Am I missing something about Plusnet Line Rental Saver ?
Why would ANYONE want it ?
First look at the cost -
Plusnet Line Rental Saver costs the equivalent of £16.49 per month paid as £197.88 lump sum at the start.
It is easy to get Line Rental elsewhere on 30 day contract for £13 (+calls), or £12 (broadband only).
So even taking into account the Plusnet £2.50 penalty for non-Plusnet landline, it is still cheaper elsewhere.
Then there is service -
From watching the posts in this forum, Plusnet are shockingly bad at answering the phone when a customer has a problem, and appear to take much longer than other landline providers to initiate the repair process.
Other landline providers also give the customer the option of different levels of service level agreement, so if your telephone is vital to you, then you can still pay less than Plusnet Line Rental Saver for higher priority repairs elsewhere.
The non-refundable contract -
Even if the price of Plusnet Rental Saver was competitive, why would anyone trap themselves into a long term contract having paid a large sum of non-refundable money up front, when nobody knows what their circumstances will be in six or nine months time. If the customer had a problem that Plusnet couldn't resolve within the contract term, then the customer is either trapped until the end of contract, or would lose the remainder of their pre-paid line rental if they leave. It also seems impossible to synchronize the contract period of the line rental saver, with the contract period of their broadband, therefore making leaving Plusnet difficult if this needed to be done coinciding with the end of the broadband contract (which may also have a different contract duration).
The cost of calls -
Just compare the cost of Plusnet calls when using Line Rental Saver, with what is available with other line rental providers. Elsewhere calls cost less than a tenth of what Plusnet charge.
To summarize, Plusnet Line Rental Saver is -
- More expensive than elsewhere.
- Customer support is difficult to reach, and repair times are poor.
- Service level agreement is the lowest possible, with no option for priority repairs.
- Locks customers into long term contracts.
- The upfront cost is non-refundable.
- Call costs are vastly more expensive.
So is there ANYTHING worthwhile about Plusnet Line Rental Saver ?
