Paying more and getting less

[#1]

Yes but you need to sign up for another 12 months

[#2]

Jim thanks and apologies for accusing you of moderating my post. The 12 months doesn't bug me as over all I think Plusnet provide a good service but sometimes I feel a little let down as I'm what I'd call a good user and don't like being tarred with the "you've used less then what you pay for but we'll punish you anyway" brush.

[#3]

Sean
Now you have had your rant   Why don't you sleep on it and then give plusnet a call in the morning and talk through the available options.
Going for BBYW3 might not be the most cost effective for you.

[#4]

OK - as a fairly recent newbie - it amazes me that PN still maintain all these different types of account -  -
but by so doing how on earth do they keep all the different customers up to date . I would say an impossible task
The website does show all current packages - and here on the forum we constantly see PN staff members saying people can switch to different packages.
As someone who came from Claranet, Pipex, Tiscalli - I find the PN approach so very, very  much more open and honest. I struggled with my earlier  ISP's to even talk to me - let alone tell me what upgrade/downgrade options were available.

[#5]

The 13Gig limit was in place when I joined in 2005 (or at least not long after).
I could make some comment about "you're paying for an upto 8mb service, so 13Gig peak at 7mb and 7Gig peak at 2mb fits into that category", but won't.  
PN don't guarantee the speed you will get, but got sucked in on the advertising by everybody else.
As for PN communications, I don't seem to have missed any recently, and often get 2 copies.
The legacy packages are left in place to keep existing customers happy (most of the time) - communicate the new deals, advise of the differences (generally discussed in depth on the forum), and let users make their minds up.  Initially, the change from Premier to BBYW was not good for me, but after a few months it became a better option, so I changed.  If my circumstances hadn't changed, then I'd have stayed put, and in fact would have been a little annoyed if I was changed automatically.

[#6]

Santiago - the only way I see it would affect me is weekends and I still tend to use it in the evenings then.OK the kids use it during the day but aren't on it a lot and are not heavy users. Perhaps Plusnet should up our limit to 25GB for Premier as we are paying more and unless you work from home why pay for off-peak you can't really use.
BTW could Jim or Barry etc please tell me what make/model the free router is? TIA.
mal0z - It's hard for them to terminate account types but not impossible. However you cannot sign up for my type of account now - unless it is called something else! Correct me if I am wrong.
Plusnet are good don't get me wrong but they changed T's & C's on numerous occasions without telling customers so the honest & open approach is nonsense.

[#7]

It is a Speedtouch 585 v7

[#8]

Quote from: SeanM

OK the kids use it during the day but aren't on it a lot and are not heavy users.

Wait till they find out about You tube Facebook MySpace, BBC I-Player 

[#9]

They aren't allowed FB or MySpace etc..  they already use I-Player & YouTube but even with that they only tend to watch the odd thing or two. Believe me 30GB peak is more then enough... and we still tend to buy our music on CD so don't download that either.

[#10]

Quote from: geofftswin

I could make some comment about "you're paying for an upto 8mb service, so 13Gig peak at 7mb and 7Gig peak at 2mb fits into that category", but won't.

I am not surprised you won't comment because that quote is a load of chocolate

[#11]

I'm also on Premier Option 1 - by user choice.
To validate my sanity and my belief that I have been kept informed all along the way, I've just done a check on my Plusnet mail and Newsletters.
A couple of highlights:  (Reverse date order)
1)  1/5/2008  Email from Neil Armstrong reminding me that I am still on Premier Option 1;  Outline of changes to BBYW products and an offer to change should I wish.
2)  15/10/2008 Plusnet Newsletter 22 - details of new Thomson TG585v7 as the Router supplied with BBYW Options 2, 3 and Pro
3)  Oct 2007     Plusnet Newsletter 12  - Details of the Up to 8Meg offer
4)  April 2007   Plusnet Newsletter 07 and a 'Special' Newsletter - Introduction of the BBYW product set and removal of the 'You stay we pay''

So yes, I believe that users were kept informed and in some detail

Maurice

[#12]

@SeanM
You'll need to raise a ticket after you change product to get a new router as, as far as I can remember, it doesn't happen automatically.  You just need to say you realise that the cost of the router is repayable should you leave within 12 months and that you give PN permission to debit your payment card with £6.99 p+p.
BTW, you can ask for a free router whether or not you change product so long as you agree to pay the cost of the router should you leave within 12 months and pay the p+p.

[#13]

Have to agree with Mal0z about quality of Plusnet vs opposition eg Orange; as another newbie I am having an inordinate amount of problems with my previous ISP - part of their Company acknowledges that I have migrated (early Sept) and that my account is closed - another part of the same organisation is threatening me with legal action over unpaid subs and recently wrote to me to tell me that they were going to cease my internet!!! Just try dealing with an Indian call centre!!!!

[#14]

I upgraded to Premier Option 1 in May 2005. At the time the Max product was not available. When it became available it could be added free of charge, which I chose not to accept at the time as I wanted a more stable line. In August 2006 the 15Gb limit was increased to 20Gb and here is the email I received in July 2006 advising of the changes:

Quote

News about your broadband service. Your broadband comes with a peak time usage allowance of 15GB each month. We're going to increase the peak time usage allowance you get to 20GB on the 1st August. Your peak time usage allowance is the amount of data you can download or upload each month during peak hours of 4pm to midnight. Summary ------- Current usage allowance per month: 15GB NEW ALLOWANCE from 1st August: 20GB Any change to price or contract? No This increase won't cost you any more or change your contract - it's a completely free upgrade. You'll be able to see your new allowance on the View My Usage pages from 1st August 2006. There are 3 reasons that our costs are lower and we can pass the benefit on to you. A) We’ve talked about our Broadband traffic management before; it is being developed all the time and is working to the designed levels. This efficient prioritisation of our network traffic means we can deliver the products we advertise, use our underlying capacity fully, and still give everyone a good quality of service. B) We have increased our overall capacity by moving over 12,000 customers to the Tiscali LLU network from the BT equivalent. C) We have been looking at average usage levels and we are able to offer extra peak-time usage to customers with Premier, Plus, and Pay As You Go Basic. Enjoy your extra peak time usage!

Being on a 2Mb service the introduction of the 13Gb level 1 management never worried me as the speed never change. You would only notice the difference if you accepted the free upgrade to Max for a faster service. When Pro was introduced I swapped to that service as I wanted greater upload speed I chose at that time to use Max Premium. So although I can understand the frustration I feel you are doing Plusnet a disservice with your original post as the current legacy product offers way more for the money than the original version did. Compared to the current products, then it is really dependent on how you the service as to what best suits your need. For me a prefer to pay more for a less restricted service, but this means I have  a lower cap before I have to make additional payments or take a service hit.

[#15]

Spider - "I feel you are doing Plusnet a disservice with your original post as the current legacy product offers way more for the money than the original version did"
If you read my other posts you'd have seen that I pointed out when I joined I was on Premier from day 1 and that was with unlimited downloads. This meant unlimited at that time but most people used common sense. However due to those who abused the system and some would regularly break over a 100GB a month restrictions where put in place. I don't have all the original correspondence but I think the first ever restriction was put in at about 40GB or 50GB a month. Those who broke this restriction where then throttled. Sometime later Plusnet introduced the 15GB limit and then up'd it to 20GB telling us we where getting something extra. Now I personally don't see it that way... I had a great service with lots of bandwidth and never abused it but got punished none the less. Now for the remainder of the month I'm being throttled even off-peak (my connection this morning is dreadful) it seems which is totally wrong!
So the original product you talk of offers far less then it did when I signed up.
Can someone from Plusnet comment on why I'm throttled off peak and why the throttling is affecting browsing? I was under the impression that P2P etc got throttled and not browsing / email etc.