Questions on moving business broadband and phone to Plusnet

[#1]

I am looking at helping move a business to plusnet services and have a couple of questions.
The business has two phone lines, 1 for phone and broadband and 1 for a credit card machine. Is it possible to move both lines.
I would be moving the broadband from BT and have a mac code ready, the phone lines are with Unicom, I would be moving from Unicom mid contract which they will allow me to do for a fee. I wondered if you had experience of moving a customer from Unicom as any downtime of the phone lines and broadband would be an issue unless it was on a Sunday. What would the proceedure be?
Thanks

[#2]

Unless things have changed, Unicom provide their PSTN services via BT Openreach so any transfer should involve no downtime.
That said, multiple pstn lines on a business account may be a challenge right now for Plusnet but I'll leave one of the business team to respond to that specific query.
M

[#3]

A reply from Plusnet Staff would be helpful as the transfer has a limited window as I need to make further arrangements with Unicom.

[#4]

Hi Tensulp,
Sorry for the delayed response.
As Mark has mentioned we can only currently offer Phone and Broadband or Broadband just Broadband on it;s own. We couldn't do just Phone Line on it's own (at the moment). We understand that business needs are sometimes that that require just a telephone line so we're looking at how we can change this in the future.
We could certainly deal with the Phone and Broadband for you though.

[#5]

Thanks for the reply.
Can you confirm that they would be able to get a static IP on the business broadband and that they can pay the line rental for 12 months as I can with my own home account.
I would also be helping/convincing another current plusnet user to upgrade to fibre, would this qualify as a referral as they already a plusnet member.

[#6]

The Line Rental Saver isn't available to Business Customers I'm afraid.
You would be able to get a Static IP. The referrals are only applied to new Plusnet accounts.

[#7]

Quote from: Chris

The referrals are only applied to new Plusnet accounts.

If it is an existing referral that upgrades to fibre I think the increased referral is paid.

[#8]

Can you clarify the business line rental cost as it says "from" £10.50.

[#9]

Ah - sorry - as Jelv says, yes the referral amount will be increased from the ADSL value to FTTC value.
The Line Rental at £10.50 exc. VAT which is Pay As You Go, unless you add a Call Plan such as Talk Anytime. The £10.50 per month is based on a 24 month contract.

[#10]

Ok, thanks for all the info, that makes sense now. Just got to deal with Unicom and I will place the order when that is done.

[#11]

That's great - you're welcome

[#12]

Ok, Unicom have agreed to allow a mid contract move away from them and have given us a fee to pay for moving(but no way of paying it yet), but I am unsure of the best way to proceed.
I will try and explain the problem and hopefully you can advise.
We have 3 lines with Unicom on the same account
1. A home phone line, we pay line rental and calls to unicom currently and broadband is with Plusnet.
2. A business line that is used for phone calls and internet (the internet is with BT), we pay line rental and calls to unicom currently.
3. A second business line for the card machine,we pay line to unicom currently and this is going to stay with unicom.
We are looking to move Line 1 to plusnet at the same time as upgrading the current plusnet home broadband to fibre (I have checked and it is available)
We are also looking to create a new business account with Plusnet and move Line 2 and the Broadband (with BT not fibre) to plusnet.
I am concerned that if I initiate the orders at the same time then Unicom might cause problems with not allowing transfer until payment has be made to them for the fee we will owe them, or that if we pay them before initiating the order they will cut off the 2 lines.
We cant afford to have any downtime on the lines or broadband, especially the business line.
To be clear, I am managing these lines for family members as I have had recent experience of upgrading my own connection to fibre and plusnet home phone. In my experience Plusnet dealt with the whole transfer and upgrade process (phone was transferred from BT) and it was seamless with very little input required from me.
I just want to be confident that I understand the next step and that the transfer/upgrade can be completed without downtime for the business.
Thanks in advance

[#13]

Hi Tensulp,
That is absolutely fine. I can't see any reason at all for any downtime throughout the migrations.
1. This should be fine, a Transfer order takes 10 working days typically - you shouldn't expect any downtime. To ensure that Unicom don't cut you off, it's important to keep your account open with them to ensure they don't cease the line for any reason. The upgrade to FTTC should be pretty straight forward. It will require an engineer to visit the premises and you'll be shifted from ADSL to FTTC on the day. Currently FTTC lead time for an engineer stands at 3 weeks with current MBORC's (Matters Beyond Our Reasonable Control) in a number of areas around the UK.
2. We would normally mover your broadband over first and then transfer the telephone service afterwards. To move broadband, it takes 5-7 working days, and the telephone service would be 10 working days after this. As long as Unicom keep everything active, there should be no downtime.
I would certainly discuss how you plan to move the services away with Unicom so they are aware. I'm hoping Unicom will just allow us to move things over without any issues, if this is the case, you shouldn't have any issues at all.