Do I have to leave Plusnet?

[#1]

The line I have my Plusnet broadband service on is a business line, in the past I was happy to pay a premium for faster resolution of problems and a superior customer service.  Well this has gone with BT outsourcing billing to singapore and even when I get transferred back to England they just wind me up asking me how I am today and what is the weather like when they know I am angry about being messed about by some rude person in Singapore.
So I want to terminate the business account, I really want to punish BT, but if I move the line to another provider am I right in thinking that I can't maintain the Plusnet service?
I do have another BT line  (a domestic one) but I gather that I would have to pay a charge to move to that, possibly both a cessation and connection charge (rich isn't it).  To be honest I am so angry with BT that I almost don't want it with Plusnet as they are owned by BT, but Plusnet at least have customer service.
So I guess I want to know what services they can offer and how good they are?
I can move the line to Plusnet but what are the options, it does not have to be a business line but it does have to be a proper service, i.e. I don't want to have to key a code to get cheaper calls and I want voicemail and 1471 without paying extra.
Can anyone tell me how good or bad the service is?
Would I be tied in for 12 months?
Would anyone recommend an alternate provider?

[#2]

No you can stay  http://www.plus.net/business/?home=businesstop

[#3]

Well i have the office on a PN Business line as per link from Pierre - and I've not had a serious problem, and being a business line you always get put through to Sheffield 
The one problem so far ( billing too low ! ) was handled quickly and efficiently by sending a ticket.

[#4]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I am not really looking for a business account, I want the most economic account.  If it is cheaper I will get the line converted to a home number and then transferred to the operator of choice.
Looking at the Plusnet offerings it is confusing; when I look at upgrading my package via the member centre it says I have 4 options:
Value £6 a month for 10gb and limited features
Pro £20 a month for 20gb (Downloaders package)
Premium £20 a month for  80gb (ultimate package)
BBYW Option 2 (Monthly Contract)  £14.99 (my current option) for 15gb
but it says nothing about upgrading the phone line.
When I look on the PN site it offers just four options
Value Internet and Evening/WE free calls @ £23.24 P/M (£11.25 Line Rental & £11.99 for Broadband)
Value Internet & Anytime free calls @ £28.24 P/M (£11.25 Line Rental & £11.99 for Broadband & £5 fpr calls)
Premium Internet and Evening/WE free calls @ £31.24 P/M (£11.25 Line Rental & £19.99 for Broadband)
Premium Internet & Anytime free calls @ £36.24 P/M (£11.25 Line Rental & £19.99 for Broadband & £5 fpr calls)
So the same as BT & Sky with £5 per month for calls, the only difference with Plusnet is the £5 introductory discount for 3 months.
Is it possible to transfer my line rental to Plusnet and keep my current Internet package, i.e £11.25 line rental, £14.99 for broadband and an optional £5 if I want anytime calls?
I can see that I am not in an exchange where I can get a permanent discount with Plusnet, does this apply to all ISP's?
It seems that Talk Talk and Sky have not invested in my exhange either and we don't have Virgin here (I am not in the sticks, just 36 miles from London), so where is the competition and choice we were promised?  Also everyone wants to tie you up for 12 months, I can't do that as I may have to move.
The Plusnet business tariff hard to figure out, it says that there are 3 internet packages at £10, £15 & £20 a month and a combined service at £23 a month or £29 a month with daytime calls (what about night time?) but it does not say which of the broadband packages in included and does not seem to offer an option to to choose the broadband level.  Also it lists free voicemail in the daytime calls package, surely even the most basic service has voicemail (1571)?
Does anyone know if other ISP's offer a better deal?

[#5]

Quote from: Zap

Is it possible to transfer my line rental to Plusnet and keep my current Internet package, i.e £11.25 line rental, £14.99 for broadband and an optional £5 if I want anytime calls? I can see that I am not in an exchange where I can get a permanent discount with Plusnet, does this apply to all ISP's?

Easy question first - yes you can add the phone rental etc. to your existing package
Less easy question - As far as I know Plusnet are the only company offering reduced prices on Market 3 exchanges. The others only offer a reduced price if they have an LLU presence at the exchange

[#6]

But does the fact that there is no Plusnet and Sky mean that there is no other presence in the exchange or do I have to go from ISP to ISp to find out

[#7]

You can look up your exchange on SamKnows which will give a list of available LLU operators
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php

[#8]

Thanks, that is a very useful site it says we have 2,139 residential premises and 111 non-residential premises.  I wonder what level is high enough to get an interest from other providers.
It says this exchange has BT Wholesale as the sole provider of broadband services.are in a Market 1 classification and explains that Market 1 means :
    * Market 1 - Exchanges where the incumbent operator (BT Wholesale) is the only provider of broadband services
    * Market 2 - Exchanges where two or three operators provided broadband services (including BT)
    * Market 3 - Exchanges where four or more operators provided broadband services
    * Hull area - Exchanges in Hull are served only by Kingston Communications
The Market 3 exchanges are the ones that the deregulation applies to. Ofcom deemed that there was sufficient competition in these areas to keep prices at a reasonable level whilst also driving innovation.
So can anyone tell me how we can get some competition here?

[#9]

Move to another exchange? 
Ours is about double that size and is Market 2 (not 3).
It's an overwhelmingly affluent area so has attracted "some" competition.
If you want an "example" Market 3 try THGX - 6,638 residential premises & 455 non-residential premises.

[#10]

What a stupid comment, I can't move exchange.
If you don't have anything sensible to say it is better to keep your mouth shut.
jim:quote

[#11]

Quote from: Zap

So can anyone tell me how we can get some competition here?

Offer to pay one of the LLU operators many thousands of pounds to set up in your exchange?
Realistically HPsauce's suggestion is about your only option. If you figure out a way of getting LLU operators in please let me know by PM so that I can get mine done before everyone else starts campaigning for their exchanges (mine is Market 1 2,880 residential premises 147 non-residential premises)

[#12]

It gets worse, I called Plusnet to tranfer the line and they said they can't transfer a BT Business line to a Plusnet reseidential line, they told me to go back to BT and ask them to transfer to a residential line.  They said if I do this I will be tied into a long term 12 month contract because with BT it is two different businesses.
So I have asked Plusnet if I can transfer from BT Business to Plusnet Business and then drop it down to residential, I had not had a reply to my ticket yet, but the Plusnet business web page says minimum 12 month contract.
In the past I have been able to switch these lines back and forth as I needed, but now it is all minimum terms, this is a restrictive practice and is yet another example of how pathetic OFCOM is.  Not only is there NO COMPETITION but you have a gun put to your head, start a contract and you get a minimum term, leave and there is a cessation fee.  Pay by direct debit or get a fee of £9, don't pay within 4 days and get charged £13.50, pay a few weeks later and get charged a further £15. 
As far as I am concerned this is all the fault of OFCOM who have allowed all these changes, they are a top heavy, toothless organisation that is not fit for purpose.
If Plusnet do not agree to do the right thing the best thing I can do is end the service and start over so I get the initial discounts that seem to be the norm, but this is a real inconvenience as I will lose my number and my email.
I could move 2 miles up the road where there is more competition but that exchange is old, so whilst there are more providers the average speed is just 2gb, I have 6gb.  Many there have even less, I know one that has just 550k because of the poor quality of the wiring.
We will soon be charged 50p a month for 21CN yet again it comes with a minimum 12 month contract where it is available.

[#13]

Hi there,
We can transfer your line and convert it to residential, however this would need  to be a manual order (you'd need to raise a ticket rather than going through the standard account change).
Once it's a residential line, you just choose from Evenings and Weekends or Anytime and you're sorted.

[#14]

Quote from: Zap

So can anyone tell me how we can get some competition here?

Some LLU suppliers used to allow people to register their interest in their product - presumably this was a way for them to gauge how profitable it might be to install equipment into an exchange.
I suppose before the concept of 'Market X' exchanges was around, LLU operators could have a better chance of getting a decent ROI, these days though, as soon as LLU folks put their kit in, BT can lower their prices 'to compete', which makes it harder to predict a profit to pay for the installation.
Moving house is probably cheaper than paying to get LLU kit installed in your exchange.

[#15]

Just wanted to post what "seems" to be GOOD news, I will NOT have to leave Plusnet.
Plusnet have said they will transfer my line from BT Business to a Plusnet domestic line with no obligation for a 12 month commitment.
BT were not prepared to do this.
So hats off to Plusnet, it is these small things that have kept me here since 2002.