moving house & cancellation fee - NOT FAIR -boo hoo

[#1]

Rather peeved!
I have been with Plusnet for over 10 years. I was with Force 9 on dial up before that. Only switched to BT for a few years in the early '00s because they were the only providers of ADSL back then.
Anyway, I have sold my house but I have no address yet. I am staying with friends until I buy a new house. I have been told by Plusnet that to cancel my service will cost me £168!!! 
This is because I am only a few months in to a new contract with them. I think that is extremely unfair because I actually UPGRADED my package a few months ago to Unlimited. So, I have been with Plus net for 10 years, and I upgraded my package thus spending more money each month, hence having to sign in to a new contract, and now I am being penalised.
Trust me (I know you do not) I would surely be migrating my Plus Net services to my new address if I had one.

[#2]

I think you should challenge that on the basis of unfair contract terms and the charges not being proportionate to their losses - I would.
Hopefully it's a mistake and will be rectified swiftly.

[#3]

Depending on how long it is likely to be before you get a new address, it might be possible to request a 'deferred house move'.

[#4]

Hi Bod,
I fully understand your disappointment due to the circumstances here. As I understand it fibre unfortunately isn't available at the new premises and you were just a few months into a new fibre contract which accounts for the charge. However would you not consider taking an ADSL service at the new premises with us rather than cancelling?
Adam

[#5]

I have not got a new address yet. Have sold my house and I'm moving to Nottingham when I find a property I like. Staying with friends until that time in the near future. SO, it has nothing to do with fibre or adsl availability. I simply can not continue the service at this time as i have no address. It would be handy if my contract could be put on hold until I've moved. I don't want to leave or cancel with Plusnet. 

[#6]

We'd love to be able to put accounts on hold but unfortunately Ofcom regulations state that can't be done 😕

[#7]

Quote from: HPsauce

I think you should challenge that on the basis of unfair contract terms and the charges not being proportionate to their losses - I would. Hopefully it's a mistake and will be rectified swiftly.

Although I understand the OP's frustration, how is this reply helpful?  The contract was signed and the penalty for early termination is explained in the associated T&Cs.  It's a bit late to claim unfair contract after the event...
To the OP, I'd be interested as to how the £168 figure is arrived at?  Did you get a new router when you upgraded?  Did you change from ADSL to Fibre?  Do you pay your line rental to PN?

[#8]

Come on Plusnet. Please waiver my cancellation fee. I have been loyal to you for so many years - even through the bad times when I was without service for weeks on end!! I am not switching to a rival. I simply can not continue with the service at this address. It really is quite brutal of you to be charging me so much money for cancelling under these circumstances.

[#9]

Have you considered the fact that Plusnet are going to have to pay BT a cancellation fee? There is a minimum term contract for the supply of FTTC lines.

[#10]

Quote from: pwatson

Although I understand the OP's frustration, how is this reply helpful?

Because there have been many cases recently where the judgement has been that the penalty charges needed to reflect the reality of losses experienced by the supplier, not an arbitrary judgement of, for example, all lost revenue for the remainder of the contract.
Whether the figure quoted is a real loss will need someone with more information than me, but it sounds a very high figure.
And IIRC the court judgements also looked "down the chain" so did not assume that any charges being "passed on" from third-parties were automatically accepted; they too needed to be justified.

[#11]

Hi Jelv thanks for your comment. No I had not considered that.
Look, my point is this: I have been with Plusnet for over a decade. I think it's sort of unfair that I am tied in to a fresh contract when I upgraded my service with them. Do you get me? I was on a fibre package with a download limit of 80GB p/m. A few months later I upgraded to Unlimited, and i think that when I upgraded a new contract term has started. Why should I be tied to new contracts just for upgrading to unlimted?
Anyway, another point is this: I don't mind being tied to a contract with Plusnet because I like Plusnet, and I want to use their service. It's just that I have sold my house! I'm relocating up north and I have not got an address yet. I know business is business. It would just be nice if my situation could be understood, and my loyalty be worth something.

[#12]

Hi bod,
Cheers for your time on the phone just now. Without wishing to sound too vague I'm going to speak with our customer options team and see what I can arrange for you.
Bear with me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Adam

[#13]

Just a quick update to say someone will be giving you a call shortly to get this resolved.

[#14]

Thanks Adam. I was on the motorway yesterday so couldn't take the calls unfortunately. Hope to hear from you today.
regards

[#15]

Hi bod, looks like the ticket's been updated for you - reference is 74917333, hope the update on there helps.