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Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

simmotech
Grafter
Posts: 30
Thanks: 5
Registered: ‎22-01-2014

Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

I just received an email from PlusNet:

From 29th October, you'll be charged 10p for every 1Mb of data used, up to your Smart Cap limit. We'll never charge you more than your Smart Cap, and once you hit that amount we'll restrict your data usage until your plan renews on your bill date.

It used to be £1.50/250mb so a gigabyte used to be £6 - now its more than 16x dearer!
(I called PlusNet and asked if they missed a decimal point or something but they confirmed that this will be the new cost)

That is a complete and utter shameless rip-off and I am surprised at Plusnet.

I want to use my (very small) Smart Cap limit for the odd-photograph message, not ridiculously excessie charges like that.

I'm going to clear the Smart Cap for me and two other family members and I think I might have to search around for better deals and not just for mobile packages - the broadband and phone will be up for grabs too.

 

 

26 REPLIES 26
adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 16,871
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Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

Hi there, 

 

I'm sorry to see this and I'm wondering if there might be a more suitable package we could put you on. 

 

Could you please send me a private message with your mobile number?

 

It would be best to update this thread after messaging me if you can. 

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
simmotech
Grafter
Posts: 30
Thanks: 5
Registered: ‎22-01-2014

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

The packages I have at the moment are perfectly fine, thanks.

It is what you are planning to change them to in a couple of months that is the problem.
I would be apoplectic if I missed something and got charged anything using those profiteering rates. So much so I would rather switch provider than get caught out.

 

adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 16,871
Thanks: 882
Fixes: 221
Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

OK, I can assure you it's not our intention to catch you out and my offer of help remains open if you change your mind. 

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
aesmith
Pro
Posts: 624
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Registered: ‎26-09-2015

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

Do those rates apply to all mobile customers from October on?  I can't remember being notified.  It doesn't appear possible to view the actual tariff on the account web pages.

Dumbledore
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 638
Fixes: 34
Registered: ‎06-08-2018

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

Hello @aesmith the data price changes are due to occur on 29th October.

 

We will be communicating across the changes to all our mobile customers soon.

 

Please note some customers have already been notified via email.

 

Please let us know if there is anything further we can do to assist you.

 

Kind regards.

simmotech
Grafter
Posts: 30
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Registered: ‎22-01-2014

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

If its not your intention to 'catch people out' why have an out-of-bundle rate at all?

Why not have an option to auto-apply a bolt-on when bundled data is used up?

Having a text message saying you are running out of data is all very well but they are unreliable and not very accurate.

Dumbledore
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 638
Fixes: 34
Registered: ‎06-08-2018

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

Hello @simmotech to assist our customers in tracking their usage outside of their allowance we have added some extra notifications to keep them up to speed with how much of their smart cap they have used. Customers will now get a notification at 10%, 30%, 50% and the usual 80% and 100% in order to avoid them occurring the out-of-bundle charges.

 

With the numerous texts being issues across to alert their usage, hopefully, this will prevent them from going over their data. Anytime our customers do notify us they were not alerted by our automation text service about their data usage, our support team can assist with this matter, each query will be unique and based on each individual circumstances, however, we would always look at a fair resolution to a dis-satisfactory experience occurred.

 

Customers do have an option to add additional mobile data by texting us. You can view further details on this by Clicking Here

 

I will forward your feedback across to the relevant team about having an option to auto-apply a bolt-on once the data has been used up.

 

Should you require any further assistance, please feel free to get back in touch with us.

 

Many thanks.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

Hi  Wakas,

The big problem is PlusNet are going backwards against it's rivals is there any chance PlusNet will introduce Data Rollover as many providers do or will it be like short texts " sometime never "

I just hope they get their act together before to many leave but there always people who will attracted by the lower price but do not know what they getting or not getting for their money

I have been with Life and now PlusNet and things are going downwards

 

Brian A 

Dumbledore
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 638
Fixes: 34
Registered: ‎06-08-2018

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

Hello @Anonymous There has been no communication or intention to introduce 'data rollovers'. Any updates we do make on our services we do our best to keep our customers informed in advance of these changes.

 

I am sorry to hear that you are no longer pleased with our services. We would like to retain our customers and build up a good relationship, however, necessary changes do need to be made in order to adapt into the current market and continue to grow as a business. We understand some changes can leave individuals feeling unhappy, however, any decisions that are made by ourselves we take everything into consideration and are not made lightly.

 

As by my previous response in order to reduce the impact to our customers, we are adding on extra alert messages to give them notice about their data usage. Last year we introduced our app to further help customers monitor their service and usage with ourselves.

 

Kind regards.

simmotech
Grafter
Posts: 30
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Registered: ‎22-01-2014

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

>>>however, necessary changes do need to be made in order to adapt into the current market and continue to grow as a business

These are not necessary changes at all. They are pure and utter greed.

If you can provide 7GB of data for £10 (that's less than £1.42/GB) and still making a profit then jumping to £100/GB as soon as you use that allowance up is scandalous.

No-one in their right mind would pay that knowingly - the only way that would kick in is if people are 'caught-out' and I don't care how many alert messages you send or plan to send - I would feel like I've been burgled.

 

>>...to be made in order to adapt into the current market

I'm not too well up on the mobile phone market but I believe the market has started to move unlimited data. A quick search found these as the first two matches:

EE has unlimited 4G data for £34/month; Smarty has unlimited everything for £25/month (currently discounted to £18.75)

Now, I'm not naive enough to believe that 'unlimited' really means that from mobile providers but 1000GB/month as fair usage is very reasonable for £34 if you really need a lot and don't want the hassle of constantly checking usage or getting warning messages.

Maybe my maths is wrong (I can barely believe what I calculated) but a quick calculation shows that Plusnet would charge £99,300 for that same 1000GB!!!

Even using your best-value bolt-on would cost more than £3,700!!

 

I have no problem with the concept that people who use more must pay more but for the love of Mike there must be a better middle ground!

 

Now lets see you reply and try to say that Plusnet are doing right by their customers.

 

 

 

Dumbledore
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 638
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Registered: ‎06-08-2018

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

Hello @simmotech

 

I will take your feedback on board and forward this across to the relevant team.

 

Of course, certain providers offer other packages and data allowances that are different from ours. We still remain competitive in the market with our packages and price plan, we have our own customer demographic who choose to join us as the packages we offer fulfills their individual needs at a fair price.

 

I would not advise anyone to join Plusnet Mobile, if they are after 'unlimited date' or 100GB of data, etc. There are other providers who do offer these packages at a better price then any of our packages and bolt-ons can provide them. It is always worth researching what each mobile service providers can offer and see if this fulfills your own needs.

 

Kind regards.

simmotech
Grafter
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Registered: ‎22-01-2014

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

We still remain competitive in the market with our packages and price plan

Only until 29th October. After that, when customers realise how things are changing for the worse, I suspect they will be looking around and notice that others offer similar without any potential massive pitfalls.

 

From the Smarty website (I'd never heard of them until today)

Adding data or credit

If you run out of data it’s £1.25 per GB - the same as it costs in your plan.

 

Now that seems like a reasonable way of doing things!
(You know, I still cling to the hope that this is all a typo and the original figure just had the decimal point in the wrong place)

Dumbledore
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 638
Fixes: 34
Registered: ‎06-08-2018

Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!

Hello @simmotech once the price change does occur, customers can make a decision and see if the changes impact them.

 

As advised, there are other providers on the market, each has its own set of price plan, offers and packages. If you feel we are no longer suitable for yourself, of course this is understandable. We will love to retain your custom, however, if the package does not suit your needs it is ideally for you to check on comparison websites.

 

Please let me know if you require any further information.

 

Many thanks.

aesmith
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Re: Rip-off £100 per GB charges for out of bundle charges!


@simmotech wrote:
From the Smarty website (I'd never heard of them until today)

Adding data or credit

If you run out of data it’s £1.25 per GB - the same as it costs in your plan.


Smarty works in a slightly odd way, more like a recurring pre-paid monthly bundle.   So those top ups need to be purchased at the time, they don't simply bill you if you over run your allowance.    To quote that bit more fully what it says is ..

"If you run out of data it’s £1.25 per GB - the same as it costs in your plan. To call an 084 or 087 number you can add credit in £5 increments. Add-ons never expire."

In addition they offer a form of roll-over, in the form of a discount off next month's price for unused data, at the same price.

Returning to Plusnet for a moment I think they've bought into the market with super-cheap pricing, and are now having to take steps to become profitable.  That's consistent with the fact that they were absolutely the cheapest a couple of years ago, but are now raising prices across the board in a market where other providers are reducing theirs.  I don't think I've ever seen another provider who only offers more expensive deals to customers who want to re-contract.