Open Letter To:
Mr Paul Summers
Director of Operations and Customer Experience
26th May 2013
Dear Mr Summers,
I am writing to express my frustration and disappointment in the manner in which PlusNet has completely mismanaged the transfer of my account from O2 Broadband and Home Phone to the PlusNet offering of Cable Broadband and Home Phone.
The timeline of events is as follows. On 24th April I committed to PlusNet Cable and Home Phone, providing PlusNet with a MAC code at the initial sign up online and paying up front for a years landline rental. On the same day I received confirmation by email, the Welcome Letter, of the unlimited fibre contract for 18 months, line rental saver of 12 months and Talk Anytime phone plan. The confirmation email gave a date for switch on of 7th May 2013 followed by a home phone switchover to follow in 11 working days.
The day of broadband switch on went very smoothly indeed. The Openreach engineer was on time, was very helpful, did an exemplary job. I was so impressed with the service that I completed a customer satisfaction form on Openreach's website to express my complete satisfaction. The Broadband was quickly established and stabilised at a speed significantly in excess of initial estimates.
On 5th May O2 emailed “Just a reminder that you have to place an order for your home phone with another company or reconnect to O2 Home Broadband. If you've done this in the last few days – thank you – and please ignore this email. The last day you can do this will be 15/05/2013. After this, no other company will be able to place an order. If you haven't placed an order by then, we'll stop your home phone line on 25/05/2013”
I had of course already placed an order with PlusNet and paid in full, receiving confirmation in the Welcome letter of 24th April.
On 23rd May 14.50hrs PlusNet emailed me and on the 24th May I read that email headed “A reminder about moving your Home Phone from PlusNet”. Clearly surprised, looking forward to completion of the transfer to PlusNet, concerned with the content and threatening tone of the letter and the stated intent to close the account that very day i.e. 23rd May I started making phonecalls to PlusNet Support.
I was told (24th May, PlusNet Support)) that a Cease Request had been placed on my line, assumed to be O2 (or perhaps I was beginning to think their successors Sky). I was told that I would have to contact O2 to ask for the Cease to be lifted that very day otherwise the phoneline would be closed down followed by cessation of broadband.
I spoke to O2 who advised that no such Cease had been placed on the line but that the line would close down as scheduled the following day. I relayed the conversation to PlusNet Support who said that they could see O2's identifier on the Cease and that it was necessary for me to cajole O2 into removing the Cease, it was even possibly a case of “Slamming”.
Once again speaking to O2 who assured me that there was no Cease and back to PlusNet Support who basically informed me that the situation was dire and that it was going to cost me dear to get home phone and broadband reinstated.
That might have been an end to it were it not for another couple of calls that I made in exasperation to PlusNet Support speaking to Jaye in CSC on 24th May. At last I found myself speaking to someone who was candid when dealing with me. By the second phone call it was apparent that PlusNet themselves as a consequence of a “systems failure” had failed to switch over to PlusNet Home Phone. The line would therefore be disconnected (and was disconnected) on 25th May, followed by broadband disconnection.
I am now beginning to doubt even this version of what has gone wrong and have had no communication from PlusNet since 24th May. O2 emailed me on 25th May to confirm that their last day of Home Phone supply was in fact 22nd May. Implying that PlusNet started the Home Phone supply but then self terminated in line with the 23rd May notice on 25th May.
What a farce. I should perhaps have stopped with O2 and just transferred to Sky by default.
In order to re-establish the home phone and broadband, I am told it will be necessary to manage the process as a new phone and broadband installation. Goodness knows how long that will take, if indeed that transaction can be accomplished without issues. It has however been confirmed that PlusNet will pay for the installation.
As I write I have no phone line. I have been told that the telephone number that I have held for for some 30 years is lost. That over the next few days that the broadband will also be discontinued.
That PlusNet made such a mess of things causing significant inconvenience is bad enough but trying to fob the blame off elsewhere and potentially, were it not for a timely intervention by Jaye, incurring a customer in costs to make good a cockup of PlusNet's making is somewhat galling to say the least.
I look forward to hearing from you with what I hope will be an explanation as to why things have gone so badly wrong and what can be done to put things right. I'd certainly like my number back.
Could someone in PlusNet Support please in the mean time set about the process of re establishing phone line and broadband ASAP, please use mobile phone number in account details to contact!
mazbo
