Account change - details misleading on member centre

[#1]

I currently have broadband only.

I'm thinking of switching to PN for phone as well.

The PN member centre "upgrade" page says I have two current accounts!!

One is BB only at £20.49 (£2.50 more than when I started) the other is the BB inc. phone line at £16.99.

My account is a 12 month contract.

Nowhere can I find answers to these questions:-

1. Why does PN say I have two accounts when I don't?

2. How do I find out whether there is any penalty to change account?

3. How long does it take?

4. What is the PN line rental cost?

And a question PN can't answer:-

5. Is PN any better than BT Openreach for dealing with line faults?

[#2]

Are PlusNet billing you for two accounts? You should have noticed if they are. I would suggest calling the customer options team to negotiate any change on your account, you should be able to get a better deal than upgrading on the website. As for question 5 PlusNet do not fix any line faults, they use their "supplier" i.e. BT Openreach!

[#3]

PN aren't billing us twice: just that their page showing upgrade to include phone says that is also my current account.

Yeah, I know PN will use BTOR but is there any benefit when there are line faults (we're getting continual outades - anything up to 20 a day).

[#4]

Apologies for any confusion when going through the package change online.

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@Mardler wrote:

The PN member centre "upgrade" page says I have two current accounts!!

One is BB only at £20.49 (£2.50 more than when I started) the other is the BB inc. phone line at £16.99.

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I can see where the confusion in coming from here, however I believe this page is simply showing the option for the broadband package.

As there is only one ADSL package currently offered (Plusnet Unlimited) the page will only give the option to Keep this product, despite there being the options to proceed with the package change for either Broadband or Broadband & Phone.

The option for proceeding with the package change on Broadband only shows your current cost of £20.49, where as the option for Broadband & Phone shows the price the broadband package would be, should you chose to bring your phone line over to us (£16.99)

(I'll pass feedback on regarding the confusion this is causing)

If you select the option for Broadband and Phone and continue on to the following page(s) this then gives you the option to add a new router at P&P cost (£6.99), then following this, the option for selecting a call plan and line rental before confirming you wish to continue with the product change you have selected.

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@Mardler wrote:

1. Why does PN say I have two accounts when I don't?

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It doesn't. I hope my explanation above clears up any confusion surrounding this. I've also passed feedback on to the relevant people.

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@Mardler wrote:

2. How do I find out whether there is any penalty to change account?

As you'd be keeping broadband with us, there shouldn't be any penalties. Your broadband package will continue as is and moving forward your broadband package would also be cheaper as you'd brought phone over to us.

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@Mardler wrote:

3. How long does it take?

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Due to Ofcom regulations, migrating a phone line from one provider to another takes a minimum of 10 working days.

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@Mardler wrote:

4. What is the PN line rental cost?

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Line rental on it's own would be £17.99. Call plans can be added at an additional cost (Pricing is advised during the product change online). More information on call plans can be found here: https://www.plus.net/help/legal/residential-phone-tariffs/

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@Mardler wrote:

And a question PN can't answer:-

5. Is PN any better than BT Openreach for dealing with line faults?

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As BT Openreach are our suppliers, they would still deal with line faults that our customers raise as we would in turn, generally have to raise them with Openreach.

If you meant to ask, are we any better at dealing with faults than other ISPs (BT, Sky, Talktalk etc.) I unfortunately couldn't comment as I'm not sure what other providers are like for dealing with faults, however faults raised by ISP's to Openreach on the same care level would be dealt with equally as Openreach are not able to show favouritism to any  provider and must treat all providers with the same level of service.

I hope this helps.

[#5]

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@HarryB wrote:

unfortunately couldn't comment as I'm not sure what other providers are like for dealing with faults, however faults raised by ISP's to Openreach on the same care level would be dealt with equally as Openreach are not able to show favouritism to any  provider and must treat all providers with the same level of service.

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@Mardler

Please read that quote very carefully. The key words are "on the same care level" which is basically the level of service that an ISP pays for. Some ISPs pay more for a better level of support (basically faster response times from Openreach).

It is documented that BT Consumer pay for the highest level of care, Plusnet don't. AFAIR Sky pays for a higher level of support than Plusnet.

So in essence, some ISP's deliver faster responses from Openreach as they pay for the enhanced care levels. That may be reflected in the prices of course, but with all the special offers that ISP's have, it is very hard to know for certain if another ISP with higher care levels would be more expensive for you.

[#6]

Thanks, HarryB and SLT.

I'll have to look at overall costs but it certainly looks as though no benefit in service is to be gained by migrating line rental to PN.

[#7]

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@SpendLessTime wrote:

It is documented that BT Consumer pay for the highest level of care

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Although admittedly I'm not 100% sure what care level is provided on BT consumer lines I don't believe it's the highest care level.

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@SpendLessTime wrote:
AFAIR Sky pays for a higher level of support than Plusnet.

I believe the standard/lowest care level on LLU/MPF lines is higher than the standard care level on basic single (BT) lines.