I recently went on to extra and it's much easier to manage.
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,109665.0.html
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Quote from: Superted
the 10gb limit is a joke

I do get tired of people of people who makes comments like this based on their own usage.
For someone who watches television on a television, isn't in to youtube, listens to radio on a radio, buys actual music CDs or DVD films in HMV or Smiths, doesn't do any gaming, isn't in to computing so aren't downloading loads of software 10GB is not a joke. I'd bet there's more than 100,000 Plusnet users who use less than 5GB per month and who are at home all the time!
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
JayG
Pro
Posts: 1,145
Thanks: 143
Fixes: 6
Registered: ‎30-10-2011

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Quote from: jelv
I do get tired of people of people who makes comments like this based on their own usage.
For someone who watches television on a television, isn't in to youtube, listens to radio on a radio, buys actual music CDs or DVD films in HMV or Smiths, doesn't do any gaming, isn't in to computing so aren't downloading loads of software 10GB is not a joke. I'd bet there's more than 100,000 Plusnet users who use less than 5GB per month and who are at home all the time!

I'm retired, am heavily committed to a (unrelated) forum and am therefore usually online many hours per day, and in several years have never used more than 5GB per month (if I want to download something from i-player I either stay up late or get up early!)  I have no idea whether there are 99,999 other customers like me although I suspect that fellow "underusers" are an important source of revenue to PN despite the low "Value" tariff.
It's surely not that difficult to at least estimate the effect a change in equipment and/or usage habits will have on your consumption and to choose the most suitable tariff accordingly?
quelquod
Pro
Posts: 668
Thanks: 163
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Quote from: jelv
Quote from: Superted
the 10gb limit is a joke

I do get tired of people of people who makes comments like this based on their own usage.
For someone who watches television on a television, isn't in to youtube, listens to radio on a radio, buys actual music CDs or DVD films in HMV or Smiths, doesn't do any gaming, isn't in to computing so aren't downloading loads of software 10GB is not a joke. I'd bet there's more than 100,000 Plusnet users who use less than 5GB per month and who are at home all the time!

You're absolutely right. I recently moved to Fibre and I doubt if I'll ever use more than a quarter of my new allowance. Browsing the web and emailing uses relatively little bandwidth and like you I use a TV for TV. I simply can't imagine what people do with their lives who need to use such colossal download quotas. I'm at home all day and maintain several websites and my PC is on 24/7 (AND i have a couple of smartphones and an Ipad constantly connected and even a couple of Kindles and the occasional laptop) but I've no need for it.
Only another 99,998 to go now  Wink
Democracy - 3 wolves and a lamb voting about what to have for lunch!
PeeGee
Pro
Posts: 1,217
Thanks: 84
Fixes: 3
Registered: ‎05-04-2009

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

This is going to be a very, very......................very long thread if the other 99,997 also reply  Crazy
Plusnet FTTC (Sep 2014), Essentials (Feb 2013); ADSL (Apr 2009); Customer since Jan 2004 (on 28kb dial-up)
Using a TP-Link Archer VR600 modem-router.
houlton23
Grafter
Posts: 268
Registered: ‎22-05-2011

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Quote from: quelquod
I simply can't imagine what people do with their lives who need to use such colossal download quotas.

I'll just add our usage habits for comparison.
Over the last 3 months we've averaged 166GB a month (peak time only), total usage 499.6GB. (684.1GB including off peak)
We use Sky Go heavily, for example yesterday morning streaming Soccer AM used 3+GB. This afternoon the footy was on and used a few more GB's.
iPlayer and YouTube are also used lots (all in HD). Sky box also has ethernet connected for iPlayer/Sky+/ITV on demand.
We download the newspaper every day, which is ~100MB Mon-Sat and ~500MB on Sunday, so assuming 26 weekdays and 4 Sundays, that is 4.6GB/month.
We also have a server which serves multiple websites and downloads programmes from iPlayer in the overnight free usage, which are then available on the lan for streaming.
Add to that I personally use Spotify for hours every day, which consumes plenty of bandwidth for songs.
We also use FaceTime for video calls almost daily, which for a 23 minute call I had today used 138MB of data.
We have a PS3 so game demos/updates add some too.
Add to that general web browsing and VPN and SSH tunnelling for firewall and filter dodging, and you've got the majority of our usage.
Alex Smiley
beeceegee
Pro
Posts: 611
Thanks: 75
Fixes: 4
Registered: ‎27-11-2012

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Quote from: houlton23
.......... and you've got the majority of our usage.

My first thought reading that lot was "ONLY 166GB / month??"
dfunked
Grafter
Posts: 196
Thanks: 6
Registered: ‎15-10-2011

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Quote from: jahmoo
We utilise the free use over night, when downloading movies, TV programs, but I never had one extra charge with my previous supplier, which is the reason why I am surprised I am using 5GB in less that a week.

Which provider were you with previously, and which package?... Could just be that you'd gone over their limits, but they weren't too fussed about it.
I had Talk Talk* in a rented property a few years ago and regularly went over the 40GB allowance, but never got any notices/extra charges/noticeably decreased speeds...
* not my choice - the landlord paid for it!
Superted
Dabbler
Posts: 22
Registered: ‎23-11-2012

Re: Usage is off the Chart!!!

Quote from: PeeGee
This is going to be a very, very......................very long thread if the other 99,997 also reply  Crazy

I know right. And in refference to the aboves, I was just trying to help a guy out, if I made a highly opinionated statement, it is just that. And honestly I find it boggling how anyone can use under 10GB a month these days, it's around the same as your average phone net allowance; with the wealth of entertainment and information out there you should really abuse your connection a tad more  Tongue