Switching to EE confusion

[#1]

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@stupidget wrote:

So my current PlusNet suits me fine and I don't use the land line.  If I want to stay on the current Partial Fibre (basically fibre to the cabinet and then copper to my house) do I need to do anything?  The problem is that I travel a lot with work and I'd rather not have the faf of having to arrange for an engineer to visit and I don't need a new router as the current one works fine.

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If the phone is nominally live, you'd be best to tell PlusNet to take it off and not to do the EE transfer.  To avoid the engineer visit you wouild need to resist any attempts to 'upgrade' you to full fibre.

They are not going to check if it is ever used or even plugged in.

That said I am away a lot too, and as long as you are a simple instal (1-stage) you get to pick a date and am/pm only 2-3 weeks hence.

[#2]

@stupidget 

Changing from your current internet / phone to SOGEA (internet only) does not require an engineer visit as far as I know.

Brian

[#3]

Looking at the upgrade options they're all Full Fibre which means I'll need a new router and an OpenReach box installed.  I'd much rather stick with what I've got.  Probably best if I give plusnet a call and get them to just disable my phone line.

[#4]

@mwwagain 

They are not speed 'options'.  You are being offered FTTC (SOGEA) by all of those routes. 

OK, 'Options' is the wrong word.  If I start a new contract with Plusnet it says the min guaranteed speed at my address is 29.7MB.  If I start a new contract not as an existing customer at my address it says the min guaranteed speed is 40MB. My current contract says the min guaranteed speed is 35.7MB.  That's all on the same copper lines, same distance etc. Until recently time there were 2 options available at my address with PN, Fibre and Unlimited Fibre Extra, which both offered different speeds.  Now it seems that renewals are at tthe slower 'Fibre' speed and new customers get the higher speed - that's all that is offered.

What do you actually get now ? 

45MB down, about 9MB up.  If i renew with what's offered my min guaranteed speed will be 29.7MB, so if my download speed drops by 30% I will have no recourse since it'll still be over 29.7MB.

[#5]

@stupidget 

Looking at the upgrade options they're all Full Fibre which means I'll need a new router and an OpenReach box installed.  I'd much rather stick with what I've got.  Probably best if I give plusnet a call and get them to just disable my phone line.

Please let us know how you get on. I was told I could not do that, to stay with Plusnet and drop the phone line I would have to start a new contract.  But if I do nothing I will get automatically switched to EE and my contract length will be whatever is currently remaining (6 months).  It seems bonkers.

[#6]

@stupidget 

I'd be interested to see the result of your phone call too.

I had a bb/phhone contract until November. The only options were sign a new no phone contract now, or keep phone and get migrated to EE within 30 days..  No other options were apparently available when speaking to customer services.  My preferred choice would obviously been to continue existing contract,  then decide where I was going towards then end.  When I took out this contract all that was stated was that I wouldn't be able to have home phone after that, which I understood.

[#7]

@Spik3y A long 'phone call but it got me nowhere.  Their systems can't maintain our existing contracts and just drop the landline off it.  The choice is either switch to EE for the remaining time on your contract or start a new landline-less one with Plusnet.  I find it incredible that they are that inflexible yet EE will take on existing PN customers for whatever duration they have left at the same monthly cost as with PN.  EEs gain, PNs loss it seems to me.

Following that I opened a complaint/support ticket detailing my displeasure and also the anomaly between the package offered to new customers (80/20, min guaranteed download speed 40MB) and that offered to me as an existing customer (40/10, min guaranteed 29.7MB).  The next day I had a phone call from the customer services dept.  The reason I'm only offered 40/10 is that in reality the 80/20 package only delivers around 45MB to my address (which is what I'm getting) and that they extra cost of the 80/20 package doesn't really represent a significant MB per £ proposition (although that doesn't explain why 80/20 is the only package offered to me as a new customer at the same address).

I was told that I could ask to stick with the 80/20 package, but that will result in a price increase over what I am currently paying even though I still have 6 months to run on my current contract at my current price.

When I renewed for 12 months last November I was told that landlines would be dropped at some point (which I'm not bothered about) but I was not told that that would terminate the contract mid-term and I'd have to start a new one.

The whole thing seems like a badly thought-out mess.

Oh and finally, I wonder what would happen if I sat back and let the switch to EE happen, and then found that EE were billing me more than PN had been - I doubt EE would be interested in PN's promises, and PN wouldn't be interested because I would no longer be a customer.

[#8]

An evil thought for those to whom it is relevant, choose the FTTP upgrade on the PlusNet site, and set an installation date of when your contract expires.

Then what will they do about the analogue phone ?

[#9]

@MikeBz 

That echos my feeling on the whole thing. A contract is a contract, but it seems they can just do what they please.   What tickled me was that if I'd decided to go to a provider other than EE they would have imposed leaving fees, I'd have argued of course but more stressful.

In the end, I came to the conclusion that I as I wanted to retain the phone, for me at the moment it was least stressful to let them move me to EE. They did come up with a good deal, full fibre is now on the cards and £10 less all in, than I'm paying at the moment.  It undercuts the best deals available elsewhere. I shall just have to see how it goes. 

[#10]

@mwwagain 

How far ahead can you book? 

Also what happens to billing with a long booking, if you are out of contract would they apply  out of contract prices until transferred to new provider?

[#11]

@Spik3y If you are out of contract, then yes, out of contract pricing would apply.

[#12]

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@Spik3y wrote:

@mwwagain 

How far ahead can you book? 

Also what happens to billing with a long booking, if you are out of contract would they apply  out of contract prices until transferred to new provider?

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Why I said to end of contract.

Even so FTTP + (real) VOIP is probably cheaper than ADSL+POTS for most now.

A concern might be what EE would want come a new contract - at least the same as a new (slowest fibre + phone) customer which is £33/37/41 through the contract, or £35/£39/£43 for BT 

Not sure on booking, as you can only check at point of ordering.  When I looked it was at least 6 weeks (all of following month)

[#13]

1. @mwwagain wrote:

A concern might be what EE would want come a new contract - at least the same as a new (slowest fibre + phone) customer which is £33/37/41 through the contract, or £35/£39/£43 for BT 

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Why is that a concern? If the renewal price is uncompetitive you are free to move your data and phone custom elsewhere.

[#14]

Because anyone in that position might as well have changed to a more competitive deal sooner and without the faffing about going via EE ?

[#15]

Everyone is free to move to a more competitive deal for free at contract completion or at other times on payment of ETCs. Current contracts are being completed, be it being completed by EE.