On the 25th January 2020 I called Plusnet to initiate a house move for as soon as possible as I was moving house on 31st January. I only had 2 days notice that I would be moving, hence why I didn’t contact them sooner. I was advised that the services at my new address would be activated on 3rd February 2020, which I agreed to. The representative also stated I had to have a new contract as I was moving, increasing my monthly payments from £21.99 to £27.99. I said I was very disappointed about the price hike, but accepted this as I thought staying with Plusnet and not switching supplier would mean I was connected in my new home faster.
Instead, I had an automated email on the 27th January saying I would actually be connected on the 11th February 2020, meaning I would be without internet for 2 weeks. I phoned Plusnet again and queried this, and spoke to a very unhelpful representative who said it was out of their hands due to “Engineering appointments” and that they would not be offering any goodwill gesture. At this point I asked to end my contract so I could join a new supplier at cheaper prices who would take the same amount of time to connect me as it was still within the 14 days cooling off period of my new contract and price with Plusnet. The representative said I could cancel my house move free of charge, however they would automatically revert back to my old contract and be charged an Early Termination Fee of £91.50. I disputed this as I don’t see how you can revert someone back to an old contract once a new one has taken place, however the representative refused to waive the charge or refer me to a manager. Feeling frustrated, I ended the phone call and waited the 2 weeks for connection.
Our broadband was connected on the 11th February. On the 11th February, I phoned and asked again for compensation for having no internet for 2 weeks, the representative agreed that she would credit our account £27 so we had one month free service, however due to system errors she could not do it on the phone and would arrange for it to be done as soon as the system was fixed. From my side, I cannot see that this was ever done.
On the morning of the 14th February, our connection wasn’t working and we had no internet. I phoned Plusnet yet again, and a member of the Technical team advised that our account had had the connection cut off and that he could not reactivate our connection. I asked why this had happened and was told it was a system error. After being on hold for 10 minutes I was put through to the sales team and told I needed to sign up as a new customer for them to be able to connect me again. I asked if I would still get my one month free that I was offered in the previous phone call and was told no, that would no longer happen. Upset, I yet again I asked if I could please just leave and end my contract to join a new provider, as by this point I had lost all faith in Plusnet. Again I was told I could not end my contract, despite my services being terminated by Plusnet, and I must sign up as a new customer. I agreed to this as I felt I had no other option, and paid another £22 to start the contract again, as the representative said I must pay for them to be able to open the contract. I asked how long it would be until I had internet again, and was told it could be up to another 10 working days! Shocked, I asked if they could please expedite this as I have already been disconnected for 2 weeks and spent a fortune on mobile data. I was told they would put a note on the system that this was an urgent order.
On the evening of the 14th February, I asked to speak to the Connections department and was put through. They advised me that they could not see any note that my order was urgent and that my old account hadn’t even been closed so the issue likely would have reoccurred. He also admitted he has seen this same problem with other house move customers, frankly shocking that Plusnet are allowing this to happen repeatedly.
This representative advised me that he would place the orders for the new connection, but that it was unlikely I would be connected in less than 10 working days. Again I asked for compensation, and was told “I can’t do anything for you, maybe once you’re connected again we could look into something to make up for the down time.”
Overall I am appalled, it is looking like I will have no broadband for a total of 20 days with no compensation whatsoever. I have paid for the internet for this month twice, as I was made to pay upfront again for the new contract, however I have had broadband for a total of 2 days so far in February. I am extremely disappointed in the service I have received. Buyer beware when moving homes with Plusnet!
