17 months still on Contract and moving house (sort of)

[#1]

I am in an odd situation as in I am moving house in a few weeks, but not into my new property immediately, I wont take ownership of that for several weeks after I move and so can't move my service to that property.  Now I know if I were moving on the same day (like most do) I can move my service over and no be hit with cancellation fees, but there will be 3 weeks or so when I am effectively homeless (staying with family) so no where to move my service too.  I assume I'll need to eat the approx. £400 cancellation fee as they can't hold my contract in limbo? right?

[#2]

but there will be 3 weeks or so when I am effectively homeless (staying with family) so no where to move my service too.

Call in and talk to the home moves team. If it is only 3 weeks or so, then they may be able to do a home move with a delayed install at the new house.

[#3]

I'm pretty sure Plusnet can deal with that, as long as the gap isn't too long, which 3 weeks probably isn't.  You'd be best phoning Plusnet and talking to the Home Moves department on 0800 587 1952, and I'm sure they can advise.

[#4]

thanks both, I'll give them a call tomorrow, my concern is I don't have a firm move in date yet.

[#5 · Accepted solution]

It is not unheard of to request a delayed installation ... later later ask for a further deferral!

[#6]

I called them and yes they were able to stop my service when I move out next week and reinstate my services in July when I move into my new place. 👍 no ~£400 cancellation fee. phew.

[#7]

I tried asking for this today and was told I couldn't put my contract on hold unless I had a date for moving into my new address. I can't give the new address until contracts have been exchanged. I will be moving from my current address next week and staying temporarily with relatives.  I am happy to continue paying on my existing contract as I want to stay with Plusnet. I don't want to pay cancellation fees. Any advice as to how I can make this happen. 

[#8]

One approach which has been used before is to request the house move to be done for sometime in the future (up to 90 days) asking for the existing service to be ceased immediately.  I suspect that not all staff know of this tactic.  That should do exactly what you need.  The actual installation date can be changed when you get a clearer picture.

@Gandalf - is there an ALBERT process for this which the customer can point the staff member to when they next call COTS please?

[#9]

Thank you so much. I called again and was initially again told nothing could be done, then I quoted the Forum and hey presto it worked. Very many thanks for your help

[#10]

@Townman 

Apologies, I am afraid this is not the correct process. Hence why there is not albert process for setting a house move up in that way.

For a COT agent to be able to start a house move, they need;

1. The address the customer is moving to

2. The date the customer is moving in

Without both of these and agreeing a contract the house move cannot start.

Checking albert, it does state if we do not have a move date or address the house move cannot start.

The idea would be to continue paying for the services until you have a firm date and address, or if you aren't able to, then we would need to have the contract cancelled down. 

I have passed on feedback to the agents manager, to ensure they are aware of why we should not be doing this.

To set the expectation.

If:

We are missing the address they are moving to

we are missing the date they are moving

they are moving over 90 days from the date they are calling.

We cannot set up the house move.

@janb4 when you set up the house move what address did they take? Is that the actual address you are going to be moving in to? Don't confirm the actual address on here, just if it is the correct one you are moving to or a "dummy address".

If I have misread the situation, I apologise. From what I gathered you have the address but don't have a moving date yet?

With how house moves work, trying to go back on this could cause problems with the account so we will leave it as it is, so don't worry. Nothing will change for you.

I hope this clears that up!

Thanks,

Lex

[#11]

@LexLex2020 

In the not so distant past, where destination address is known and there’s a projected date within 90 days, it has been possible to plan the move, cease the existing service … and keep the account open.

Has that possibility (loophole?) been closed?

[#12]

@Townman That is still fine. No problem with that. As long as they are expecting to move in on the date they have given us. 

If the services get ceased and the move gets delayed, we will need to then move the installation date to the new date the customer provides us with.

[#13]

@LexLex2020 

Hi Lex,

So back on the chase ... in this case the customer needs a plan to vacate the old premises, ceasing the service and scheduling the house move service start date 3-4 weeks hence.

• The target address is known
• The target date is known (anticipated to be within the permitted window)

So with the constraints mentioned, can a house move plan be constructed so as to...

• Cease the operation of the current service on vacating the existing premises
• Not close the account
• Keep paying for the (not being supplied / used service)
• Schedule the start of the service at the new property for 3 to 4 weeks hence
• Avoid £400 ETCs
• Keep a happy Plusnet customer happy
• Keep PlusNet's market share figure up

If the user's point of contact to the business does not know how to do this, is there an ALBERT reference they can refer to please?

As above, I know that this has been possible in the past, but SOPs do change.  I can imagine that this might be a candidate for being closed out, especially in the arena of billing governance.  This effectively falls into the continued billing for no provided service bear-pit.  @Gandalf any reflections on the governance space please?

[#14]

@Townman that’s correct but we won’t charge if there’s no service provided, as billing would be paused on the cease date and restarted when the house move completes. 

As far as I’m aware there’s not an reference for this process, but it’s in the Albert knowledge base. 

[#15]

@janb4 

Have you got this sorted?  I think there is enough here from those really in the know for you to re-ask with confidence.

@Gandalf 's additional information is a real sweetener - billing will be suspended as well.

Good luck!