Is this normal procedure?

[#1]

I have been on homephone anytime for a few months now and my normal billing date is around the 17th of the month.
I was therefore amazed to receive an email advising me that a direct debit for an outstanding  sum of 14p would be taken on the 2nd June.
Are PN so desperate that it couldn't have been put on next months bill?
Indeed, will the bank process a debit for such a small amount?
Seems a poor way to run a business to me.

[#2]

Certainly the bank will process a direct debit of 14p.  When I was with Talktalk I had bills as low as 5p that were collected by direct debit.

[#3]

Hi dekker, sorry for the confusion. As I understand it, the migration of customers onto the new tarrifs resulted in two separate invoices being drawn this month (one for your subscription and one for your calls). That's what happened to me at least. Shouldn't be anything to worry about and your billing should revert to normal next month.

[#4]

At least it's not normal to comment on the original question. I too had one for 12p, never happened before since I've been on home phone.
However since we know from other posts, there is nothing "normal" about the PN billing system. Why did this happen? Is there no QA control whatsoever on the billing processes when things are changed because it seems sloppy at best. Has no one ever heard of testing?
And with regard to the small amount surely charges by bank make it ridiculous to not roll it over onto the next bill?

[#5]

I don't know - I had to pay my credit card bill of 3p.
Surely it cost them more to collect the 3p than it was worth, but hey, I don't mind.
This is simply what happens with automated systems, they do what they are told, not what makes most sense.

[#6]

Normally our billing system won't process a payment for less than £3. Instead it just adds it to the next bill.
This doesn't happen on Home Phone account changes though, hence the small charges detailed here. I'm currently looking to get that changed, and for common sense to prevail.

[#7]

Well done Mand and thanks for the reply.

[#8]

Thanks to everyone for your replies, it's all much clearer now, I think ?
PS  If we could get rid of the pesky 0845.... charge it would avoid these annoying costs. 
Mmmm back to BT anyone?  

[#9]

Calls to PN 0845 support/faults are free to HomePhone users. If you want gobbledygook customer service then BT is the place.

[#10]

I used BT phone for over thirty years and never had a problem.
It was the free overseas calls that lured me to Plusnet's  service, which so far has been excellent.
I have been with Plusnet since Feb 2003 (because they are cheaper) and never had a problem either.
I am well aware that calls to support/faults are free, now what about the rest of the 0845 numbers ---- I live in hope.

[#11]

Quote

Mmmm back to BT anyone?

Yes, due to go back (from Homephone Anytime+) on Tuesday. The special offer is outlined in this thread:
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,76219.0.html
It's £15.20 per month and runs until August 2009.
Just got my friend transferred to it as well. During the original telephone call the staff had said that someone would ring back in the week to confirm but as they didn't, the lady that I spoke to on the second call reduced it to £14.20 per month as a gesture of good will for the trouble.

[#12]

Quote from: dekker

Mmmm back to BT anyone?

No for the simple reason they have Indian customer care / call centres !

[#13]

Quote

No for the simple reason they have Indian customer care / call centres !

That would put me off as well.

[#14]

Yes, BT use Indian call centres and generally I agree that it is not always satisfactory. However, they also have UK staff and my recent transactions have been with the latter.
I recently transferred my brother's telephone account following a house move and didn't have any difficulty with the Indian call centre.
In fact a very polite and well-spoken member of staff telephoned me on the day of the removal to ensure that they had moved in.
I have found that in normal circumstances there is very little reason to make contact with my telephone supplier.
When I was previously with BT I had online billing (as I have now) and I can only remember contacting them once in many years when the line went down. Similarly, since being with PN I have only had reason to call in once, again when there was an exchange fault and I had no connection.
Possibly the scenario is different when it comes to broadband, due to the need for more detailed advice and support.