VAT Increase & Price Changes - January 2011
Quote from: Oldjim changing broadband product will have no effect on your phone tariff/product
Jim, it's VoIP phone and home phone and whilst historically moving product hasn't affected this, historically prices haven't risen on legacy products either
Hi all, hope everybody had a good weekend.
This is addressed in the FAQ I wrote. Also, you haven't responded to my question about the Direct Debit instruction on your account?
So, can I cancel the instruction?
Do you mean this?
If so, there's not a great deal I can say. We don't have a comparable 'best friend' feature and calls to Ireland are international. If you moved to Anytime before the 4th January then you'd get 300 included minutes to certain international numbers though (which includes Ireland). Caller Display costs an extra 99p per month.
Yes, it's VAT inclusive.
The current one with the included international minutes (if you sign up before January 4th).
Not sure what I'm looking at here Jim?
You'll keep the inclusive international minutes but the cost of your line rental will increase, you'll lose your 25% discount to mobiles and the call charging is changing.
Your broadband price is staying the same but your line rental will go up to £11.99.
Less than that as you're not accounting for other payment methods (cheque/BACS etc.)
As others have mentioned, the system sends an email when cards are due to expire. Due to continuous authority, we can quite often continue taking payments anyway I think.
You're confusing the advance notice with the amount of time it takes to physically debit the amount from a customer's account. IIRC, the emails say something like "Your account will be debited on or after..." anyway.
Errr, because it won't.
We don't mean 'never' and neither do we know what's going to happen in 2012 yet.
Yes, they're still free.
It's unlikely that there will be too many repeat offenders due to the processes we have in place for chasing failed payments.
Not as easy to implement, which is why I think we didn't go down this avenue.
Not necessarily. Call costs and extra broadband usage can vary the amount a customer pays each month.
As mentioned by jelv, account changes are scheduled to take place on your next billing date.
If you have a static IP now then you should retain this when switching to Extra.
No.
Can I get a comment from Plusnet about this?
I consider 3 working days notice of them helping themselves to a variable amount from my bank account to be insufficient.
It's all very well saying you can get your bank to reverse it. You may be away for a week and be overdrawn with charges piling up.
You are emailed when we submit a request for payment to our intermediary. The funds are physically debited from your account around 5 working days later. The situation with you being away could just as easily happen if you pay by card.
Yes, you should do.
Quote from: giro better i put it like this
do any of the changes constitute new contractual terms
yes or no ?
This is addressed in the FAQ I wrote. Also, you haven't responded to my question about the Direct Debit instruction on your account?
Quote from: Bob Unless you've any objections I'm going to cancel the instruction at this side as it's creating unnecessary work each time we try to take payment.
So, can I cancel the instruction?
Quote from: The @BOB
Could you shed any light on the points I raised at the top of page 7?
Do you mean this?
Quote from: The I was considering moving to anytime from BT but having read some comments it may not be a good idea.
BT give 40% off best friend IIRC which is a mobile for me. I can also phone Ireland too (classed as UK for me) and Caller ID is free. I also get BT Privacy to stop nuissance calls.
What can PN say about these points?
If so, there's not a great deal I can say. We don't have a comparable 'best friend' feature and calls to Ireland are international. If you moved to Anytime before the 4th January then you'd get 300 included minutes to certain international numbers though (which includes Ireland). Caller Display costs an extra 99p per month.
Quote from: Hary Does the £1.50 processing fee for card payments include VAT, if not that should read + 20%
Yes, it's VAT inclusive.
Quote from: Wheel_nut This page http://www.plus.net/residential/bundles.shtml
shows the 300 Included International Minutes with Anytime.
So, If I sign up for Anytime, which Anytime am I buying?
The current one with the included international minutes (if you sign up before January 4th).
Quote from: Oldjim To avoid trawling back through the posts - has this been picked up and due to be corrected
Upgrading from the old anytime to the new anytime I get this
Also here http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,91211.msg761965.html#msg761965
Not sure what I'm looking at here Jim?
Quote from: AB55 I've just signed upto the talk anytime (for £5 a month) with the 300 international minutes a critical selling point. I presume that from what I can gather, this will remain the same?
You'll keep the inclusive international minutes but the cost of your line rental will increase, you'll lose your 25% discount to mobiles and the call charging is changing.
Quote from: AB55 I'm on the 'extra' broadband, 60gb a month, free from midnight - 8am. Is This again still staying the same, and what would the total costs for line rental, the 5ppm calls and the extra internet be come the vat increase compared to now?
Your broadband price is staying the same but your line rental will go up to £11.99.
Quote from: Lolaan
Quote Why? You do know 85% of our customers (the vast majority paying monthly) use Direct Debit don't you? I have to be honest, I'm really struggling to understand just why you're so aggrieved by this
So, only 15% are paying with cards?
Less than that as you're not accounting for other payment methods (cheque/BACS etc.)
Quote from: A
Quote from: Bob Let's look at it another way then. The failure rate of card payers *far* exceeds that of our Direct Debit payers. The transaction failure rate for Direct Debit averages about 1.5%. The failure rate of card transactions is about 12%. I needed tell you that repeat transactions cost us more money.
Card payments are 8 times more likely to fail than DD payments - you can sympathise with PN for preferring DD!
I bet the Card payments fail because the card has expired and Plusnet haven't bothered to ask for details of the new card.
As others have mentioned, the system sends an email when cards are due to expire. Due to continuous authority, we can quite often continue taking payments anyway I think.
Quote from: Bud
Quote from: Bob
You're invoice date will remain the same. Monies taken via Direct Debit are typically debited from your account about 5 working days after your invoice date. Under most circumstances you can't change your invoice date (without breaking a lot of stuff).
Err, 5 working days is a lie, if you read the plusnet direct debit agreement it sates
Quote •If the amounts to be paid or the payment dates change PlusNet plc will notify you 3 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed
And the email gives a date of 3 working days after the billing notice. Thats why if there is a mistake plusnet cant change the ammount as its allready been submitted to the bank for processing
You're confusing the advance notice with the amount of time it takes to physically debit the amount from a customer's account. IIRC, the emails say something like "Your account will be debited on or after..." anyway.
Quote from: A Why do Plusnet say the cost of my "Extra" broadband won't go up before 2012?
Errr, because it won't.
Quote from: A If they mean "never", why not say so?
If they mean it increases in 2012 why not tell me now so I can happily spend a whole year looking for the best deal?
We don't mean 'never' and neither do we know what's going to happen in 2012 yet.
Quote from: penfold Also on evening and weekends, dosnt seem clear if the 0845/0870 numbers are still free, evenings and weekends. The FAQ just mentions anytime.
Yes, they're still free.
Quote from: jelv Plusnet, I get the impression that a major reason for the card payment surcharge is the very significant administrative costs when payments fail. You've reported that 12% of card payments fail (that is a lot higher than I would have expected).
Within the 12%, how many of those are 'repeat offenders'? If it is a lot had you considered insisting that those people move to DD?
It's unlikely that there will be too many repeat offenders due to the processes we have in place for chasing failed payments.
Quote Had you considered making a surcharge for a failed payment (where it wasn't Plusnet's fault)?
Not as easy to implement, which is why I think we didn't go down this avenue.
Quote from: Lolaan I don't think that people are changing packages often enough to need a Direct Debit, as they will pay the same amount for at least a few months.
Not necessarily. Call costs and extra broadband usage can vary the amount a customer pays each month.
Quote from: graham
Quote from: X I'm going to change from Unlimited to Extra on cost grounds, but I don't really need Unlimited. A few questions:
1. I was charged £16.34 yesterday for another month's Unlimited. Will I get a partial refund if I switch to Extra immediately? Or can I schedule the switch in the next few days to take effect at the start of next month?
(When I switched to Unlimited, I think I had to agree to a 12 month contract, but that period ended two or three months ago.)
As mentioned by jelv, account changes are scheduled to take place on your next billing date.
Quote from: graham 2. Before I switched to Unlimited, I asked for Reverse DNS lookup to be disabled, which was done. However, I've only just noticed that this is not disabled on my Unlimited account, presumably because of the change in my static IP address. Would I have static IP address with Extra?
If you have a static IP now then you should retain this when switching to Extra.
Quote from: graham 3. Is there any way to stop my username appearing in email headers, i.e.
change real username to IP address-type name
[tt]Received: from username.plus.com ([xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx] helo=2)[/tt]
to something like
[tt]Received: from xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx.plus.com ([xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx] helo=2)[/tt]
No.
Quote from: theoule
Quote from: Spider
Quote from: theoule ...
According to the Direct debit guarantee, variable amounts are supposed to be notified 10 working days before the debit is actioned.
....
[quote=http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Businesses/DirectDebit/PayingBy/Pages/YourRights.aspx]If the amounts to be paid or the payment dates change, the organisation collecting the payment will notify you normally 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed
The number of days is actually up to the claiming company and is stated as part of the DD Guarantee that they supply to the customer. In Plusnets case this is 3 working days! This is too late for Plusnet to make any changes to the claim if the amount is wrong, but you can get an instant refund from your bank.
[Quote=Plusnet Version]The Direct Debit Guarantee
- This Guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that take part in the Direct Debit Scheme.
The efficiency and security of the Scheme is monitored and protected by your own Bank or Building Society.- If the amounts to be paid or the payment dates change Plusnet plc. will notify you 3 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.
- If an error is made by Plusnet plc. or your Bank or Building Society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from the branch of the amount paid. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by writing to your Bank or Building Society.
Please also send a copy of this letter to us.
Can I get a comment from Plusnet about this?
I consider 3 working days notice of them helping themselves to a variable amount from my bank account to be insufficient.
It's all very well saying you can get your bank to reverse it. You may be away for a week and be overdrawn with charges piling up.
You are emailed when we submit a request for payment to our intermediary. The funds are physically debited from your account around 5 working days later. The situation with you being away could just as easily happen if you pay by card.
Quote from: tywyn If I move to Plusnet Extra will I still retain my free minutes from the broadband phone legacy package?
Yes, you should do.
If Plusnet overcharge you by DD and you incur bank/interest charges as a result they will refund you those charges.
