Cannot view bill in new billing system

[#1]

Well I have this morning been able to view my bill, in the view my bill section but, and its a bleeping big BUT to me. It is saying I have to install Adobe reader to view the details. I do not want to install it on my pad. I would not use it accept for looking at my bill.  It would just be taking up space. So this is what the whole upgrade to the billing system seems to have been about, to get people to install Adobe reader. I have had it before and hated it. Nothing much more to be said accept I will review my options. I'm sad I am even thinking like this, call me old fashioned if you want, but I do wherever possible try to deal with uk businesses, there are so few left that are uk owned, and run in the uk.

[#2]

Good morning @Julee

If you're using Chrome or Edge you can ignore that and just click "view bill" on a PC. You should be OK on an ipad too.

HTH

[#3]

I usually view my bill on my Firefox, that means I would have to view it on my laptop, which to be honest I do not use that often. A bit heavy for anyone disabled and using crutches.

[#4]

Thanks Longliner, for agreeing with me over the call centre staff issues, it's nice in this day and age when people are kind on the web.

[#5]

Just replied to another post saying the same, I view my bill on Firefox, I do not use my laptop very often as it is heavy when using crutches, full time. I have nowhere to leave it out 24hrs a day. Not that I would want to.

[#6]

@Julee Are you able to view other PDF files using Firefox? If you are then you don't need to install anything extra to view your Plusnet bill. Just click on the link as you would for any other PDF file.

[#7]

That is, unfortunately, not true.  As I pointed out earlier in the thread, the file that one can (with persistence) download is simply named $STANDARD with no file type.  So if you click on it, Windows 10 says it does not know how to deal with this file and asks you what to do.   Any other PDF file that I download will open instantly either with Sumatra or Acrobat, both of which I have installed, but not this one.  Unless I go into Windows File Explorer and rename $STANDARD to give it a .pdf extension.  Then it works instantly.  

How on earth did any competent programmer make such an infantile mistake?    The answer, I suspect, is that Plusnet no longer employs any competent programmers - if they had this whole fiasco would not have happened, or if it had, it would have been fixed before now.  Unless you have a better explanation?

[#8]

@Julee

What’s the problem with installing Adobe? PDF is a pan industry document format used for delivering information in an unalterable format.

All web browsers should be capable of rendering PDF documents to some extent or other, but rarely entirely correctly. For example yesterday a friend was having problems attempting to print a PDF document. At first it looked like a printer problem. Noticed he was using Internet Explorer to view the document. Went to view the document in Edge and it printed fine - not a printer issue at all but a browser PDF rendering issue.

Using anything other than Adobe to read PDF documents is like using a hammer to put a screw in steel - it works but it’s not tidy - a hammer is not the answer to all problems.

[#9]

Wow, blimmey  In answer I can print, I can write, I can read, I can e-mail, the only thing I would be using this for is to view my plusnet bill on once a month. Ok if you are someone using your pad, laptop, computer ect for lots of work related things. Viewing and dealing with documents ect. I have had Firefox pads now for 7 years, and this is the first time I have been told I need to download Adobe. So I cannot be doing to bad for a female.

[#10]

Oh, and as for the hammer not being the answer to all problems, that's why women were created.

[#11]

1) I tried to print off my usual Statement of Payments 3 Days ago, but it now seems that this has disappeared.

2) The new invoices open in a 2nd window, with no option to expand the window (other than a drag icon at the bottom right hand corner), and no option to print.  This means that my print view shows to windows overlayed, and hence the print out  is illegible.

3) The "Contact us online" link doesn`t work.  It is just a dead link.

4) There is no ability anymore to 'Raise a support Ticket', or if there is it has been well and truly hidden out of sight.  The Live Chat button is permanently disabled, apparently there are no operatives available.  This has been the case for 3 Solid days.

PlusNet,  I have been a loyal customer for I think nearly 15 Years now, but the frustration at not being able to contact any body easily really is frustrating.  If this is a sign of the future service, then I really will have to find another provider.  

[#12]

@Townman

What’s the problem with installing Adobe? PDF is a pan industry document format used for delivering information in an unalterable format.

Previously we could just view them online. Now we need a viewer to look at something we could just look at on line - assuming that is that we can actually download it.

I've had about a 25% success rate when it comes to viewing my bill which frankly is not acceptable

[#13]

At one time in history all bills came printed on paper delivered by the postman before breakfast.  The world moves on.

Yes there are a number of issues today, but they are being worked on.  A browser should render a PDF document reasonably well, but rarely with perfection.  Many people want to file invoices in their own records, the old on-line HTML invoices could not be down loaded as can PDF documents.

[#14]

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@Townman wrote:

Using anything other than Adobe to read PDF documents is like using a hammer to put a screw in steel - it works but it’s not tidy - a hammer is not the answer to all problems.

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Sorry if I've misread this @Townman, but I don't quite agree with you here. Adobe is great if you want/need to edit a PDF, but if you only want to view them, as I suspect many do, Adobe is big. I use SumatraPDF and find that perfectly adequate.

[#15]

Hi John,

I meant Adobe reader, but yes a proper PDF reader suffices - they are more like a screw driver than a one size hammer as in a web browser.