Price Changes December 2019

[jgb]

I noted the impending price increases on this page 

https://www.plus.net/home-broadband/2019-pricing-changes-existing

Apologies if there is already a forum topic on this but I do not recall seeing one.

The penultimate section deals briefly with customers on fixed price contracts but I would like some amplification/clarification.

I have just started a new 18 month fixed price contract therefore, if I am correct, I would not expect to be affected by any increase in broadband or line rental prices until that finishes in April 2021, but would expect to have to bear the increases in call plan prices, call rates etc. as stated.

However, I will be paying line rental for the first 12 months of the contract using Line Rental Saver, am I correct in saying that the monthly line rental after the LRS expires will still be the contract rate of £18.99/month rather than the new rate of £19.99 per month (or whatever the line rental cost is at that date)?

If I renew LRS after 12 months, what rate will apply - will it be the current rate of £197.88; the new increased rate (unspecified in the above link which only says it will "increase to reflect the monthly line rental cost" - i.e. £12 increase?); or will it be an amalgam of the old lRS rate for the remainder of the 18 month contract with the new LRS rate for the balance of the period?

[VileReynard]

I'm on an old contract which matches none of the prices on that page.

So I'm clueless as to whether my price is to be increased at all...

[jgb]

We need an official response from Plusnet to clarify things.

[billnotben]

"We're Changing Our Prices"

Shouldn't that be we're turning the thumbscrews, hiking up our prices and getting rid of broadband only. Obviously room for more profit if more customers are forced to take line rental as well.

It's laughable, and a shoddy practice, how its become standard for companies to justify price hikes as somehow doing a favour for their customers.

[dvorak]

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from Everything Else to Feedback

[jgb]

@dvorak 

Is this topic likely to be more visible to Plusnet staff now that you have moved it as there has been no response to my request for clarification so far?

[dvorak]

it's no more or less visible.

[jgb]

Well, I have just found a new Service Notice on my account which says, rather cryptically:

"This is a fixed price contract customer. This customer will be sent PR19 on 09/10/2019"

I wonder if PR19 stands for Price Revision 2019 (or perhaps Price Reduction 2019 :2funny:)

[OllieC · Accepted solution]

Hi @jgb

You are correct that your pricing will remain the same regarding line rental and broadband services when taking out a fixed price contract. If your LRS expires before your 18 months is up, you can take out LRS again at the original rate of £197.88.

The notification added to your account stands for Pricing Refresh 2019. This is a notice that shows you are protected from an increase. 

Hi @VileReynard

We will send out any specific pricings regarding increases which will allow our customers to assess how or if they will be affected.

Hi @billnotben

Whilst we can appreciate your comments regarding how you feel that providers are putting thumbscrews on their customers, when costs go up, it requires price increases to allow a continuation of growth and investment for businesses. We have held off from any increase thus far whilst other providers have increased. If customers want better technology and infrastructure the prices must go up to allow businesses to be competitive and provide the service customers are searching for. 

[billnotben]

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@OllieC wrote:

it requires price increases

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Then just say it plainly and clearly. Please don't hide behind "improvements" especially as you've seen fit to include billing in this. And the "services you deserve" don't you mean the services that customers are paying for?

I've also no doubt that like the last rise it will be followed by some super cut price bargain offers for new customers.

[ScottStorey]

@OllieC when you say "when costs go up" what are you referring to exactly?

Looking at BTW, prices haven't changed for ADSL since 2010 and for FTTC Jan 2018. OR line rental prices went up 26p in April.

There is no transparency over the price rise and an attitude of "well we did it later than the competitors!" doesn't fill customers with confidence. The billing system has been used as an excuse for years of price rises (over a decade?) now. I'd dread to think how much that system has cost.

[Optimatts]

@ScottStorey costs go up for many reasons. Supplier costs, infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, along with business improvement tend to require us to increase our pricing.

I understand your frustration but regrettably, it is not something we in the support team are able to disclose in further detail.

[billnotben]

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@Optimatts wrote:

it is not something we in the support team are able to disclose in further detail.

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That goes without saying. It's hard to defend the indefensible. Reality is, rises are expected even when not warranted.

What gets most peoples goat though are virtually all companies attempt to put a gloss on it. As I said doing the customers a favour.

[VileReynard]

Somebody has to pay for all those special offers to "new" subscribers. Churn costs money.

[Townman]

Whilst avoiding churn, turns butterflies into loyal customers, will in the long run cost far less to maintain market share.

It is difficult to see what investments are / have been made which deliver user benefits when the actual service offering is seen to diminish over the years.

By all means an organisation should seek to be good at what can be done and not attempt to do those things they don’t have the capacity to do well. However any organisation putting up prices whilst reducing the service offering claiming they are making it better is going to sound hollow.

As Scott points out wholesale prices have been fairly static. Is the cost base driver here the all you can use at a fixed price madness? Surely somewhere along the way PlusNET is paying for the consumed bandwidth?

The debates held years ago about unmetered services still holds true. No one would expect to get unlimited electricity consumption for a fixed price, so why is it expected with broadband?

I suspect that the truth about pan-user price rises is that some users are using vast volumes of bandwidth ... paid for by everyone else.