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Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

alliedtooling
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎04-04-2017

Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

So after losing patience with Sky, I decided to look around for a broadband supplier for our satellite office and PlusNet came out top- and yes, I admit the price was a factor.

From even trying to confirm pricing, I should've realised something not right. I may have been spoilt in my 20 years in I.T. but on only a handful of occasions have I had to wait repeatedly for over 5 minutes for a business to answer (on the new business line) and was told the usual spiel about how they're busier than normal and are taking on more staff, unfortunately this seems to be the standard script regardless of whom you speak to.

So I signed up, and after confirming that delivery of the router would be to me as the satellite office is not always manned, held my breath. I made clear that I would then despatch the router via our vehicle to the office and couldn't have made it clearer the impending go live date worried me but was assured everything would in place beforehand so not to worry.

Then, last Friday (31st) I receive an email telling me the router was being despatched and would be 3-5 working days but PN would not be responsible for anything late. So I called as my Go Live date was in 4 working days (6th). I was told that 100% the router was being despatched TO ME that day and to not worry. I asked for email confirmation but was told all calls are recorded and to just not fret. So I placed more trust in PN.

Today (4th) I receive an email saying the router had been despatched and would be with me in 3-5 working days, not forgetting that PN are not responsible for any delays. So I called as this was not what I was told Friday. Lied to yet again it seems. Is no one accountable at PN Business? Was told the router was being despatched today, first class post, so should arrive tomorrow... to the satellite office where no one is going to be! Why lie? Mistakes happen, but not blatant lying. Everyone I have spoken to at PN so far has just lied. No one cares.

I've run out of faith in PN Business and we've not even gone live yet. What hope do I have for the future? Very little. I can't be the only one that gets this level of "service".

I don't expect gold class service for the price, but even a little form of professionalism or accountability wouldn't be too much to ask would it?

Oh, and today was 16 minutes waiting for the business line to be answered- not even PC World Business are that cavalier...

 

Is anyone able to confirm that we will not be liable for any early cancellation charges if this goes down the pan as I suspect it will? At no point have I asked for anything out of the ordinary, and have just asked simple questions or for confirmation that things are moving AS PROMISED. Does PN employ anyone that can give honest reassurance?

15 REPLIES 15
Chris
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Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

Hi there,

 

Firstly let me apologise for the poor experience you've had so far. The wait times for our business team are generally short and there's rarely a long wait to get through to them.

 

When you called up the router delivery address should have been updated to the separate address you provided, again I'm sorry this didn't happen and I'll be passing feedback on internally about that as it's not something we should be getting wrong. Is there a letterbox at the address it is being sent to as the routers should fit through most standard letterboxes so someone may not need to be there to receive this.

 

My colleague did place this order on Friday, the router should have been dispatched the next working day however we have had some issues recently with the notification from the warehouse coming later than the actual dispatch of the hardware itself.

 

I'm sad that this experience has led you to consider leaving already, just to confirm that you had 14 days from the point of order to leave without attracting cancellation fees.

 

I'd be happy to help with any further queries you've got and I'll make a note to check back on your account on the 6th to ensure the activation goes ahead and hopefully by then you'll have also received the router.

Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
alliedtooling
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎04-04-2017

Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

Hi Chris

Many thanks for your reply, and your honesty. Sadly, this is the first level of accountability I've experienced so far.

There are letterboxes at the satellite office, we share the building with a number of other businesses so fingers crossed it arrives ok- just frustrating that I asked the relevant questions and gave clear instructions on addresses and deliveries and was pretty much ignored.

Your colleague assured, reassured, and confirmed AFTER CHECKING that my router was being despatched on Friday when I spoke with him. No next day, no variation- this is what concerns me that staff are either grossly untrained, or just don't care. Check 147017269 for his comments that he was ordering early.

I too am sad that this has left me feeling this way, but that's down to the poor service received from PN. Nothing has even been taxing, just simple requests and questions. I don't want to cancel, far from it, I just want to receive the service that's been agreed and paid for.

And thank you for your offer to help in the future, we'll get to Thursday and take it from there.

Could you clarify the "point of order" regarding cancellation fees- I signed up on 23/3/17 but obviously haven't gone live yet.  If the point of order is indeed the date I signed up, then the 14th day by my calculations is Thursday, my go live date. Which doesn't leave a lot of flexibility for a late router/connection...

Many thanks

Paul/alliedtooling

jelv
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Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

I'm puzzled why people would choose a budget ISP for a genuine business - you only get what you pay for! Someone like my ISP (AAISP) gives the sort of service I'd want in your situation (obviously they'd not be suitable if your business needs a high download allowance). When I've called them (as a residential user) the phone has always been answered within a few rings - and I can email them with support requests as well. But there are many other ISPs who also give genuine business class service.

I suppose it comes down to how much you value your own time and what cost you'd put against it.

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)
Chris
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Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

Hi Paul, thanks for getting back to me.

 

I'm hopeful the router will arrive in time, if it hasn't I don't suppose there's a router from a previous provider that could be configured in the meantime?

 

Your colleague assured, reassured, and confirmed AFTER CHECKING that my router was being despatched on Friday when I spoke with him. No next day, no variation- this is what concerns me that staff are either grossly untrained, or just don't care. Check 147017269 for his comments that he was ordering early.

This is part of the feedback I'll be sending on. When a router is ordered the minimum timescale for dispatch is the next day, not the same day. Every advisor should know this so I'm very sorry that you've been advised incorrectly.

 

And thank you for your offer to help in the future, we'll get to Thursday and take it from there.

That's no problem, the ticket on your account is with the team I'm in now, so even if I'm out of the office (which I shouldn't be on Thursday), someone else from the forum/social team will respond and we all have a high level of experience.

Could you clarify the "point of order" regarding cancellation fees- I signed up on 23/3/17 but obviously haven't gone live yet.  If the point of order is indeed the date I signed up, then the 14th day by my calculations is Thursday, my go live date. Which doesn't leave a lot of flexibility for a late router/connection.

It's from the point of order, so in this case would be the 23rd. The 14 days is there if you change your mind about the order, not as a way to try the service.

 

I've double checked both the phone and broadband order, these are looking fine with no delays being notified. Let me know how it goes on Thursday Paul and we'll go from there.

 

Chris

Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
AlaricAdair
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Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

I hope thing sort themselves out for you with PlusNet.

I'm afraid I've today initiated the move away from my PN for one of our business broadband services and placed an order with another vendor. After six years custom I've decided it is time to move on, at least partially.

Generally the service is stable, but the edge has gone off in terms of business support quality and too much corporate management speak. There's no progress on IPV6 and the PN accounts system is still primitive compared with others. Each line is on a separate invoice which means more book keeping work.

This okay with a consumer product approach, where new customers can be churned through TV adverts, but not for business where time is money.  When I called the PN cancellation team, their first action was to offer a reduced price and were somewhat flummoxed when I said it's not the price, in fact I'm going to spend more with my new supplier.

I'd also looked at using PN for the company mobile phones, but the above discouraged me. For landline phone calls I use Sipgate which costs less, has better features (free) and a responsive support team.

Now Zen, but a +Net residue.
alliedtooling
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎04-04-2017

Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

Hi Chris

 

Just to keep you up to date, I think the router arrived today !! My colleague only popped in the office quick as he was late for a visit, advised he couldn't log on to our vpn and noticed a package addressed to me (99% sure it must be the router).

Had a quick check on his connection and he's definitely offline. Received an email from you guys this morning about the phone service being live-but no mention of the broadband yet? Assuming it's related? He won't be back in the office until tomorrow to swap routers and test the phone for me.

Fingers crossed so tightly my knuckles are going white...

alliedtooling
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎04-04-2017

Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

Hi AA

Thankfully I'd never planned any more with PN than a line and a basic adsl connection; my only stipulation being that it works !!! Any more than that, as you've found, I don't think they have the understanding or capability of offering.

I've always been a firm believer in using firms for their speciality- not for when they venture into fields where they don't belong. At the end of the day, I'm not asking for anything more than a line and a connection which is PN's bread and butter, and that is why I'm a tad frustrated that they can't even get that right.

 

Can only blame myself for expecting calls to be answered promptly- or as per their misleading call statistics page states... Says a lot when business support representatives are untrained, untruthful, and an embarrassment to the company yet the forum community team are bang on the money - @Chris is the man !!!

Chris
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Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

Hi again, has the router arrived? Just checked and the order has completed so if so, you should be good to go.

Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
alliedtooling
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎04-04-2017

Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

I'm not really sure what you're trying to say jelv- I'm paying for a line and basic broadband for a mostly unmanned office. My only gripe is with the "service" received from the untrained, untruthful business support team... Maybe a little more so now since they were no help at all yet voicing my concerns on here has appeased my frustration with help and support from the community team.

Time will tell if the line/connection are up to the job- and I will be more than happy to kudos the PN team if it is.

alliedtooling
Hooked
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Registered: ‎04-04-2017

Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

Fantastic, thanks @Chris. He's back in the office in the morning so will check then...

Chris
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Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

Great. I'm in the office at 11:30 tomorrow so I'll check this thread and your account first thing.

Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
jelv
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Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!


@alliedtooling wrote:

I'm not really sure what you're trying to say jelv


How long have you spent sorting out the issues with this installation (including time on the phone on hold) over and above the time you would have spent if it had been done efficiently and without issues?

Would you attach any value to that time? If so is that more or less than the money you've saved by choosing Plusnet?

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)
alliedtooling
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎04-04-2017

Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

Like I said, I haven't had a problem with any issues relating to the product or it's price- just poor customer service, @Chris saved the day on that front !! Even paying top dollar with a large company, you get poor customer service so I don't see how that's related to the cost.

Whether things improve from the business team or not is to be seen; whether I have any problems with the product or not remain to be seen; for the price I'm not expecting the Earth- just a basic connection and honest customer service.

 

The router arrived yesterday, the service connected yesterday, I have a happy member of staff this morning who has arrived at the office and is connected and working online.

+1 for PN today

jelv
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Posts: 26,785
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Re: Was I foolish to sign up to "business broadband" ?!!

You'd struggle to find any reports of poor customer service from AAISP!

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)