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clarification needed re call out engineer charge when new 6 month old router part is faulty

FIXED
mahaz
Newbie
Posts: 2
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎18-04-2019

clarification needed re call out engineer charge when new 6 month old router part is faulty

Hi I am very angry.

I am new here. I have been a customer since last August. In January had month long problems with no broadband. Phone issue was quickly fixed at exchange. However, no one could work out why The broadband initially kept cutting out, slow speed eventually stopped with one light on router being off. After 3 engineers from open reach ruling out exchange prob was persuaded to agree to engineer visit reluctantly after being told by staff that £65 call out would only be applied if they saw physical damage to cable. Engineer arrived and quickly focused on the router part- pin pointing problem to the little cable bit supplied by plusnet as part of the router kit as being the problem. I was advised by him that as it is plusnet equipment at fault they should not charge as it is a 6 month old new router. Since then broadband worked. 2 months later I get notified that I would be charged a call out fee as the engineer did 'not find fault with the equipment'. This was incorrect I explained to call centre staff that it was issue with the equipment stating that I could prove this as I had the engineers details. They still tell me I have to pay as the router equipment is deemed to be mine. What confuses me is that they are saying that the router they gave is my property not plusnet's even though it was 6 months old and that I would still have to pay. I refer to response from last year given by staff member Gandalf please refer to link  below last message in thread dated April 2018 which states that plusnet should not charge if equipment is less than 1 year old. This applies in my case.Can someone please advise if they have changed the rules as to what is PlusNet equipment and what is the customer's since Gandalf's post last year.

I am angry that before I agreed to engineer I even asked for a new router and was told I could not have one. They did not tell me to look at plug,cables etc. I have since been told that they would have charged £40 for a new router. £40 is cheaper than unnecessary £65 engineer call out fee. I had over a month with no connection and drop puts prior. They have offered me £4 as a goodwill gesture but still have to pay £65 as router equipment is deemed to be mine. This is what I was never told when engineer visit was booked. Gandalfs post below states otherwise. PlusNet must clarify this in their terms and conditions and tech support staff should mention this to the customer which they do not. Many customers may be stung by this fee. That little cable part of the router can even be responsible for slow speeds but customers are not told this by tech support.

This is link to Gandalfs response. Any advice appreciated.

https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Account-Billing/Clarification-required-re-call-out-charges-when-Plu...

2 REPLIES 2
Optimatts
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 442
Fixes: 19
Registered: ‎25-09-2018

Re: clarification needed re call out engineer charge when new 6 month old router part is faulty

Hi there @mahaz

 

To clarify based on your question, If the engineer was to find and identify a fault with your router and it is within its 12 month warranty, you would not be charged for the callout.

 

However circumstances relating to your engineer visit require a further explanation which I cannot disclose directly on the Community Forum.

I've logged a ticket on your account HERE, with an explanation and hopefully a resolution.

 

Hope this helps.

 

mahaz
Newbie
Posts: 2
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎18-04-2019

Re: clarification needed re call out engineer charge when new 6 month old router part is faulty

Fix

Hi Optimatts

Thanks for taking the trouble to investigate the issue. You have done far more than your other colleagues in the call centre.  I hope that lessons are learnt from this regarding technical issue support. Any faults  need to be investigated properly before engineers are sent out and customers billed. In this case I felt let down by technical support. It is a shame that it took a month to sort out the problem with the broadband. Technical support need to be aware that if their equipment shows fault on the line the fault may not be on the line itself but elsewhere. Engineers reports can be a bit misleading.