The future of Plusnet email services

[#1]

I see that the email addresses from brands that Plusnet acquired over the years seems to have started.

Have I missed some formal Plusnet announcement that the email serviice is going to go? I know that new accounts don't get it now.

Personally the loss of email wouldn't have much impact to me but it would be useful to know if the various "legacy" services that made Plusnet good are going in a particular timescale as it would then help to determine who I might be getting broadband from in the future.

[#2 · Accepted solution]

This thread is where I learnt of it:

https://community.plus.net/t5/Email/Plusnet-email-moving-to-Greenby/m-p/2005987#M49258https://commun... 

@Baldrick1 provides the link in post #5.

[#3]

@markhawkin  Unless you know something different you will still be getting your Broadband from Plusnet, it is the email services that are being outsourced. Who knows what may happen in the future a lot of the legacy services have already gone.🤔

[#4]

@markhawkin 

How do you define ‘going to go’? If you mean transferred to Greenby, who are a specialist email provider, whilst keeping your current email address, then the answer is yes, it is going to go..
If you mean discontinued then the answer is that it’s not, the same  email address will be maintained, just hosted on a different platform with additional features, be it becoming chargeable after either 30 days or 2 years, for the foreseeable future.

[#5]

Thanks Baldrick1, I obviously wasn't very clear in my first post.

I too had seen the mention of Greenby but in connection with "legacy" email addresses.

If that evolves to letting people who had email addresses (at any of the former or current Plusnet brands) keep them for a reasonable fee when they leave Plusnet I can see that actually being a positive development. If, at recontract, that also becomes required for current Plusnet customers, that's also (sort of) OK if it's clear at the time.

Currently I have some webspace and a static IP address (as well as an email address) all of which are no longer available to new sign ups with Plusnet.

I also had a phone service which Plusnet don't offer on fibre although in many respects Plusnet did me a favour in the longer term there. 

[#6]

Except its not at recontract - is effectively from 15th July. Even if you've just locked into a new contract within the last couple of months. Whether that is a significant enough change to count as a breach of contract from Plusnet I'm not sure.

[#7]

Breach of contract?

Is email (as a legacy service) even mentioned in current contracts? Given it is not, what’s your alleged tort here?

Customers having email connected to a current broadband account on the date of migration will get the migrated service for free for two years. What’s not to like about that?

[#8]

"Customers having email connected to a current broadband account on the date of migration will get the migrated service for free for two years. What’s not to like about that?" Not all paying customers (especially not some of the longer standing ones)  have their email attached to their current broadband account... (Plusnet had a big billing system problem a few years ago, one attempted  solution of which was to move the paying part to a new account but keep the email side as a legacy account for affected customers) - the effort of tracking down every place that an old email address has been registered with over a decade and moving them to a new address is not trivial and some are bound to be missed. If I have to move all of my registrations to a new email address anyway, I might as well move it elsewhere than to one on a two-year ticking clock. I'd have preferred to have my email still connected to my current broadband account.

At the point where I responded to this thread I'd just had the "we'd like some more money for a part of a service you've recently been locked into" email - having subsequently spoken to CS I may get a year paid for as a "courtesy gesture" as things stand. Its not been well handled as I think the situation I've described above was overlooked when they cobbled this together. I've yet to review the detail of my contract as regards email. Certainly the ongoing email provision was a factor in my decision to remain with Plusnet. Next time it won't be.

[#9]

@Misterel1 

I've used a few different email providers and I'm now of the opinion that Microsoft's (currently) free Outlook (outlook.com) service is the best. If you have a Windows PC you may already have an account.

It works well with a variety of email clients (the iOS mail as well as computer OS mail clients) and there is an Outlook app for iOS and Android. The Apple iCloud service is also a reasonable option.

GMail is OK but can be a bit "funny" with third party clients.

To state the obvious, any service you don't pay for has to be attached (in some way) to an income stream.

For Microsoft it's Windows, Office and the various subscription services for business or domestic users. Similarly Apple's iCloud has an (indirect) funding route.

For Google it's the information they get from your mail to advertise to you.