We bought a new house in August 2016 and immediately signed up to Plusnet’s broadband and phone service. Unfortunately, the phone line turned out to be missing and had to be installed, which meant that at initially only a standard broadband package could be provided afterwards. However, it was then subsequently possible to upgrade to fibre broadband at the beginning of September 2016. There were many emails and phone calls involved in this torturous process, but at no stage did I ever receive formal confirmation of our contract length and the associated costs.
This month, when I thought that our fixed term was nearly at an end, I started to compare prices for renewing our broadband package. I was shocked to find that we could save as much as £300.00 by transferring to a different provider. My account summary shows that the early cancellation charge is currently £25.34, which I had assumed would decrease to £0 on 2nd September 2017 after the expiry of the 12 month period. However, when I contacted Plusnet about the substantial price differential, I was told that we were actually on an 18 month contract and early cancellation charges would instead amount to £85.12.
No explanation or apology was offered regarding the difference in the costs and the error in the account summary, other than referring me to the small print in the terms and condition on the Plusnet website. I felt that the matter was dealt with poorly and decided to move to another provider as it would still reduce our payments by more than £216 over the course of the year. This is despite my calculating that the early cancellation charges should in fact be no more than £72.96 (6 x £12.16), if indeed we are on an 18 month contract with Plusnet.
An email and letter now received from Plusnet states that the cancellation charge will be £21.72 based on just our phone being transferred on 4th September 2017. Clearly this is not what I want to happen, when according to our new provider, they have already requested the transfer of both services on the same date. Hopefully, somebody will manage to sort this out in time to prevent further problems.
I am unhappy that the account summary screen does not display the end date of any fixed term contract and gives the wrong figure for the cancellation charges. This is very misleading and feel that Plusnet ought to compensate customers for any mistakes made on their part.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Regards
