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Plusnet failed to provide service on moving house

m00se
Newbie
Posts: 4
Registered: ‎17-11-2015

Plusnet failed to provide service on moving house

Apologies for the long post.
I moved house on 13 November. At my old house, I had plusnet FTTC+phone service. As internet access is vital to my work (and modern living) I rang Plusnet as soon as I was able (22 October) to arrange for simultaneous provide of a new line and FTTC at the new house.
The new line was needed because the previous occupant was on Virgin Media for his phone and internet service.
Despite waiting in all afternoon on the day of the move, the engineer never showed up. A quick search on Google reveals that this a common failing, especially for Plusnet it seems.
Neither the engineer nor Plusnet bothered to contact me. I called Plusnet, and was on hold for 1hr 45mins on the Friday evening to find out what was going on, only to be told that Plusnet didn't know why the engineer hadn't showed up, and there was nothing they could do about it anyway until Monday morning. I was promised a phone call from Plusnet on Monday morning, to rebook, and that the engineer would be out on the Tuesday.
Monday morning, Plusnet failed to call me (surprise surprise). I called them. The chap I spoke to said Openreach failed to make the appointment, that they had no real excuse other than "resourcing" (i.e. too much work for a Friday afternoon, and I'm not important enough a customer to pay overtime in order to connect). The soonest they could offer to send an engineer was 18 November. This was no good because I'm back at work that day, and I work a job where I can't just take leave off when I want.
I'd already called Virgin Media by this stage, who kindly offered to connect me to the internet within 30mins if I would just pop to one of their shops so they could give me a cable modem, a whole 5 mins drive away. This in hand, I told Plusnet that unless they could get me an engineer by the Tuesday, they could consider their contract void. They said they could not provide this. I got put through to some person from contracts/retentions, who agreed to cancel my account immediately, but insisted on applying cancellation charges.
I protested these charges, since the account is only being cancelled because Plusnet's agents failed to perform their part of the contract, and they could not offer an acceptable alternative. The person I spoke to refused to waive the charges. I protested that Plusnet were being compensated by Openreach for this missed appointment, he initially denied this. I confronted him, and he admitted that they were compensated, but since that compensation was used to offset Plusnet's losses, I was entitled to none of it. I asked to speak to his manager, he said the manager would call me back within 4 hours. More than 1 day later, I'm yet to receive this phone call.
To their credit, Virgin Media made good with their word, and I was online with them, at faster speed, for roughly the same money, within a couple of hours.
I'm obviously really quite upset about this atrocious service - being without internet is bad enough, but to be charged for Plusnet's inability to provide a service is beyond the pale for me. I'm presently waiting for this manager's call, but based on present experience, I doubt it will ever happen. I refuse to ring Plusnet again and be on hold for hours.
Has anybody been in a similar position, and have any tips on how to manage this?
At a minimum, I want any "cancellation charges" to be waived. I also think Plusnet ought to make good on my out-of-pocket costs for using extra mobile internet, as well as the hassle caused in having to switch provider, losing my old phone number and being without landline telephone.
7 REPLIES 7
davidj66
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 746
Thanks: 56
Fixes: 4
Registered: ‎04-09-2008

Re: Plusnet failed to provide service on moving house

I think that you have a good case for the waiving of cancellation fees PROVIDED THAT you were out of min. contract period at the old dwelling but don't hold your breath on waiting for any comp. for mobile use Smiley
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Plusnet failed to provide service on moving house

At the time you arranged the house move did you make it clear to them that time was of the essence?
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
   Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)   
Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20)
Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month)
Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)
m00se
Newbie
Posts: 4
Registered: ‎17-11-2015

Re: Plusnet failed to provide service on moving house

I made it very clear to them that I needed the internet as of 13 November. They said they could supply this and I trusted them (mistake).
Sadly, I did not get it in writing, although I expect they have a recording of the phone call. I did not use the explicit words "time is of the essence," however, though both in my intent and my recollection of the conversation, I made did make it clear that delivery on the date was of utmost importance.
m00se
Newbie
Posts: 4
Registered: ‎17-11-2015

Re: Plusnet failed to provide service on moving house

Incidentally, not only has the Plusnet "manager" failed to call me, they've also now locked me out of my online account, so I can no longer view bills or contact them via the message service.
HarryB
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 5,199
Thanks: 1,466
Fixes: 256
Registered: ‎25-03-2015

Re: Plusnet failed to provide service on moving house

Apologies for any confusion, looking at your account I can see it has been cancelled as requested and there are no final fees.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Harry Beesley
 Plusnet
barnyandpippa
Rising Star
Posts: 106
Thanks: 6
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎05-10-2007

Re: Plusnet failed to provide service on moving house

I'm sorry to hear you've had trouble. It took PlusNet 4 months to install my service. Partly it was waiting for OpenReach but mostly because they messed up the BTOR order, which left me waiting in for an installer who hadn't actually been booked.
Any decent company, having let me down, would have hurried up the order but not PlusNet, they sent me to the back of the queue again, claiming they don't have any influence over their supplier! Looks like they aren't only rubbish at customer service but they can't even manage the supplier on whom their business depends.
Hope it turns out better for you.
BTW 15 months later and they still haven't got the billing right.
m00se
Newbie
Posts: 4
Registered: ‎17-11-2015

Re: Plusnet failed to provide service on moving house

Dear HarryB. Thanks for that information. I think that's the right thing under the circumstances.
Since I can no longer access my online account, can I please have a copy of the final bill?
Interestingly, I got a call from a BT engineer on 23 November, whilst I was at work, who told me he had come to connect the phone line to my house. I told him the service had long been cancelled, and he asked "when? today?" to which I told him, more than a week prior. What's more, 23 November was never mooted as an installation date. Not sure what's going on at all.