Shared flat - reshuffling - I'm leaving

[#1]

I can see that it will incur some effort on PNs part to change the customer details, for which PN could legitimately charge a fee.

It would then be a customer decision to either transfer to contact or cancel the contract.

However, I believe it is unreasonable of PN to refuse to put a process in place allowing two consenting & eligible parties to transfer the contract from one to another.

Richard

[#2]

This is not dissimilar to the situation which can arise between separating couples.  It could be argued that it is unnecessary and insensitive. There must be more to this than meets the eye (some external constraint) for the inability to do this simply risks the remaining user going elsewhere, rather than re-contracting with Plusnet.

I have raised a question on the matter within the Superuser space.

[#3]

Yes @Townman I see your point.

Where it happens to couples, it can get nasty. So details could be changed to spite the other person, and chances are they'd know all of the personal details of the account holder and passwords too. I have seen this before.

[#4]

I've had a very prompt response, which is much as I suspected. There is an Ofcom constraint which prohibits the transfer of a working service from one person to another, except in some very specific cases.

Plusnet can arrange for a full takeover of a working line without interruption to services, but it would entail a number change, though it ought to be possible to recover the number.

[#5]

Well that's a bit strange as I had to arrange to change the BT account holder name at my parents.

One quick phone call and it was done, they didn't ask to see any documentation.

Maybe I was just lucky, and I guess it may not be as simple of a process than I thought.

[#6]

Type over this

Depends! There are special circumstances where a name change can be made.

In my experience BT are quite bad at handling this. Years ago in respect of a church I was associated with the BT phone account was in the name of the church warden whilst the internet service was with Plusnet in the name of the PCC.

The church warden left and asked that the name on the BT account be changed. BT said yes and no one thought any more of it ... until the internet stopped working. BT did NOT change the name they ceased and reprovided the phone service, thereby disconnecting the internet service ... which also had to be reprovisioned.

Needless to say the phone service promptly moved to Plusnet. When the next name change was required, we just changed the name on the account ... but that was in the days before Ofcom made life difficult. Shame they cannot fix what is broken in the industry rather than break something which did not need fixing!

[#7]

Yes exactly,

I was worried it would disconnect the line and broadband. If it did then apart from having no BB (a pain), getting the line reconnected and maybe losing the landline number (a massive pain). My family use the landline quite a bit, so for them a number change (they've had it for many years) would be hassle. Especially when people they know don't use mobiles and all know their current number.

It has happened to me when my sister moved out. Account was in her name, asked her to change the name. So I was ignored and she did a house move. Except as someone mentioned to me - not sure if this is right, you can only keep the same landline number if you're moving somewhere within the same exchange? I wasn't best pleased, landline was disconnected - couldn't keep the number and I lost my old one. Had to sign up again with BT. Luckily for me, I hardly use the landline so it wasn't too much of a problem. Though if you use the landline more than me, then it would be.

Just glad the name change didn't affect anything. Good job, as I wouldn't have known (without being and reading on here), what problems it might have caused. So I was specific on the phone to ask it wouldn't have caused a cease on the line.

(Edited for spelling) - I think I should have that on my signature now, as its becoming more common 

[#8]

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@mimja wrote:

We (ok, technically I, I suppose) are on an 18 month contract for fibre broadband.  soon, we will have finished 12 months.  I will be moving out.  My flatmates would like keep the contract, the question is how.  I cannot take the contract with me, as I am leaving the country.

Please advise what to do.  

Thank you

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@mimja,

This issue has been reviewed and I am sad to report that it is an external body (Ofcom) constraint that prevents something, which seems so very sensible, to be done in the real world, where real people live.  You might care to write to Sharon White at Ofcom and tell her just how silly this is, if that is what you think.

The cleanest (for you) approach would be to decided who is going to take over the service and you BOTH TOGETHER call Plusnet's COTS team.  Tell them what you propose.

You will have to pay the contract ETCs, but doing this TOGETHER ought to avoid the broadband cease fee.  Plusnet will do a working line take over and TRY to retain the phone number, but that is not always possible.  Yes it does sound mad, but the industry simply does not have the right processes to do what (to ordinary folk) seems like a sensible expectation.  But who are we - just mere users! 

If that does not suit, there are the other suggestions made above, but with any of them, you remain liable for the payment of the services until the service is TERMINATED (not until just the end of the MINIMUM - possibly discounted - contact period) and at the end you could still face a cessation charge.

[#9]

So in the case of shared occupancy such as Uni students where internet is essential for them, what do PN propose is the easiest way forward when setting up an account?

Could they have more than one named person on the account for instance as household bills can be? 

[#10]

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@Mayfly wrote:

So in the case of shared occupancy such as Uni students where internet is essential for them, what do PN propose is the easiest way forward when setting up an account?

In these kind of situations, it's probably more suitable to consider a no contract option, or choose a contract length that's suitable for their needs or in this case duration of stay in the country. 

mayfly wrote :

Could they have more than one named person on the account for instance as household bills can be? 

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No, even if we did both would find themselves responsible for the bill until the account closed.

@RichardB wrote:

However, I believe it is unreasonable of PN to refuse to put a process in place allowing two consenting & eligible parties to transfer the contract from one to another.

As stated earlier we have to place orders with our supplier to re-provide the service, this costs money. I understand from the outside looking in that you might think that it should be straightforward and that we're profiteering but cancelling the service 6 months early on a standard dual play account (that started as an 18 month contract) would be around £59.40.

By the time we've paid our suppliers for an order and paid staffing costs I'd take a bet that we're quite near that number and this is when someone still has a third of their contract outstanding, it gets progressively worse the less time remaining.

[#11]

Call me cynical if you must - it does rather seem that OFCOM has set things up such that BT can profit on the early termination of their customer's (ISP/CPs) contracts taken out on behalf of end users.  And there was me thinking that OFCOM were there to protect the consumer NOT!