BT Basic

[#1]

Much obliged and appreciated - have just posted a question on the Fibre To The Premises Trial board. 

[#2]

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@Minivanman wrote:

Harping on (but who cares as nobody as listening) but this is not a million miles from that £2.50 that plusnet load onto our bills if we don't have a phone line with them.

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Given that Plusnet do not do line-only products I guess that they could just put up the price of their broadband products by £2.50 and bring down the price of the phone services by £2.50.  Would that make you any happier?

@Minivanman wrote:

@RobPN

I was not no, but I guess that's the price we have to pay for them not being able to dip into our bank accounts and take what they need as and when.....

How is "dipping into your credit card" any different?  Barring errors - for which there is Direct Debit protection from the banks (which does not exist for credit cards) a supplier is only going to 'dip into' your bank account for what's owed ... and for which you have already been advised of.  So what's the big issue?

[#3]

@Townman

The 'big issue' as you call it Townman is actually rather small but, it is one of principle and the relationship between the cost of your phone line and that of your broadband.

It is not, I repeat not about the £2.50 per se.

Consider taking out home insurance where, if you also take out motor insurance with the same company then they will give you a discount. If you then decide to cancel say your motor insurance it would be right, proper, and fair on their part that any discount applied be removed and that your home insurance would revert to a stand alone policy at a higher premium.

Plusnet offered not such combination, in fact the offered nothing at all. No stand alone phone, no stand alone broadband, and no stand alone price - for how can you have one without the other they would argue...... when in fact you can. So when you do detach one from the other, and with no prior or understandable arrangement, how can they then in all fairness increase one half of the package. It might seem fair to some, and it might seem small beer to others but as said, it's the principle of the matter for those that can see it.

I have no issue with the agreed price Plusnet is charging me for my FTTP or for there level of service which is excellent. I do however have an issue (and one which I have tried to resolve politely) with the way they do business.

Am I wrong? Well maybe I am, but lets see what the Communication and Internet Service Adjudication Scheme (CISAS) have to say because if I'm right, then Plusnet are going to have change the way they do things and will be obliged to pay back an awful lot of those top up charges they've been applying.     

As regards to direct debit and taking what is owed...... happy to pay the milkman what we owe him, not happy with the milkman dipping his fingers into the wife's purse to take it - even if she said he could because she had no option. If you are happy with direct debits then good for you. Me, I never have liked them and have on more than one occasion had money not owed, payment not agreed or sometimes, not even known about being taken from my account by not only companies but once (or was it twice) by my bank of all people!

Ask don't take is my motto, and it bugs me that here in Wales they now have what they call 'presumed consent' where yes, they'll take what they need in the event of my death without asking. I could say no and like banks and those direct debits, hope they don't take my liver and kidneys whilst I'm still alive. 

[#4]

In the analogy you cite, Plusnet has a price for boradband on its own.

If you take phone line as well you get a £2.50 discount. If you ditch the phone you lose the discount. It's the same as the insurance situation you use for illustration. Simples!

[#5]

So how does this 'boradband' work without a telephone line, not every has fibre y'know, and certainly not when you first joined this forum..... so not so simples.

But just out of interest, can you show me where this is offered?

PS. Do you work for Plusnet?

[#6]

The discount is for the service (phone) line
also being supplied by Plusnet.

Originally PN only supplied BB. When they started to offer phone service as well, the BB offer acquired a £2.50 discount if you took phone service as well.

It's no different to dual fuel discounts in the electricity and gas utility industry - the more services you take the more you get discounts.

[#7]

So where on their site is this broadband with phone discount offered?  

I only see a broadband with phone, not a broadband on it's own price with a discount if you then have your phone with them. More than happy to be corrected and I'm not looking for an argument where there is none but I'm beginning to suspect it might have been the case at one time but not now.... unless you can show me where.

I understand those discounts when the more services you take the cheaper it is, for as you know I used one as an example.

[#8]

I may be missing the point but if you select Broadband Only then click on the line rental bit you get

[#9]

Yes, I've been trying that Jim but all I'm getting along with that are those unwanted bolts on 'options' - and what if like me you don't want a PSTN line either with them or anybody else.... so maybe it's me that's missing something. 

[#10]

@Townman

You might have missed my PS, but if I may ask again, do you work for plusnet?

[#11]

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@Minivanman wrote:

So where on their site is this broadband with phone discount offered?  

I only see a broadband with phone, not a broadband on it's own price with a discount if you then have your phone with them. More than happy to be corrected and I'm not looking for an argument where there is none but I'm beginning to suspect it might have been the case at one time but not now.... unless you can show me where.

I understand those discounts when the more services you take the cheaper it is, for as you know I used one as an example.

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I was answering this specific question

[#12]

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@Minivanman wrote:

... - and what if like me you don't want a PSTN line either with them or anybody else.... so maybe it's me that's missing something.

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That's not possible - under normal circumstances.  What you're missing is that the reason you've been allowed to drop your phone line is because your FTTP connection is actually provided as a trial, not an official 'product', and it may have been an unintended omission that PN didn't include the need to retain a phone line in the Ts&Cs for said trial.

[#13]

 @Oldjim That's interesting, I thought the discount was £2.50 a month, looking closer it varies according to the type of contract and the product. How confusing.

Sorry Minivanman you seem unable to accept that the broadband price is higher if you don't have line rental with PlusNet, it is very similar to your example of insurance so what makes PlusNet's discount policy so different and obnoxious to you.

By the way Townman is not a PlusNet employee.

[#14]

Obnoxious?

Blimey.

[#15]

Well you have been going on about it for a long time, why not accept you have a pretty good deal for FTTP and enjoy it.